Bridge, paving projects touted
BY GAVIN OFF World Data Editor
Saturday, August 15, 2009
8/15/09 at 3:43 AM
By the end of the year, west Tulsa County residents should welcome two new bridges and two newly repaved roads, one of which would have a bicycle lane, officials said Friday.
Crews have finished rebuilding one of the bridges, a $287,500 span on Campbell Creek Road just south of Oklahoma 51.
The county had been working on a replacement for about two years, said county engineer Ray Jordan, who added that the federal government paid 80 percent of the project's construction cost.
Jordan said the new Campbell Creek Road bridge — the site of a Friday press conference that highlighted the west county projects — replaced an old wooden span that was both in need of repairs and too small for the traffic it carried.
Jordan said the bridge had a 5-ton weight limit, forcing school buses and some Keystone Rural Fire Department trucks to take alternate routes.
"In some cases, Keystone volunteer firetrucks had to go 25 minutes out of their way," said County Commissioner Karen Keith, who represents that portion of the county.
Ray said he expects crews to begin working on a second bridge next month.
That bridge, on Wekiwa Road east of 209th West Avenue and just north of the Arkansas River, will replace a span that was washed out about eight months ago.
The new bridge will measure about 40 feet long by 35 feet wide and cost about $225,000, Jordan said.
Residents living near the bridge also have been forced to find alternate routes.
"The detour is not quite as long as the one on Campbell Creek, but it is an inconvenience," Jordan said.
Joining the new bridges are two repaving projects.
Crews will repave the Old North Road from Adams Road to 81st West Avenue, just north of Sand Springs. The project will continue south on 81st West Avenue to about 10th Street.
Jordan said the repaving, which will likely begin next month and be finished within 30 days, is estimated to cost between $180,000 and $200,000.
It includes a 6-foot-wide bicycle lane, he said.
"Old North Road is very crooked," Jordan said. "It winds, and when you have people driving faster than they're supposed to on a crooked road, they can come up on bicyclists real quick."
A final west county project will repave Avery Drive from Chandler Park to Oklahoma 97. Jordan said that project should start in October and cost about $225,000.
Gavin Off 732-8106
gavin.off@tulsaworld.com
