West Tulsa Highway Bridge Rehab Project Set To Begin

A nearly $20-million bridge rehabilitation project begins May 31 and it is expected have a major impact on your Tulsa commute.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation the 23rd Street bridge in west Tulsa is being replaced.  The bridge goes over both Interstate-244 and an adjacent BNSF rail yard and has been hit four times in the past two years due to train derailments.

The project includes replacing three spans of the aging bridge; reconfiguring and adding crash pads to several of the bridge’s piers, and replacing the ramp bridge that runs from Interstate 244 to 21st Street. It also includes work on the 1,000-foot-long 23rd Street bridge and the 700-foot-long I-244 ramp bridge.

The first phase of work begins Tuesday, and ODOT says drivers will need to find alternate routes if you take that way to work in the morning.

Westbound I-244 off-ramp to 23rd Street will remain open during the four months the first phase is expected to take to complete.  

ODOT says to help with truck traffic, since there is a lot of them that use the 23rd Street bridge, the City of Tulsa has repaved 57th West Avenue where it connects to 21st and 41st streets.

The bridge, built in 1962, is on ODOT’s list of deficient bridges

2/15/2016 Related Story: Closing Of 23rd Street Bridge To Create Headaches For Tulsa Drivers