Officials from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) plan to demolish the Arkansas River Bridge after Thanksgiving.
Traffic switched to the north bridge this week, according to ODOT District 1 Engineer Mattie Abbott. Traffic on the north bridge will be one lane in each direction.
Construction of the south bridge should be completed by the end of 2025, according to Abbott.
ODOT will replace two bridges that have crossed the river for more than 50 years. The new bridges are expected to be wider and stronger than the existing ones.
Work on the bridges, plus two bridges over railroad tracks east of the river, began in 2022. At the time, construction was estimated to take two years.
Abbott said she expects the south bridge replacement to take less time than the north bridge replacement. She said preparation to demolish the south bridge has already begun.
“There is a lot of demolition we have to do before we implode it,” she said, adding that the implosion is not expected to take place until after the holidays.
ODOT has completed a U.S. Route 62 overpass project at the Muskogee Turnpike, Abbott said.
Source: Muskogee Phoenix, ODOT
