Constructions

[Thunder]

I thought we would like to have one thread detailing all of the constructions going on day-by-day.

Lets start this off with the construction on Robinson in Norman. What is the deal there? They have already paved a detour road and set up the temporary lights. Obviously, this construction will take a very long time. Right now, they are digging massive holes near the railroad tracks and last I saw driving by today, they were erecting some sort of beams. What is so important there to warrant the destruction of a huge chunk of Robinson?

[kevinpate]

This has been a long time coming. When completed, there will be an underpass at the tracks.
It was debated for some time whether to have an overpass or an underpass and whether to have it at Robinson, on Lindsey east of OU, or both. The underpass at Robinson won out at the end of the discussions.

Norman sees 28+ trains come through daily. Amtrack is the shortest, with only an couple of units comprising that train. Others are quite lengthy, and when two trains are meeting in Norman, the time for them to crawl past each other shuts down numerous roads. Once the underpass is finished in a few years,a nd assuming they get the drainage process right, it will be a right fair improvement to traffic flow and provide open east/west access to Norman Regional from all points west of the tracks.

[Thunder]

Thanks for the info, Kevin! That is one daunting task to dig underneath the tracks as the trains pass on over. I'm curious how steep this underpass will be, because the nearest intersection is really close. Are they planning to also do changes at the intersection or start the underpass immediately after the intersection (meaning just east of the intersection). How close is Lindsey street to Robinson?

I like going under the trains instead of over, because I like watching the trains go on by overhead.

[kevinpate]

Thanks for the info, Kevin! That is one daunting task to dig underneath the tracks as the trains pass on over. I'm curious how steep this underpass will be, because the nearest intersection is really close. Are they planning to also do changes at the intersection or start the underpass immediately after the intersection (meaning just east of the intersection). How close is Lindsey street to Robinson?

I like going under the trains instead of over, because I like watching the trains go on by overhead.

Grade wise it will match ODOT standards, i.e. yeah there's a grade there, but the road will still accommodate all normal traffic, including the semi trucks they roll up and down Robinson on a routine basis. You won't be looking up at the trains though. If memory serves, this is more tunnelville than openair underpass.

I don't think the current intersection of Robinson and Flood will have much of an elevation change from the existing elevation, though I may be mistaken on that.

Lindsey Street is an E/W street that is 2 miles south of Robinson. It bisects the OU campus just south of the football complex. Although there is a widening poroject ongoing with Lindsey, it won't have either an underpass or an overpass. The tracks will remain at grade there.

[Thunder]

I am a little confused. It will be a tunnel format, are you saying that the tunnel will also be going under Flood Ave?

[ljbab728]

I am a little confused. It will be a tunnel format, are you saying that the tunnel will also be going under Flood Ave?

No Thunder, he's saying that the level of the intersection of Robinson and Flood shouldn't be affected much. Those streets will still intersect.

[Thunder]

Then that is a mighty steep tunnel to make the height acceptable under the tracks. Not good for low-rise cars and semi-trucks. But, we will see the end result in a few years. In a few weeks, I will look closely at the distance between Flood Ave and the tracks.

[ljbab728]

Then that is a mighty steep tunnel to make the height acceptable under the tracks. Not good for low-rise cars and semi-trucks. But, we will see the end result in a few years. In a few weeks, I will look closely at the distance between Flood Ave and the tracks.

OK, Thunder. Be sure to tell the engineers who have been designing this for months if they made a mistake.

[kevinpate]

Thunder, after reviewing an article I missed last week, it looks like the estimated completion date is about one year out from now.

Also, I may be wrong on having called it a tunnel. It may indeed simply be an underpass where you can look up to see the trains. The article uses the phrase underpass and does not use the word tunnel. The article also mentioned a decorative retaining wall.

I know I'll be happy when it's complete and Flood reopens again. I used to use Flood a lot.

[Thunder]

I bet those steel beams they were erecting is a part of the decorative retaining wall.

[TheTravellers]

OK, I'll play. NW 164th between May and Penn has started. Just grading on the sides and tree removal. Power outages too, yay. Bet they don't fix the NW 164th/Penn intersection during this phase. Probably an ODOT project, as NW 164th between Western and Penn was.

[rcjunkie]

Still in design stage, but can't wait for construction on S. Western to Norman (SW 137th to Indian Hills Rd). I travel this road daily and this project is way over due.

[jmarkross]

I bet those steel beams they were erecting is a part of the decorative retaining wall.

I bet they are to hold up the RR tracks so trains can pass...

[kevinpate]

The beams Thunder saw are likely for supports for the new set of tracks being built on the east side of the existing tracks. They need a new trackline in place prior to digging out beneath the current tracks. As noted before, there are 28+ trains passing through Norman every day. With that traffic level, it's fairly important that the train tracks remain open to the fullest extent possible.

[jmarkross]

The beams Thunder saw are likely for supports for the new set of tracks being built on the east side of the existing tracks. They need a new trackline in place prior to digging out beneath the current tracks. As noted before, there are 28+ trains passing through Norman every day. With that traffic level, it's fairly important that the train tracks remain open to the fullest extent possible.

I know that area pretty well...I grew up on Eisenhower Road back when you could have horses there...