Bridge is closed while its replacement is being built

OKLAHOMA CITY – A crossing in rural southwestern Jackson County is closed while a replacement bridge is being built on a state highway.

The bridge is on SH-6 southwest of Olustee and spans an unnamed creek 2.6 miles northeast of the junction of SH-34. The existing bridge was built in 1933, Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) records indicate, and is being replaced with a steel-reinforced concrete box bridge. Wyatt Contracting of Weatherford was awarded a $1,029,093 contract to build a new bridge and construct the new highway approaching each end of the structure.

Sgt. Jerrie Hill of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s Troop M told the Southwest Ledger the bridge was closed on Sept. 9, 2019, in preparation for the project. Work at the site started on Oct. 14, 2019, and was expected to be finished within 120 days, depending on the weather, ODOT records reflect. During construction, traffic on the affected section of SH-6 is being detoured north to US-62, west nine miles to Duke, then south on SH-34 for 11 miles to the SH-6 junction northeast of Eldorado.

The bridge replacement project is affecting quite a few motorists who travel SH-6, a route between Olustee, Eldorado and Quanah, Texas. Research indicates SH-6 between SH-34 and Olustee carries an average traffic volume of approximately 1,800 vehicles daily, Jackson Mayberry of ODOT’s Media and Public Relations Division reported.