Major I-40 bridge construction starts Tuesday

The Norman Transcript By Reese Gorman

September 6, 2020

The highly anticipated metro project to replace six Interstate 40 bridges is set to commence Tuesday.

The six bridges being replaced are located at Sunnylane Road, Southeast 15th Street and Sooner Road, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said in a press release. All of these bridges have required significant maintenance and multiple emergency repairs to keep traffic moving along the growing corridor between the Interstate 35/Fort Smith Junction and Tinker Air Force Base.

The bridges need to be replaced for multiple reasons, ODOT Public Information Manager Lisa Shearer-Salim said.

“The I-40 bridges in this area have essentially reached the end of their life span,” Shearer-Salim said. “Five of the six are structurally deficient, and the sixth bridge is [functionally] obsolete, meaning it’s not wide enough or high enough. There’s different variables that make these bridges functionally obsolete. So, essentially these bridges have reached the end of their lifespan, and it’s time to upgrade them.”

The project is scheduled to be completed in spring 2023, the press release said. Until then, there will be multiple closures along the freeway.

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