United States Postal Service Makes Multi-Million Dollar Upgrades To Tulsa Sorting Facility

The United States Postal Service received upgrades at its downtown Tulsa location as part of the agency's "Delivering for America" plan.

The USPS spent $54 million to upgrade facilities in the Tulsa area. The goal is to enhance the postal service's processing time, transportation, and delivery.

The snail mail might be picking up some speed. Renovations and new equipment inside the USPS facility are expected to make the mail sorting and delivery process smoother, and Tulsa is the first city in the state to get the upgrades.

"Instead of waiting, or carriers starting earlier or later, now the productivity has increased because employees are able to work the mail faster, get it to the carriers, the carriers are able to get it to the street to the customers quicker," said Tulsa Sorting and Delivery Center station manager, Eugene English. 

A new machine, the small delivery unit sorter, will be able to process 3,200 pieces of mail every 45 minutes, expediting delivery and cutting down labor hours.

"It has cut down sorting time for approximately 8 hours a day, English said. "So we maybe used to have about six or seven people doing the job, now we have three."

While multi-million-dollar upgrades were made inside, others are planned for the streets. USPS spent $13 million to replace its aging fleet of vehicles with more modern ones, some of which would be electric.

"In total, the postal service will deploy more than 106,000 new vehicles in the next five years, reflecting our commitment to modernization and efficiency as we continue to explore the feasibility of achieving 100% electrification for our delivery vehicle fleet," said Patrick Ecker, executive manager of fleet strategy support. 

The USPS said of that $54 million, $24 million would go towards renovating existing facilities, and another $400,000 would help build two new facilities.

The USPS said along with these upgrades, further investments into the facilities could be expected in the following years as part of its strategic plan.