Lane Closures Planned As Work To Replace Aging Tulsa Highway Bridge Begins

Work to replace a 60-year-old highway bridge in Tulsa begins Monday morning.

One lane of the ramp from northbound US 169 to westbound I-244 and US 412 will be closed for resurfacing starting at 9 a.m. on Monday morning. The spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, T.J. Gerlach, said the goal is to improve driving conditions while a contractor works to replace the entire aging bridge.

"This bridge is what is known as functionally obsolete which just means that it is not in any danger of falling down, it just does not meet current design criteria," Gerlach said. "There are no shoulders on there, the curve is pretty sharp, so the new bridge is just going to be up to more modern standards and it is going to have new updated lighting as well."

Construction of the new bridge is expected to be finished by next spring. Gerlach said resurfacing will take about a week with the goal of reopening both lanes ahead of rush hour next Monday morning.

"As with any work zone we want people to use extra caution," he continued saying, "Put the phone down, pay attention to the road, and then there will be a reduced speed limit as well, so we want to make sure that people heed that speed limit."

The project is part of ODOT's eight-year construction work plan and will cost about $19 million to complete.