Posted on June 5, 2017
By Larry Levy, Tulsa Business
The City of Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority approved emergency repairs to halt further damage to a bank of the Verdigris River that posed an immediate danger.
The record-setting April rainfall along with releases from Lake Oologah resulted in a patch of erosion about 60 feet long, 150 feet deep and 40 feet high on one river bank and coming within five feet of the dredging ponds in the northeast corner of the port, the authority was told.
Working nonstop over two days, the port crews halted further erosion with about 3,300 tons of rock that was trucked to the site and maneuvered into place with heavy equipment.
The emergency repairs cost about $110,000, port operations manager Brad Banks said, and the final cost to halt further erosion, complete repairs and restore operations to the dredging ponds could reach $500,000.
Port Director David Yarbrough said the facility will have to consider a long-range plan to protect the area from future damage.
Mid-America Dredging Inc. is presently dredging the 1½-mile port channel under a $1 million contract. The authority approved an initial payment to the company of $226,060 at its May meeting.
Source: Tulsa Business
