ODOT announce earlier this week that the historic Belford Bridge across the Arkansas River about 5 miles west of Ralston will be replaced.
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Press Release
Monday, August 3, 2020
Oklahoma counties set to benefit from updated roads and bridges improvement plan
A project to replace the more than 2,000-foot-long Belford bridge in Pawnee County, pictured here, is included in the Oklahoma Department of Transportation's updated County Improvements for Roads and Bridge plan approved by the Oklahoma Transportation Commission at its Monday, Aug. 3 meeting. The narrow county bridge is one of the only crossings of the Arkansas River in the area and is rated structurally deficient and load posted to five tons.
Partnership between the state and the counties allows for projects like the Belford bridge over the Arkansas River west of Ralston in Pawnee County to be addressed. Load-posted signs went up after the latest inspection of the more than 2,000-foot-long bridge, limiting the route to less than five tons, which closes the bridge to school buses and truck traffic. If it were left to one county to plan and fund the replacement of the bridge, it likely would not happen.
"The Belford bridge and projects like it symbolize how significant the CIRB program is for sustaining the transportation access Oklahomans rely on daily," said Shelly Williams, ODOT Local Government division engineer. "This bridge has been in need of replacement for many years. Rebuilding this connection could not happen without the CIRB."
The $13.3 million bridge replacement project is slated for SFY 2025 in the plan, but due to the needs of the community and the urgency to replace the structurally deficient bridge, it is anticipated to go to construction earlier than planned when the preconstruction requirements have been met. The CIRB partnership fosters collaboration and coordination between the state and counties to address issues like this one.
I had the chance to drive across this bridge last month. I saw 2 trucks and 4 cars in the 15 minutes I was there (a lot for a road that doesn't directly connect any population centers).
Looking WB. First photo shows a FedEx truck that I had to wait for to cross.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50151517888_4325ec3150_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jpHD1U)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50152065356_bbd46168f1_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jpLrL1)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50152303407_ba77b46143_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jpMEwk)
Looking EB:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50152303372_effffd7236_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jpMEvJ)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50152065391_a83ee2dc6c_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jpLrLB)
True, unfortunately many of the ancient bridges are still expected to handle traffic. It's good to see that this bridge is on the fast track to be updated. Not being able to support school buses is a big deal in this part of the state.