Bridges on South 11th Street, Cache Road priorities for Lawton’s new ad valorem program

Weight-restricted bridges on Cache Road and South 11th Street are Priority One for ad valorem revenue generated by a proposal that Lawton voters will decide.

While City of Lawton staff still is analyzing priorities for the $37 million in new road improvement projects outlined for the Ad Valorem Streets Improvement Program funding proposal, city officials already know which of the 13 bridge projects top the list for the $23 million allocated to bridges. In a report presented to the City Council last year, consulting firm H.W. Lochner identified bridges that need to be done as soon as funding is possible — and two sets of bridges that need to be done immediately.

Two bridges on South 11th Street, located between the entrance to the city landfill and Interstate 44, are “total replacements” because of their condition, while two Cache Road bridges between Northwest 44th Street and Oak Avenue will be repaired, said City Engineer Joseph Painter. Both sets of bridges cross the Wolf Creek channel and both were highlighted by Lochner for their deteriorating condition.

“We’re tearing them out and replacing them,” Painter said of the South 11th Street bridges. “The Cache Road bridges are maintenance and repair. Most of the work will be below the deck, underneath the bridge.”

City officials are aware of the inconvenience posed to Lawton drivers, but note there are less drivers than in past years, particularly on the South 11th Street bridges. Both sets of bridges are weight-restricted, meaning the total weight they can hold has been downgraded to the degree that large vehicles can’t use them. For the City of Lawton, that means fire trucks can’t cross the Cache Road bridges, while sanitation trucks have new routes to the city landfill because they can no longer cross the 13-ton-limited bridges on South 11th Street.

Painter said those bridges will be the more difficult project because they are narrow two-lane bridges. Unlike Cache Road, where traffic lanes will remain open during the work, the South 11th Street bridges must be closed and that is going to affect the mostly light-vehicle traffic that uses it.

“We’ll make a decision whether to close the road until we get it done, or build a ‘shoofly,’ a temporary go-around,” Painter said, adding the decision is tempered by the fact that most heavy vehicles no longer use that section of South 11th Street because of the weight restriction. “We’re anticipating shutting it down and getting the replacement done quicker.”

Painter said keeping one lane open is not an option for South 11th Street, but Cache Road is another story. Two separate, three-lane bridges span that section of Wolf Creek and Painter said it will be possible to leave some lanes open while others are closed to allow repairs to be done safely.

“We’re not really replacing the total structure,” he said.

Painter said because of the ease of that project and the fact design plans are done, the Cache Road bridges will be the first ones done when funding is available. It also will fit into work already being done in the area: installation of new waterlines. Design plans for the South 11th Street bridges are 60 percent complete, city engineers said in late August. Work still is being done on environmental studies and clearing of right of way issues, Painter said.

The projects will be bid separately, he said.

Initial analysis in late 2022 estimated a replacement cost of $6.73 million for the South 11th Street bridges and $1.3 million in repairs for the Cache Road bridges. Once rated for 33 tons, the 90-year-old South 11th Street bridges were downgraded to 13 tons in April 2022 and after that decision, city sanitation trucks were rerouted to Tinney Road and Pecan Road. The 58-year-old Cache Road bridges are restricted to 24 tons.

Members of the City Council’s Streets and Bridges Committee said those sets of bridges are the definite priority, and if voters don’t extend the Ad Valorem Streets Improvement Program, city officials still will have to identify other funding. Mayor Stan Booker said addressing those two sets of bridges is critical.

“We’re already having to divert heavy traffic because of the issues,” he said.