Deteriorating bridges on South 11th Street, Cache Road to be prioritized

Deteriorating bridges on Cache Road and South 11th Street will be the priorities if voters agree next month to extend Lawton’s existing Ad Valorem Streets Improvements Program.

But even if voters don’t, the City of Lawton still has to identify funding for those structures crossing Wolf Creek because of their deteriorating conditions, members of the City Council’s Streets and Bridges Committee said Monday.

The group was appointed by the full council earlier this summer to coordinate priorities for road and bridge work that could be funded if Lawton voters agree to provide an additional $60 million by extending the existing ad valorem road program. Mayor Stan Booker said the committee will work with city staff to ensure attention remains focused on projects that are the most critical.

Ward 4 Councilman/Committee Chair George Gill said bridge priorities are easy: the two-lane bridges on South 11th Street, crossing Wolf Creek just north of the entrance to the city landfill; and bridges over Wolf Creek on Cache Road, between Oak Avenue and Northwest 47th Street. City engineers and administrators said the $6.73 million worth of work is critical because of the bridges have deteriorated to the point that all four are weight-restricted. That means sanitation trucks — and other heavy vehicles — cannot cross the South 11th Street bridges, while city fire trucks may not use the Cache Road bridges.

Initial analysis in late 2022 said the Cache Road bridges can be handled with an estimated $1.3 million in repairs, but the South 11th Street bridges must be replaced, at an estimated cost of $5.43 million. Once rated for 33 tons, those 90-year-old South 11th Street bridges were downgraded to 13 tons in April 2022, while the 58-year-old Cache Road bridges are restricted to 24 tons.

That downgrade has resulted in some maneuvering by the City of Lawton. Because its sanitation trucks exceed the weight limit for the two South 11th Street projects, those vehicles have been rerouted to the city landfill via Tinney Road and Pecan Road. Gill said it is crucial to tackle those bridges as soon as possible, adding the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) has indicated it might consider closing the South 11th Street bridges to all traffic, which is why that set of bridges is his No. 1 priority.

“If not, they’ll shut it down or attempt to,” he said.

Some work already is being done in anticipation of the bridge repairs, including a contract awarded last year to H.W. Lochner to do design work.

The firm has completed designs for the Cache Road bridges, said city engineer Shivani Rani, meaning the city is ready to go as the council identifies funding for the work. That project will include work on the bridge bearings and joints, as well as decking, Rani said.

“We will patch it,” she said, of work needed to get that bridge back into top shape.

Because the bridges are located in the westbound and eastbound lanes of one of the city’s busiest arterials, work will be done one lane at a time to ensure the bridges remain open.

That’s not true of the South 11th Street project, which will mean completely closing the bridges for the estimated year-long construction project. Rani said most heavy vehicles already have been rerouted around the bridges. Design work on that project is about 60 percent complete.

That isn’t the only bridge-related design work being done. Public Utilities Director Rusty Whisenhunt is coordinating designs for a pedestrian bridge to be erected on the south side of the Cache Road bridges as part of a waterline replacement project along Cache Road. While the bridge will help pedestrians, it also will serve as the support structure for the new segment of waterline.

Gill said the committee’s plan is to present its recommendations on bridge priorities to the council. In the meantime, he directed city staff to look 11 other bridge projects suggested for $23 million in ad valorem funding, setting priorities for them. City staff also will set priorities for five streets projects suggested for the $37 million in ad valorem revenue, then bring both lists back to the committee for review.