The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is planning to build a new and improved Roosevelt Bridge.
Mills Leslie with ODOT said it’s all because of the public, who made their opinions known during meetings this past summer.
“We’re so ready to do something with that bridge to improve it,” Leslie said. “We got so much feedback, so positive and it was overwhelming. Everyone did see that a new bridge was needed and they wanted a four-lane to the south and to keep the existing [bridge]. So that’s what we’re trying to do and produce.”
Built in 1942, the Roosevelt Bridge has approximately 8,500 vehicles using it daily.
“The bridge is safe now, but widening it to four lanes with shoulders and expanding it will make it a lot safer for people,” Leslies said. “It will be a safe place for people to pull over should something happen and emergency responders will have a lot… quicker access.”
According to Leslie, the new bridge will still be connected to Highway 70. It will be built further south than the current bridge. The current bridge won’t be demolished but it is unknown what it will be used for.
“We’re hoping to find someone to take ownership of the bridge and take it off our hands. being historic, and being something that a group could adopt,” Leslie said. “Or it could become a pedestrian bridge, a fishing bridge, whatever they’d like it to be.”
ODOT is still working on the funding source for the new bridge, and it is estimated to cost between $150-200 million.
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Source: KXII.com
