Mon, Dec 01 2008
|
Published July 13, 2008 01:01 am - Bridge deck crumbling Span over Grand River needs replacement By Liz McMahan Assistant City Editor WAGONER — Stanley Young drives over the Richard D. Newkirk bridge on Oklahoma 51 east of Wagoner several times a month. Each time, he worries about his safety. “There is a bump — it will rattle your teeth,” Young said. “It doesn’t matter what you are driving either. There are lots of potholes in it. It is in bad shape.” Young said he slows down as he crosses the bridge, but worries that the drivers he is meeting may not know how rough the bridge is and that one of them might veer into oncoming traffic. Meredith Zehr of Wagoner recalled a time last year when there was “a hole as big as an oversized washtub” in the bridge surface. The bridge has problems, but none that are life-threatening, said Darren Saliba, district highway engineer. “It’s not dangerous — it’s very, very, very high maintenance,” he said. It requires constant patching where holes come in the concrete, Saliba said. Those holes often leave nothing but the concrete reinforcement rods between cars and the water below, but there is no imminent danger, he said. Cyrina Lang said there may be no imminent danger to traffic on the bridge — but being under the bridge may be another story. “Parts of it are coming apart,” Lang said. “I sure wouldn’t fish under it like I used to.” Saliba said highway department crews respond as quickly as possible to reports there are holes in the surface. As far as the bridge surface — the deck — goes, the Newkirk bridge is one of the worst in the eight-county Oklahoma Department of Transportation Division 1, he said. The bridge carries about 4,000 vehicles per day, with 16 percent of that being truck traffic, Saliba said. Bridge inspectors have given the bridge a sufficiency rating of 46.2, Saliba said. It is classed as functionally obsolete. 
•
Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.
More from the Homepage section
Economy affects charitable donations Well, I’m proud to be... ‘True’ or ‘transplanted,’ Okies celebrate Muskogee Child center celebrates owner’s 10th |
Print this story
E-mail this story
Post to del.icio.us
Discuss this story
 |
 |
 |
|||||||
|
|||||||
 |
|
|
© 2008, The Muskogee Phoenix P.O. Box 1968; Muskogee, OK 74402 (918) 684-2828 Email News tips & feedback |
|
Popular Business directory links - Muskogee Apartments | Muskogee Attorneys | Muskogee Auto Dealers | Muskogee Auto Parts | Muskogee Auto Repair | Muskogee Beauty Salons | Muskogee Car Rental | Muskogee Dentists | Muskogee Doctors | Muskogee Flowers | Muskogee Hotels | Muskogee Insurance | Muskogee Loans | Muskogee Mortgages | Muskogee Movers | Muskogee Pizza | Muskogee Realtors | Muskogee Restaurants | Muskogee Storage | Muskogee Tax Preparation | Muskogee Travel | Muskogee Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |