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The Oklahoma Department of Transportation has delayed the resurfacing project planned for U.S. Highway 60 through Bartlesville from next year to 2027 due to economic conditions.

The project consists of resurfacing Highway 60, also known as Adams Boulevard, from U.S. Highway 75 west to the city limit. It was scheduled for completion next year but has been pushed back due to funding issues.

ODOT, which owns and maintains all state highways in Oklahoma, says inflation is to blame for the delay.

"The Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s Eight-Year Construction Work Plan is re-evaluated annually to create a fiscally responsible strategy to address the state’s most pressing needs with available funding," the ODOT Communications team told City Beat last week. "Oklahoma, like many other states, has taken inflation and the changing economic climate in supply costs into consideration and adjusted our plans accordingly. Construction costs have increased more than 60 percent since 2022. While some projects have been redistributed in the most recent plan update to accommodate these increases, no projects were removed from the Eight-Year Construction Work Plan."

ODOT says project dates listed in the plan are considered tentative and are subject to available funding and other factors.

The US-60 project in Bartlesville was scheduled in the 2024-2031 plan for FFY (Federal Fiscal Year, which begins Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30) 2026 and has been rescheduled to FFY 2027 in the 2025-2032 plan due to the economic conditions. (The Utility Relocation portion of the project was scheduled in FFY 2025 in the 2024-3031 plan, and the right-of-way acquisition portion is currently scheduled for the current fiscal year, 2025.)

ODOT maintenance crews will continue making repairs as deemed necessary until a contracted project begins, ODOT officials say.