Trunk sewer line improvements underway on 23rd Street

The City of Broken Arrow is investing $5.8 million in its Utilities infrastructure for Phase Two of the County Line Trunk Sewer project, which is currently underway along 23rd Street.

In this project, the contractor Belt Construction, Inc., is replacing one of the City of Broken Arrow's oldest gravity sanitary sewer lines. These aging concrete sewer lines have reached the end of their service life, making this project a necessity.

Phase I of this project started with construction in the summer of 2019 and was completed in the winter of 2020. It replaced and upsized the gravity sanitary sewer line on 23rd Street from the Lynn Lane Wastewater Treatment Plant to approximately 900 feet north of Florence Street.

Phase IIA is the continuation of this vital infrastructure improvement project. It will extend the sewer line replacement along 23rd Street (also known as County Line Road) from New Orleans Street (101st St.) to near 114th Street, according to City of Broken Arrow Utilities Director Timothy Robins.

"If you've driven down County Line Road, you've likely seen a lot of these large structures, which are fiberglass manholes," Robins said. "Belt Construction is currently installing roughly 5,000 linear feet of 48-inch sewer line to reinvest back into our sewer system."

Robins says the project is critical because the current sewer lines that are being replaced were installed in the late 1970s. The new fiberglass pipe should last between 50 and 80 years, depending on external impacts.

The contractor is currently about a third of the way done, and they are installing piping to the south," Robins said.

Due to rock under the intersection of New Orleans Street and County Line Road, the contractor's production on the project was recently slowed. Currently, the contractor has made it approximately halfway across New Orleans Street, but boring under all of County Line Road is required to complete the project.

Belt Construction requested and received a construction variance at the City Council meeting on Nov. 4. With the variance, the Council permitted the contractor to increase their work schedule to 24-hour workdays and permitted temporary construction activity noise between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays until the boring at the intersection is completed.

While Robins says he doesn't expect any traffic impacts during construction, he asks residents to watch for crews working in the vicinity of the project.

"They're working diligently to make a better system for you," Robins said.

Robins said the trunk sewer project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.