Tulsa County commissioners voted to dissolve the county’s Highway Construction division, eliminating 32 positions effective immediately, as officials work out who will handle road and bridge repairs across roughly 680 miles of county roads and 180 bridges going forward.
The resolution wipes out a division that had 39 full-time employees and one part-time worker before the cuts, according to News on 6. Affected workers will stay on the county payroll through Nov. 20 and can apply for other county openings during that window, the station reported. Tulsa County Commissioner Kelly Dunkerley spoke about the reasoning behind the closure and other issues facing the county, according to KOKI FOX 23.
County officials say many of the division’s responsibilities will shift to the three commissioner-district maintenance facilities, other county departments, and third-party vendors. The same report notes that individual districts will keep handling certain road projects, while larger jobs could be contracted out to private companies.
Three Districts, One Shared Division, Now Gone
Until October 19, Tulsa County’s road work was split between two layers. Three highway maintenance facilities, one for each commissioner district, handled paving prep, culvert and ditch work, crack sealing, pothole patching, tree trimming, minor bridge upkeep and snow and ice removal, per Tulsa County’s Highway Engineering department. The now-dissolved Highway Construction division was a shared unit serving all three districts, tasked with more specialized road and bridge repairs, signal maintenance, signage, striping, and vehicle and equipment upkeep…