Tulsa World
By DAVID HARPER World Staff Writer
Published: 7/30/20112:29 AM
Last Modified: 7/30/20115:28 AM
Two left lanes on the westbound Broken Arrow Expressway were closed near Pittsburg Avenue for bridge deck repairs on Friday after a small hole that developed in the center lane caused big problems for motorists.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said the two left westbound lanes will remain closed until Saturday morning and were urging motorists to find an alternate route for their rush-hour commute Friday evening.
ODOT officials believe the problem to be "more age-related rather than a direct result of the heat," but they said crews were going to keep the lanes closed overnight to monitor the effect of the high temperatures on the repaired area before reopening them to traffic Saturday.
Eugene Eichelberger, 71, said he was driving west at about 60 mph on the highway between the Yale Avenue and Harvard Avenue exits when he ran over the hole, damaging his tires, about 1:45 p.m.
He said he was in the center lane, didn't have enough time to stop and couldn't avoid the hole because of traffic on both sides of him... FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Sat, July 30, 2011
by John Cox