Bridge inspections continue across Oklahoma

A freak accident underneath an Oklahoma bridge killed a woman. And that has state officials looking at the safety of overpasses. <br/><br/>A chunk of concrete came loose above I-35 and smashed into a

Tuesday, June 15th 2004, 5:39 am

By: News On 6

A freak accident underneath an Oklahoma bridge killed a woman. And that has state officials looking at the safety of overpasses.

A chunk of concrete came loose above I-35 and smashed into a vehicle below, killing the driver. An inspection shows one in five Oklahoma bridges are structurally deficient. In addition to regular formal inspections, crews are now triple checking 450 bridges in Tulsa County alone.

But even when the problems are identified, it doesn't mean they'll be fixed. Gary Evans with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation: "We simply don't have the funding to go back and replace all those bridges we're trying to do the best we can with the funding that we're given."

ODOT says motorists should not feel unsafe. It they thought a bridge was in danger of collapsing, it would be shut down. They have one month to complete these special inspections, then the department will prioritize repair areas.

190 bridges across the state are set to be replaced in the next 8 years. 1,200 are considered structurally deficient.