Record-setting April rainfall continues to impact a major infrastructure project along the Red River, where floodwaters reached the underside of a new Interstate 35 bridge currently under construction.
The $480 million project, a joint effort between the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Texas Department of Transportation, includes construction of a new bridge and widening of I-35 across both states.
Dirt work on new approaches is well underway, but rising waters have damaged construction equipment left in the riverbed.
Motorists crossing the existing bridge reported seeing partially submerged machinery after floodwaters overtook portions of the site. The Oklahoma portion of the project accounts for approximately $37 million.
“This is the number one fastest growing corridor for population and job growth in the United States,” said ODOT Executive Director Tim Gatz, in a statement. “It’s got our attention—it has to have our attention.”
Gatz told Transportation Commissioners last fall that daily traffic on I-35 at the Red River could grow from 150,000 vehicles to 1.4 million over the next 20 years. Oklahoma is currently widening a 10-mile stretch from the river northward, part of a longer-term $2.5 billion plan.
The Oklahoma Transportation Commission is scheduled to meet this week, where Gatz may provide updates on flood impacts.
Source: Okenergytoday.com, Z94.com
