District 2 has 80 bridges listed on the National Bridge Inventory (NBI). In order to be on the NBI, a structure must be 20 feet in length. Therefore many culverts and tank car crossings in District 2 do not fall under the definition of a bridge.
Seventy of the 80 bridges on the NBI are inspected and rated by an engineering firm every other year. The other ten are inspected annually. Of the 80 bridges, 34 are rated functionally deficient, two are closed to traffic and one is rated functionally obsolete. This leaves only 43 bridges which are rated “not deficient.” We are doing all we can to correct this problem. In the last three years, District 2 has completed five major bridge projects and made repairs on
numerous other bridges.
Most of the money to replace bridges must come from state and federal programs. What the county receives on a monthly basis from the collection of fuel taxes has to be carefully budgeted just to cover maintenance costs for roads and bridges.
We are currently in the process of performing all of the steps required to qualify a bridge on Prairie Grove Rd., 2.9 miles west of Meridian, for funding. We plan to apply for funding next year from the federal Bridge Replacement (BR) program. Two other bridges have been
placed on Logan County’s five-year plan, which will help the projects qualify for funding.
In December 2011, we met with an attorney for the Iowa Tribe and explored the possibility of the tribe partnering with Logan County to replace deficient bridges within the tribe’s jurisdiction. Tribal boundaries in Logan County are the lands east of Indian Meridian Road.
After meeting with the attorney, we sent a list of ten bridges for the tribe’s consideration.
Another encouraging prospect is the possibility of a bridge program supported by Governor Mary Fallin. Within the next few weeks, contractors for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation are in the process of disassembling the old I-40 Crosstown Bridge in Oklahoma City. This deconstruction will produce 1,500 to 1,800 50-foot steel beams in good condition which can be reused. ODOT Director Gary Ridley has made the beams available to counties for the purpose of replacing structurally deficient bridges.
To insure counties have the resources they need to use the beams, Governor Fallin has asked the legislature to increase funding for the County Improvement for Roads and Bridges (CIRB) fund. By shifting the percentage of revenue from motor vehicle collections that is dedicated
to improving roads and bridges from 15 percent to 20 percent, an estimated additional $20 million will be generated per year for local infrastructure. The four bills introduced for this purpose have passed out of their respective legislative committees. Governor Fallin’s plan
is to have all currently identified structurally deficient bridges in Oklahoma replaced by 2019.
District 2 has requested 28 of the steel beams, which should be enough to replace four bridges. If CIRB funding is available to complete the bridges, it will provide tremendous help in reducing the number of deficient structures in rural areas of District 2.
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