Green Country Commuters Wary Of Crumbling Highway 18 Bridge

A Green Country bridge is in such disrepair, some people are scared to drive across it.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation has listed the Highway 18 bridge between Ralston and Fairfax as structurally deficient. It's just one of more than 550 on ODOT's list of bad bridges.

Structurally deficient means the bridge has outlived its design life, and while ODOT has put a lot of time and effort into maintaining the bridge, it's now passed the point of no return.

The silver paint on the old Highway 18 bridge has chipped away and rust has settled in its place.

But it's not the paint that worries Ralston resident Wendy Caudill. She said her biggest fear is: "That it's going to cave through, that it's going to fall through."

The bridge was built in 1935. It crosses the Arkansas River and is the main thoroughfare connecting Fairfax and Ralston.

But the wear and tear of big trucks and farm equipment crossing the river has taken a toll.

Much of the concrete is crumbling. In some spots, rebar is all that's left to show.

"It don't feel safe," said Fairfax resident Bob Davis.

Davis crosses the bridge as many as 14 times a day. He said he's watched the damage go from bad to worse.

"When cars come over, you'll see chunks of concrete fall off and it's kind of scary at times," he said.

"When you're driving, you see through it, you can see through it," Caudill said.

The Highway 18 bridge is one of thousands in dire straights. ODOT says there are nearly 23,000 bridges in the state and more than 4,100 of those are considered structurally deficient.

Cities and counties are responsible for the vast majority of those bad bridges, not ODOT.

In a year's time, more than 1,100 deteriorating bridges have been brought up to speed.

"That's one of the things we take very seriously is safety. That's why we have people out in the fields to address safety concerns," said ODOT engineer Randle White.

ODOT workers are on the bridge regularly to patch holes, although the last inspection was in 2011.

White said the department has shut down bridges before and would do it again if the bridge wasn't safe.

ODOT says it plans to build a brand new bridge southeast of the current Highway 18 bridge.

The $7.3 million construction project is expected to start early next year and could take up to two years to complete.

The News On 6 Bridge Tracker shows you the status of the bridges you cross every day.