Bridge projects in Wellston and Stroud

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  • Bridge projects in Wellston and Stroud
    Bridge projects in Wellston and Stroud
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Construction started Tuesday on the bridge over Captain Creek on SH-66B on the west side of Wellston.

“It’s an old truss bridge that is very narrow, very outdated structure and there are not a lot of truss bridges on the highway anymore,” Oklahoma Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Cody Boyd said.

Boyd said this old bridge is going to be completely replaced with a new modern bridge, including wider lanes and shoulders.

“It’ll be able to stand up for the next 70 to 80 years,” he said.

Boyd said the current bridge was built in 1932.

The cost of the project is $2 million and is being paid for completely with federal transportation funds, according to Boyd.

The contract for the project is 180 days and was awarded to L&N Bridge LLC in Antlers, Oklahoma.

“About six months is expected for the completion of the project,” he said. “We anticipate it being closed for the majority of the time. As soon as we can get the bridge reopen, when it’s safe for traffic, then we can get the bridge reopen.”

The road will be closed so Boyd said drivers will have to take Route 66 instead of SH-66B.

As construction begins in one part of the county, it continues on another.

The construction of the Salt Creek Bridge just north of Stroud on Highway 99 is going well, according to Paradigm Construction and Engineering Vice President of Operations Joshua Glenfener

“We are getting ready to pour more concrete on the box and get the first phase going,” he said. “The dirt is mostly in and now it’s just getting the concrete on the structure.”

The project will be completed in three phases.

In the first phase, is getting everything ready to detour traffic onto the new alignment.

Phase two is building the other half of the box, which will be the final alignment for the existing road.

“It basically just updates the existing road,” Glefner said. “After we move traffic on that, we move onto phase three.”

Phase three is building the shoulders and painting lines.

Although the project was supposed to start at the end of May, it was pushed back due to high water levels and officially started August 15.

The contract is a six month contract and has an estimated finish date around the end of Januray, weather permitting.

“It just kind of depends on what the winter does,” Glenfener said

State highway officials determined the current bridge is structurally deficient with a load rating of 43/100, making it functionally obsolete.

The cost of the project is $2.18 million. The Sac and Fox Nation provided 33 percent of the funds through a grant-in-aid through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.