ODOT Begins Deconstructing Lewis Avenue Bridge Over I-44

Within an hour of announcing that crews were to start taking down the old Lewis Avenue bridge over Interstate 44 Wednesday morning, the schedule changed.

The work began at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said, since traffic was already shifted to a portion of the new highway a couple weeks ago, the work won't affect traffic.

Citing safety concerns, ODOT is asking people not to try to come into the closed work zones around 51st or Lewis or try to park along rights-of-way to watch the deconstruction.

ODOT said the final phase of the $400 million project to replace the Lewis Avenue bridge and widen I-44 is expected to wrap up in early 2014.

9/23/2013 Related Story: ODOT: More Traffic Changes For I-44 Widening Project In Tulsa