City of Tulsa and Tulsa Regional Chamber officials trumpeted the merits of the upcoming Improve Our Tulsa 3 capital improvements package during a news conference Tuesday.

The $814 million plan goes to voters Aug. 8. Hosted by the Chamber, Tuesday’s event focused on the $295.8 million portion of the package devoted to streets and transportation.

“Our highway network here in Tulsa is so large that you can build a two-lane road from New York to Los Angeles back to Tulsa and still have room to spare,” Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “We’ve also seen in the last 15 years what it looks like when we don’t properly maintain our streets.

“The best answer and the most simple one and the most honest one for why our streets are in bad shape is because they weren’t properly maintained for about 40 years…This generation of Tulsans has an opportunity to be maintaining our streets the right way, and Improve Our Tulsa is the vehicle by which we do it.”

Tom Biolchini, chair of Vast Bank and chair of the Chamber, said the approval of IOT proposals in 2013 and 2019 played critical roles in funding repairs to the city’s infrastructure.

“This package builds on the important work those voters supported,” he said. “This package is also crucial in the role of maintaining our city streets, which are vital for the smooth delivery of goods and safe commute of our workforce. Just like we understand the importance of maintaining our homes and businesses, we must also invest in preserving our streets.”

The biggest chunk of the streets and transportation portion ($93.8 million) would go toward an inflation adjustment for previously approved street projects. The two next largest allotments would be for citywide routine and preventive maintenance ($68 million) and street widening ($46 million).

“Streets are our priority,” Tulsa City Councilor Jeannie Cue said. “We want safe streets. We want people…if they want to bike, if they want to drive or if they just want to walk, we want great streets.

“Supporting the Improve Our Tulsa package is about taking care of our city. And we can do this without raising taxes,” she added.

One of the top reasons businesses come to or expand in Tulsa, according to conversations with CEOs, is because the city invests, Bynum said.

“They see everybody rowing in the same direction,” he said. “They see Tulsans believing in Tulsa and investing in the city. We want to keep the great momentum that we have moving forward, and this is a way on August 8 for voters to vote ‘yes’ and to maintain our infrastructure with no increase in your taxes.”