Just when you thought it was safe to resume normal driving speeds in and around Kingfisher, a new highway construction project is slated to begin Feb. 10.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation spokesperson Lisa Salim confi rmed Friday that a $1.3 million paving rehabilitation contract was awarded last June to Schiralli Construction Corp. of Wilson to replace pavement east and south of the U.S. 81 and S.H. 33 intersection in Kingfi sher.

The project will extend east to Second Street and south to Sheridan Avenue and is expected to be completed in early Summer, weather permitting.

Salim said work will be performed primarily between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, with some weekend work.

In spite of the limited scope of the project, Salim said a complete closure of S.H. 33 will be required for up to 25 days later in the project period.

“While this project is a pretty straightforward pavement rehabilitation, where it goes through the underpass there is not enough room to allow traffic to be shifted,” she said. “We’ll be doing a complete closure toward the end of the project which will require a signifi cant detour.”

She noted that the contract includes an incentive of $5,000 for every day the contractor is able to shave off that 25-day closure period, up to 10 days, and a similar penalty for every day beyond the 25 days.

“Potentially, we could be looking at just a 10-day closure and that’s our hope,” she said.

In addition to the full closure, traffic will be narrowed and shifted on both S.H. 33 and U.S. 81 for the duration of the project.

Additionally, some on-street parking on the fi rst block south of S.H. 33 will be closed while pavement is replaced there, she said.

“Our contractor has been in touch with the stakeholders along that route and is trying to accommodate them as much as possible,” Salim said. “We’re aware of the inconvenience this will create and want it to be as minimal as possible.”

Further ODOT advisories are planned to update the public on the progress of the project and to announce the start of the S.H. 33 closure when it is determined, she said.

Commercial truck traffi c will be detoured along a wide route around the closure, from U.S. 81 to S.H. 51, to S.H. 74 and then back to S.H. 33, Salim said.

“There will be delays and congestion for the entire project period and we just want motorists to be aware and alert for slowdowns,” she said.