https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp_dVdjj9v8" target="_blank">A final proposal is in for a boatload of improvements in and along the Arkansas River in Tulsa, and the cost is just shy of $243 million.
That covers renovating Zink Dam, a new dam in south Tulsa, and an operations endowment. Councilor G.T. Bynum leads the river task force and said that’s not all.
"We're not just talking about one dam here and one dam there, but really it's about improvement of a whole corridor that runs the full length of our community," Bynum said.
The total cost of $242.7 million also covers Turkey Mountain land acquisition, improving or building River Parks trails, levee rehabilitation and planning the relocation of a city yard at 23rd and Jackson, which would create more room for development.
The next step is finding funding for all the work. How much will be in Tulsa’s Vision renewal is still up in the air, but Tulsa won't be paying for it all.
"We're still having discussions about the breakdown of costs here — what would be the City of Tulsa's portion, what would be the City of Jenks' portion, what would be Tulsa County's portion, what would be the Creek Nation's portion," Bynum said.
The task force has been working on the proposal for two years. Bynum said the challenge they face now is Tulsans have stopped seeing the river as a usable asset.
"And so, we have to not just plunk in a couple dams and hope everything takes care of itself, but also really show what those opportunities are," Bynum said.
The dams, including pedestrian bridges and water features, account for more than half of the total cost when their operations endowment is included.
