Planning & Development Director, Taylor Tannehill, and City Council Member, Trae Ratliff, met with State Representative, Bob Culver at the state capital in Oklahoma City on Monday, April 10th. Taylor has worked hard on two grant projects for the City of Tahlequah to make Tahlequah a more walkable city. We are excited to announce the two grants, totaling close to $2.5 million, were awarded to the City of Tahlequah as part of the ODOT’s Transportation Alternative Program (TAP). TAP is a program that builds upon the legacy of the Transportation Enhancements (TE) and Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) programs. It provides funding opportunities for local projects that support additional transportation options, strengthen local economies, improve quality of life, protect the natural environment, and enhance transportation infrastructure.
The first project is for a sidewalk on S Muskogee Avenue (U.S. Highway 62) from the S Muskogee and State Highway 51 Bypass to the S Muskogee and Southridge Road/Nancy Ward Drive intersection. Federal funding for this project is $1,123,858 with sponsor funds of $374,620.
The second is a trail extension east from the existing trail near Basin Avenue going north to 1st Street. The second phase of the project would be an alley between Muskogee Avenue and Water Avenue, north to Grand along Smith Street to the north and Oak to the east. Federal funding for this project is $1,345,767 with sponsor funds of $471,278.
"We're happy to partner with ODOT like we have on many other projects in the city. These grant awards give us an opportunity to accomplish our goals of a more walkable city. These funds push the projects up in our timelines for completion that otherwise would take years to complete. We received support from tribal and county officials as well as Northeastern State University as a part of our applications, so we certainly appreciate those partnerships. Our match for the Muskogee sidewalk project will come out of the half cent sales tax the citizens approved a few years ago for street and sidewalk projects. That tax allowed us to extend those dollars further and make a bigger impact for our sidewalk program." – Taylor Tannehill
This is a significant achievement for the City of Tahlequah, and we are grateful for the hard work and dedication of Taylor Tannehill and the support of City Council Member Trae Ratliff. These grants will enable us to improve our transportation infrastructure, which will benefit our community in numerous ways. We look forward to implementing these projects and continuing to enhance the quality of life for our residents.
