VINITA, OK — The idea of a highway expansion project for the city of Vinita, Oklahoma, was first introduced in 2008. High volumes of traffic move along State Highway 2, which runs through the core business district of this Northeast Oklahoma community. In the fall of 2019, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation resolved to invest $10.6 million in infrastructure improvements, and Crossland Heavy got to work.

Following the expansion project, motorists went from a narrow two-lane road with open ditches, to a four-lane highway with proper curbs and gutters. City leaders said the new sidewalks are improving citizens’ safety.

The project included widening Highway 2 for a little over one mile, more than doubling the road capacity. It consists of 1.7 miles of RCP, .5 miles of RCB, 91 storm structures, two miles of curb addition, and 41,475 SY of 9” paving.

This was the largest Department of Transportation project for Crossland Heavy to date, and as expected in a project this size, they faced and solved a few challenges. Namely, they lost just over two months of weather days, so they had to determine the best way to manage existing storm sewer conditions. The team, led by Tim Heitkamp, was creative with the project phasing and remained focused on the path ahead, finishing up one month ahead of schedule.

Project Team: Chris Walters, Division Manager; Trace Drummond, Project Manager; Tim Heitkamp, Project Superintendent; James Shelton, Site Superintendent; Joel Ramirez, Concrete Superintendent; Michael Eveland, Assistant Superintendent; and JT Richardson, Field Engineer.