City preparing to launch Cache Road bridge upgrades over Wolf Creek

Work should begin within a month to repair damage on Cache Road bridges spanning Wolf Creek.

And, construction bids are expected to be let in June on another priority bridge project: rebuilding two bridges spanning Wolf Creek on South 11th Street.

The projects have been on the City of Lawton’s radar for years, as the City Council and city staff worked to identify funding to repair damage to the eastbound and westbound Cache Road bridges between Northwest 44th Street and Oak Avenue, and rebuild deteriorating bridges on South 11th Street between Interstate 44 and the city landfill. Both sets of bridges are weight-restricted, meaning vehicles above a certain weight may not use them.

For Cache Road, that means Lawton Fire Department apparatus must find alternate routes because they are not allowed to use the bridges.

City Council members got the ball rolling on that Cache Road project last week by approving a $1,851,666.36 contract with K&R Builders, adding another upgrade to an already busy construction area. Work on that structurally deficient bridge will include repairs to expansion joints and construction joints, replacement of bearing assemblies, and riprap. It also includes a new project: specialized removal of lead-based paint, then repainting.

That paint work prompted the council to approve an amendment in its professional design agreement with H.W. Lochner Inc., adding bridge painting inspection and additional construction phase fees. Lochner has prepared designs for three major bridge projects: Cache Road, South 11th Street, and the recently-completed bridge over a tributary for Wrattan Creek on Northeast 29th Street.

In a December report, Lochner noted there was some uncertainty to the start time on the Cache Road project because removal of the lead-based paint is a specialty task that only a limited number of firms do. He said painting also is the reason K&R Builders’ bid was 29 percent higher than the $1,434,622.60 engineering estimate. Bids on the project ranged from $1.85 million to $2.73 million.

Acting City Engineer Mike Jones said while city officials hope the project will move forward in 30 days, there have been some problems to work through, including relocation of transient individuals living under the bridge. Jones said two individuals were rehomed, which would allow the city to proceed with plans to clean out the channel under the bridges.

Preparatory work also will include “chasing down an old water leak” that has been evident in the area. Nearby commercial tenants say the problem is an old 8-inch cast iron line abandoned by the city, but city officials say the more likely culprit is an old roof drain.

“We’ll cap it,” Jones said, of preventive work that will be done once the source of the leak is identified.

Public Works Director Michael Watrous said city officials expect to have to continue monitoring the bridges for homeless people using the bridge and its steel supports as protection against the weather.

In the meantime, preparatory work is proceeding on the South 11th Street bridge project. Jones said firms have begun relocating utility lines on the east side of the bridges, but AT&T has said it will need extra time to complete its work.

On the existing schedule, the construction project should be let for bids in June, he said.

Work on both sets of bridges is important.

Ward 4 Councilman George Gill said the bridges are on a state watch list because of their deteriorating condition and weight limits.

The 90-year-old South 11th Street bridges are limited to 13 tons, meaning the City of Lawton has had to reroute he sanitation trucks that travel to the city landfill to dump residential and commercial waste. The extra mileage incurred by traveling on side roads to route around South 11th Street equates to an additional cost of $15 to $20 per load, Watrous said.