Expansion Joint Pops Loose, Slows Traffic On I-244 Over Arkansas River

A broken expansion joint in the southbound lanes of the I-244 bridge over the Arkansas River caused a traffic backup on the IDL Friday afternoon.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Tulsa Fire are on scene.

Fire officials say a semi and a car drove over the broken joint causing flat tires and damage to both vehicles.

There are no reports of any injuries.

It happened at about 12:40 p.m.  Traffic has been reduced to one lane. 

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is on scene and will make a temporary fix, which involves cutting off and removing the metal plate.

That lane was already scheduled to be closed on Saturday and ODOT says it will work on the expansion joint then.  

ODOT says the problem was not heat related.