Drivers Feel Safer On New Muskogee County Bridge

Muskogee County is getting ready to cut the ribbon on a new river bridge making everyone's trip safer. County commissioners say the 93-year-old single-lane bridge in Fort Gibson needed to be replaced.

The bridge is a crucial link between Fort Gibson and Okay.  The new bridge will have two lanes and can support larger truck loads.  

For nearly a century-people squeezed by on this a one-lane bridge in Fort Gibson. Without it, some would have to take a 45 minute detour or drive over the dam to get where they're going.

Travis Sloat uses the bridge at least two times a day. He understands why a newer bridge needed to go in.

"The old bridge, I think it was probably safe, but you didn't feel safe when you went across it," said Travis Sloat, Okay resident. "And if you had to stop on it or if more than two or three people got on it at a time you just kind of felt - ah man, but the new one incredibly safe, safer, feels safer."

Muskogee County Commissioner Ken Doke says officials got the wheels moving on this project 10 years ago and secured state funding for the estimated $6.5 million project.

"These projects like this, it's not just a matter of replacing something old with something new - this is a matter of public safety," he said.

 Doke says the new bridge can safely support truck loads and school buses.
 
"It's been a long time in the making so to see a project like this that's been in the works for such a long time to be complete, it's a breath of fresh air I promise you," Doke said.

Drivers like Travis Sloat are already enjoying the new span.
 
"It's incredibly convenient," he said. "Ever since I've been a kid it's been a one-lane bridge."

On Tuesday, they'll hold a ribbon cutting at 1 p.m. at the bridge. The old bridge I'm told will be dedicated back to the City of Fort Gibson as a walking bridge.