The state Transportation Department intends to spend close to $900 million in the next five years on still more improvements to rural bridges and county roads throughout the state, including southwest Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Transportation Commission recently approved an annual update to the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges Plan that calls for $863 million in expenditures in Fiscal Years 2025 through 2029.
Designed by the state Legislature to address deficient county infrastructure, the latest plan is set to replace or rehabilitate 176 county bridges – of which 79 are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete – and to improve 408 miles of roadway in the next five years.
“These projects represent a significant investment in transportation infrastructure and will undoubtedly have a positive safety and economic impact to our state,” said ODOT Executive Director Tim Gatz.
Since the plan’s inception in 2006, CIRB funding has made significant strides in helping counties to improve the condition and safety of the county roads for all Oklahomans, Gatz said.
For example, the Transportation Commission awarded a $7,967,800 contract July 1 for widening, grading and resurfacing east/west County Road 137 (Iris Street) from state Highway 44 extending east for approximately four miles to the Hobart city limits in Kiowa County.
Other CIRB projects planned in southwest Oklahoma include: • Comanche County: right-ofway work and utilities relocation in Fiscal Year 2025 in preparation for replacement in FY 2029 of a bridge on east/ west County Road 150 over the Little Washita River 6.2 miles north and 1.5 miles east of the SH-17/SH-65 junction at Sterling.
• Comanche County: right-ofway work and utilities relocation in FY 2025 in preparation for replacement in FY 2027 of a county bridge on Cache Road a mile and a half east of state Highway 115.
• Comanche County: replacement in FY26 of a bridge over West Cache Creek 1.1 miles south and four-tenths of a mile west of the junction of U.S. Highway 62 and state Highway 115.
• Comanche County: replacement in FY26 of a bridge on east/west County Road 165 over Rock Creek near Cache.
• Comanche County: replacement in FY 2028 of a county bridge on east/west County Road 157 over Beaver Creek eight-tenths of a mile south and eight-tenths of a mile east of Sterling.
• Comanche County: construction in FY28 of a new bridge on north/south County Road 246 spanning Persimmon Creek near Faxon.
• Tillman County: FY25 overlay county road at north/south 223-east/west 183 extending east for one mile, then south four miles on north/south County Road 224 near Frederick.
• Tillman County: bridge replacement in FY25 over Little Deep Creek on north/south County Road 227 approximately 2.5 miles north and three miles west of Hollister.
• Cotton County: replacement in FY26 of a bridge at a low-water crossing on north/ south County Road 257 over Deep Red Creek four miles west and a little over three miles north of the junction of state Highway 5B and U.S. Highway 70.
• Cotton County: replacement in FY26 of a bridge northwest of Temple on north/ south County Road 265 over an unnamed creek.
• Cotton County: replacement in FY28 of a bridge on east/west County Road 179 over a tributary to Sharon Stream northeast of Walters.
• Jackson County: bridge replacement in FY25 over an irrigation canal on east/west County Road 158 approximately four miles south and a tenth of a mile east of Blair.
• Jackson County: detention pond construction in FY25 for Ridgecrest Road project.
• Jackson County: bridge replacement in FY 25 on south County Road 197 over Turkey Creek six miles west of Altus and almost nine-tenths of a mile south of U.S. Highway 62.
• Kiowa County: bridge replacement in FY25 over Pecan Creek 12 miles south and 2.9 miles east of Mountain View, on east/west County Road 144.
• Grady County: replacement of a bridge on east/west County Road 142 spanning an unnamed creek approximately 5.5 miles southeast of Ninnekah, in Fiscal Year 2025.
• Grady County: FY25 replacement of a bridge on north/south County Road 294 over Winter Creek southwest of Chickasha.
• Grady County: a multimillion- dollar project in FY27 to replace a county bridge on Sara Road over Interstate 44.
• Stephens County: replacement in FY 2029 of a bridge over a tributary to the Little Beaver approximately six miles northwest of Marlow.
• Stephens County: replacement in FY29 of a bridge over East Cow Creek on Refinery Road 1.6 miles east of U.S. Highway 81.
• Greer County: bridge replacement in FY25 over an unnamed creek on north/south County Road 200 one mile east and one-tenth of a mile south of Hester.
• Greer County: bridge replacement in FY25 over an unnamed creek on North County Road 1870 half a mile south of East 1390 Road.
CIRB funds have been involved in nearly $2 billion in construction on the county transportation system, ODOT reported. “This represents a significant investment in the infrastructure of our state and speaks to the strong partnership between the counties, Construction Engineering Districts, ODOT, and many other entities who are involved with bringing this plan to reality each year,” Gatz said.