TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Cherokee Nation officials joined leaders from the city of Tahlequah and Cherokee County to cut the ribbon on a road improvement project on Tuesday, June 30.
Cherokee Nation Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner, Chief of Staff Todd Enlow and Community Services Executive Director Michael Lynn met with Tahlequah Mayor Sue Catron and Cherokee County Commissioner Clif Hall to celebrate the road work, which was completed on East Downing Street and Nalley Road. Both roads provide access to the tribe’s new outpatient health center on East Ross Street.
“With the Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center providing improved patient access to health care and an increase in jobs, this was a good time for the roads around the health center to be upgraded to handle the increase in traffic,” said Deputy Chief Bryan Warner. “Partnerships like these with the city of Tahlequah and Cherokee County continue to show how we can greatly improve infrastructure by working together.”
Cherokee Nation contributed over $118,000 to the project, which consisted of widening the narrower parts of the road and adding drainage to better divert water when it rains.
“This was a great opportunity for us to work together and to do something that benefits the county, city and Cherokee Nation,” said Tahlequah Mayor Sue Catron. “Those are opportunities that we are looking for and I’m very pleased how this project has turned out.”
Planning for the project began last winter and completion took six days in June.
“The partnership the county has formed with Cherokee Nation is priceless in my opinion,” said Cherokee County Commissioner Clif Hall. “It’s something I want to continue for as long as I’m in office. Cherokee Nation is a great entity to work with. We can’t say enough how much we appreciate Cherokee Nation.”