TULSA, Okla. — It will cost more than $180 million to refurbish and restore levees in Tulsa County and now that money is finally on the way.

Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill cutting a check for the repairs.

With a swipe of the pen, the governor takes a major financial step toward restoring the levee system in the Tulsa area.

“These levees protect a lot of households like 6,200 households, 3,000 businesses. We saw what this excessive flooding does,” Stitt said.

The levees were built in the 1940s and since that time, there has been little done to properly maintain them.

In 2019, after severe storms hit the area, the governor said he learned just how perilous the situation had become.

“Vice President Pence came to Tulsa to view the damage so we put it on his radar at that point and it took this long to get it across the finish line,” Stitt said.

The governor thanked politicians from the state and federal levels who did the work behind the scenes to make this day a reality.

“The state put in $50 million and we got about $137 million from the federal government to redo these levees and it’s going to protect Tulsa for generations to come,” Stitt said.

Officials are still working on a date for the project’s completion.