WAGONER, Okla. — A major, pot-hole-filled street in Wagoner -supposed to be repaved more than a year ago - still needs to be fixed. Those in Wagoner feel like they're getting the run-around from state and local officials as to why it's not done.
2 News Oklahoma took the drone up for a bird's eye view of downtown Wagoner's Cherokee Street.
Highway 51 or Cherokee Street, which runs directly through downtown, is a driver's nightmare.
Nathan Jones and Tyler Humphrey live in Wagoner and deal with it every day.
"We got one of the worst roads of 51 highway," Jones said.
"Oh my gosh, I've been on dirt roads better than what Cherokee Street is," Humphrey added.
They'll also be the first to say it's been a nightmare to get any communication from ODOT or the city about it.
"You call the state, and you get the run-around. You call the city - the same thing. I mean, tell us, we're not going to fix it," Jones said.
ODOT's contractors – Becco - are behind the resurfacing after the Oklahoma Transportation Commission awarded the project to Wagoner in November 2021.
ODOT Spokesperson T.J. Gerlach says the department asked Becco to postpone the resurfacing project so other projects could get done in the city first. Since then, Gerlach says they haven't reached an agreement on when to start work on the project.
"Since we asked them not to start initially, they moved on to other projects they also had contracts for," Gerlach said. "We've been working with them to try to get it back on their schedule, but at this time, we haven't had success with that."
If an agreement isn't reached, Gerlach says the Oklahoma Transportation Commission may have to release the contract and put it out for re-bid, which could delay the start time until spring.
"Everybody blames everybody else," Jones said.
It hasn't been zero progress. Recently, contractors finished a streetscape, replacing old sidewalks and putting in ADA-compliant ramps. City crews also replaced old stormwater underground pipes that have been there for over 100 years.
2 News talked to Wagoner's new mayor – Dalton Self – last week. He says it's out of the city's hands, but he knows the clock is ticking to resurface it before winter.
"Everybody at City Hall, we want this road fixed. It's not that we do not want the road fixed. We want it," Self said.
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