Jarrel Wade
Tulsa World
Section: A12
10/15/2008

The dual 60-foot monuments will be funded privately, Step Up Tulsa members are told.

The Interstate 44 expansion through Tulsa will include a $5 million beautification project with an art deco design and two 60-foot towers that will act as a gateway to the city, according to plans announced Wednesday.

The announcement was one of several made by Tulsa philanthropic leaders at a Step Up Tulsa meeting.

Step Up Tulsa, founded in 2005, is an initiative to give the public a unified voice to bring about change in Tulsa, working with the Funders Roundtable — a network of the region's largest grantmaking foundations — and the Tulsa Community Foundation.

The meeting also included several progress reports, speeches by community leaders, including Mayor Kathy Taylor, and a panel discussion on health care with Tulsa and state leaders.

Phil Lakin, executive director of the Tulsa Community Foundation, spoke at the meeting about the details of an art deco design plan for key intersections of the I-44 project.

The plan is to be officially announced next week.

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