Norman — The University of Oklahoma will take care of the landscaping element of the Lindsey Street widening project, a move consistent with the university’s commitment to sprucing up its grounds.
Allen King, the landscape director at OU, said beautifying the campus is an important tool for luring prospective students to the school. He also said the landscaping is a source of pride to current students, faculty and alumni.
“It is vitally important to our university,” he said. “As such, it made great sense for the university to take an active interest in the design, maintenance and implementation of landscaping improvements in the Lindsey Street corridor adjacent to our campus.”
Because the landscaping plans are in their early stages, King said he wasn’t sure exactly how much the project or annual maintenance will cost.
City of Norman Public Works Director Shawn O’Leary said the project, estimated to cost about $5 million, will span east from Jenkins Avenue to Classen Boulevard. He said the city and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation will split the cost of the project.
O’Leary said Lindsey Street, which currently is two-laned in the project area, will become a four-laned roadway, with some sections featuring five lanes.
“It will have a center median through many parts of it, like the Chautauqua (Avenue) project,” he said.
O’Leary said the new corridor will feature 10-foot-wide biking and hiking paths and that none of the historical structures associated with the Duck Pond will be affected by construction plans.
Work on the project is expect to get under way in the fall or winter of this year, O’Leary said.
O’Leary said the Lindsey Street project is the last in a series of corridor improvement bonds passed in 2005, which included work along East Main Street, Rock Creek Road and 36th Avenue NW near Sooner Fashion Mall.
Andrew Knittle 366-3540 aknittle@normantranscript.com
