LeFlore County Bridge To Get Emergency Repairs

The Oklahoma Transportation Commission Monday approved an emergency repair project for a bridge on State Highway 83 south of Poteau in LeFlore County.

A crew sent to fill potholes on the bridge on March 27, 2015 discovered extensive deterioration of the inner beams and immediately closed it to traffic.

Video sent to News On 6 by a viewer showed the deck of the bridge, which was built in 1937, flexing several inches as a truck passed over it.

The bridge carried traffic on the highway over the Kansas City Southern rail line. On Monday the transportation commission approved a contract for $265,000 with B & B Construction Service J.T., Inc. to repair the beams. The plan is to reopen the bridge by May 1, 2015.

In the meantime, drivers who normally cross it to get to Arkansas will have to take a 60-mile detour.

Visit the NewsOn6.com Bridge Tracker.