WAGONER COUNTY, Oklahoma — Some neighbors in a residential area in Wagoner County say road work is causing them concern. They say some road closures are being ignored and it is affecting their homes.

“It’s annoying,” said Richard Elias.

Whether he’s getting the mail, tidying up his yard or cleaning his driveway, Richard Elias likes his home to be in order. Sitting on the corner of 101st Street and 225th East Avenue, you can see the roadblocks at the neighborhood’s exit ramp. Elias says people aren’t obeying the roadblocks and are making a mess near his home, where he’s lived for 40 years.

“We’re not going to stop these people,” Elias said. “They just do what they want. I’m angry most of the time.”

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation says the area has been blocked off for a sewer line installation. While that work is being done, the road is still cut through by a depression, so the barriers are still in place. Elias says drivers are ignoring them and it’s affecting his property. Elias says some cars are turning around in his front yard, leaving ruts, while others drive through his property to avoid the barriers.

“They just move it and bounce up and down the road, their cars just jolt around and it doesn’t seem to bother them,” Elias said. “Here they’re invading people’s yards, trashing the property and just driving on like nothing’s happened.”

ODOT says they don’t have a timeline for when the barriers will be removed, but they are part of a larger road widening and roundabout project. The $7 million project is coming with some delays as contractors wait to move utilities. ODOT says they are about halfway through the work, which began last November.

Elias wants people to follow the rules.

“I don’t know why they can’t understand these barriers,” Elias said.

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