Property owners along a five-mile stretch of Texanna Road west of Duchess Creek Bridge were alerted by the Cherokee Nation Department of Transportation last week that a major reconstruction was going to take place.

The multi-million-dollar project includes widening that part of the roadway from 20 feet to 28 feet, adding a 5-inch overlay, turning sharp curves that have 90-degree angles into sweeping curves and improving drainage.

Many utility lines will be relocated, and some property owners will get new fencing.

Some driveways may be widened and covered with asphalt.

But the project, funded by a federal grant, is a long way off before ground is broken.

An environmental impact study must be done before ground is even broken, which could take a year or two.

Rights-of-way for the moving of utilities must be acquired, which could take another year or two.

Civil Engineer West Stewart, with Holloway, Updike and Bellen in Muskogee, admitted it will be a slow process.

“At times it will be painful,” said Stewart, who is designing the project for the tribe. “Road work is never fun until you finish. No one has been dissatisfied when we’re done.”

The center alignment of the new road will be the same as the old.

“We’re not changing the alignment,” he said. The project starts at 4240 Road and goes to Duchess Creek Bridge.

At Thursday’s meeting, the public was told that the plans being revealed are only 30 percent complete.

“It’s just on paper. It isn’t final,” Stewart said.

The meeting was to get input from property owners.

“Then we will review and adjust the plans,” he said.

“It’s a huge project. It will take a long time. It will take a year of work just to get to the right-of-way stage. Then there’s right of way acquisition.

“In the best case scenario we’re 4 – 5 years away to breaking ground.”

He emphasized that the road will be safer, value will be added to the land of the property owners and access will be a lot better.

The estimated cost of the project was not revealed.

The Cherokee Nation has had a Department of Transportation since 1995. They have worked with counties within the Cherokee Nation to improve the roads that serve tribal members, but non-tribal members as well.

Texanna Road lies within Commissioner Clifford Mcelhaney’s District 2.

Stewart said the project will make the roads a lot safer, but that won’t stop some people from being upset.

“We’re not trying to take advantage of anyone. But we can’t please everyone. Some will feel they got the raw end of the deal. But that’s not our intent.”