Contract awarded for I-44, Rogers Lane interchange

A Lawton company has been selected for a $6.7 million project to reconfigure the intersection of Interstate 44 and Rogers Lane.

The state Transportation Commission on Monday awarded the contract to T&G Construction, which was the sole competitor for the project with a bid of $6,690,994.79, just under the engineer's estimate. The work has been allocated 300 calendar days for completion.

The City of Lawton and Fort Sill have for years been eying a project to rebuild the interchange of Rogers Lane (which is also U.S. 63) and I-44 to reduce congestion and improve safety. Plans call for building cloverleaf exit and entrance ramps for northbound and southbound interstate traffic.

"This project's been a long time in the making and we're glad we have finally awarded the contract," said Brad Burgess of Lawton, a member of the Transportation Commission.

"This will vastly improve the safety and efficiency of that intersection," he said.

Moving ahead with the project also helps another project in the works: expanding Rogers Lane east of I-44. Although state budget woes have pushed back expansion of East Rogers Lane to the entrance to the Garden Village Addition, completion of the interchange project had to come first.