State Officials Say Oklahoma Bridges Are Safe

Thursday, August 2nd 2007, 5:00 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma Department of Transportation officials sought to reassure the public Thursday that the state's bridges are safe for motorists. The assurances from department chief engineer John Fuller came one day after a massive bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Four are dead and many more are missing after that accident.

ODOT officials say the state doesn't have any steel arch bridges or spans as long as the Minneapolis bridge.

Fourteen people died in an I-40 bridge collapse at Webbers Falls in eastern Oklahoma five years ago. Since then, much attention has been paid to bridge safety in the state.

Fuller said that if an Oklahoma bridge got into a situation where it was not safe for motorists, the state wouldn't hesitate to close that bridge.

Officials say statewide 1,600 bridges need improvement. Almost 500 will be rebuilt completely over the next eight years.

Related stories:

8/2/2007 Bridge Failure Recalls Oklahoma I-40 Collapse

8/2/2007 Area Bridge Safety

8/2/2007 Official Death Toll At 4 In Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

8/2/2007 I-40 Bridge Collapse Survivors Reach Out To Minnesota Victims