That was the announcement Monday morning to Henryetta Economic Development Authority (HEDA) members.HEDA member and city mayor Jennifer Clason said “they (Oklahoma Department of Transportation) have one more issue about the entrance and exit but that has been approved.”
She said a groundbreaking ceremony is expected by the end of the year with a six-month construction window. A big part of that is going to be dealing with a retaining wall behind the QuikTrip facility.
Negotiations have been ongoing between the city, QuikTrip officials and ODOT for nearly a year. At one point the state ODOT secretary was contacted about hurrying the process along.
A trio of large water lines and a gas line run across the area that will be impacted by the QuikTrip work. Clason said the city will not lose water because of the work. “We have a lean on one of those lines and that will give us a chance to repair it.”
That project was first announced in 2013. It involved purchasing one of the two motels at the East Main and US 75 exit as well as much of the adjoining property south of the motel.
Reporting for the city, she said there have been several meetings with hotel/motel owners about locating on the city-owned property just south of the I-40 exit west of town.
A much-anticipated sewer line installation is about six months from completion, said Clason. That has been held up while the city worked with property owners in the area over taps into the sewer line.
“The sewer project should be going out for bids soon,” she said. “Almost all the easement issues have been taken care of.”
