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Two county bridges chosen for CIRB five-year plan |
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Wednesday, 09 July 2008 |
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PDN photo by Gayleen Draper 
From left, Rep. Neil Brannon, Carmelo Perez, Lance Smith, Eddy McIntosh and Bradley Manhalter look over the plans for the Caston Creek bridge project. By Gayleen Draper, News Reporter
Bridges over Caston Creek on Pocohontas Road near Wister and Brazil Creek on Red Bank Road near Bokoshe will soon be under construction as a result of funding from the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges Program (CIRB.)
The announcement was made Tuesday at the Caston Creek bridge by LeFlore County Commissioner Lance Smith and Director of Circuit Engineering Eddy McIntosh. Also attending the press conference were Perez Engineering Chief Engineer Bradley Manhalter, Perez Engineering owner Carmelo Perez and Representative Neil Brannon.
“We want to extend our appreciation to Representative Brannon and to Senator Kenneth Corn for helping to make these projects possible,” stated Smith.
The estimated construction cost of the project is $4 million.
Perez Engineering has been selected to do the design, specifications and construction plans for the projects.
The projects placed in this new program are high priority projects that are generally cost prohibitive to the county. The program is financed primarily with state funds and may be augmented as provided by law, with federal funds and funds from other sources which may be available for county roads and bridges.
The existing bridge over Caston Creek is 459 feet long, consisting of three 153' long pin-connected Pratt through truss spans, built in 1920, with an 18' clear roadway width (one lane).
A re-evaluation of the Oklahoma Historic Bridge Survey was completed in May 2007 by the Cultural Resources Program of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Phase 1 of the re-evaluation designated the Caston Creek bridge as being eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
For this reason the old bridge may be left open for pedestrians but closed to traffic and the new bridge would be constructed next to it.
“This is more costly but I would rather leave up the old bridge rather than take it down,” Smith stated.
The existing bridge over the Brazil Creek project is 153' long and was built in 1911 with a 16' clearance roadway width (one lane).
It is the only bridge of this type in the State of Oklahoma. Records show that the bridge was built by the Central States Bridge Company and is also eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 July 2008 )
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