Filed by Ben Allen in Local News.
January 8, 2013

A two hour long presentation and discussion ends with a 7-2 vote in favor of Alternative A for the Oklahoma City Boulevard. Despite very vocal objections from Councilor Ed Shadid, the council moved forward with the option, which contains a bridge over Western and Classen. Shadid questioned city engineers for nearly a half hour, and then before the vote, decried the overall process…

“The public has never been engaged to this level on an infrastructure project, and they’re saying we want to be involved. And we’re saying back, ‘We’re going to give you the minimum amount to pacify you.’”

Compared to past public hearings, few spoke at this morning’s meeting, with some calling for the boulevard while others asked about fitting it in the grid system. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation will now have to conduct another environmental impact study before construction can start. It’s expected the full boulevard will be complete in early 2016.