(PROJECT) Boulder Bridge

[TheArtist]

I have been downtown at all times; morning, night,and day, and honestly have NEVER seen any traffic. I don't get why we have to have any one way streets?

[booWorld]

quote:Originally posted by Oil Capital


And what day was that?  ;-)   So, it has been almost 10 years, not 10+ years.  (Apparently it was closed some time in 1998) The point remains.  Its absence has caused no discernible traffic problems.

After reading this article from the Tulsa World, I'm guessing it closed on August 18, 1998.  The last day to park on the bridge would have been August 17, 1998.

[PonderInc]

Update: Today (3/10/08), workers are putting up chain link fences to block the Boulder Bridge to pedestrian traffic.  (They have also put up very droll signs that say: "Bridge Out." Is there someone downtown who doesn't already know that?)

Does this mean that the city will begin demolishing the bridge?  Or did someone finally break a leg by stepping into that bottomless hole in the sidewalk...and this is the way to prevent further lawsuits?  (Hey, Tulsa, how about a utility cover instead?)

If memory serves, the 3rd Penny would cover about $5 Million of the total needed...and we would BEGIN collecting those funds in approximately 2010 or 2011.

Unless the city is beginning the demolition of the bridge, I don't understand the need to block off the bridge to pedestrians.  (Of course, I walk over the bridge on a fairly regular basis...so I'm biased.)  Anybody have any info/scoop?

I'm beginning to agree with those who say it makes more sense to work on a street-grade solution.  I can imagine Boulder lined with warehouses / art galleries / funky retail space / restaurants / bars (with a pedestrian bridge crossing over the tracks) all of it leading directly to the Old Lady and the Brady District.  

(Hey, everyone needs a dream...)

In the meantime, the best solution is to make 1st Street two-way.  This is the only easy way to allow traffic from the BOK arena to access the Main Street Bridge (an intuitive route...since the Brady district is centered at Main and Brady).  This would allow people to get from downtown to the Brady district without traversing the Denver Ave Jail / Bail Bonds / Salvation Army scenic route ("Go past the jail, homeless center and bail bond companies, and take a right...") and the Cheyenne Ave drug-dealing wall.  

Unless 1st Street goes 2-way, people who are scared of the Denver/Cheyenne corridors will have to go east all the way to Detroit to catch the next "decent" northbound bridge to Brady.  (Not the most logical route for arena-goers.)

[carltonplace]

I wonder if there was a recent structural that deemed the bridge unsafe for pedestrians?

[PonderInc]

I went by again tonight, and they did not install chain link fences as I had thought.  (It looked like they were unloading fencing when I went by at noon...but I guess I was wrong.)  The workers did say the bridge was to be "closed to pedestrian traffic" whatever that means.  

Not sure about structural issues...but if it's that bad, they need to tear it down.

[booWorld]

I walk over the bridge fairly often, but I didn't today.

I've wondered if the top deck of the bridge could be removed leaving the existing abutments and support columns in place to provide the foundation for a new, narrower deck.  A new bridge wouldn't need to be as wide.  A crossing at grade could work well also.  I'd like to see a comparison of long-term costs for both solutions.

I think 1st Street is wide enough to be converted to two-way traffic, but adjusting the timers on the traffic lights might be an issue.

[cannon_fodder]

Wow, they actually managed to make the status quo worse.  We had a bridge that looked like a staging area for an invasion and was off limits to traffic, but we could walk across it.  Now we have one that looks horrible and you can't drive OR walk across it.

This has been going on for so long it is even on the satellite images:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Tulsa,+OK,+United+States+of+America&ie=UTF8&ll=36.155791,-95.991443&spn=0.005804,0.010042&t=h&z=17

You think: Working Bridge or other Path to Entertainment District would be on some priority list with 2025.  Without some information on the plans, how is this a step in the right direction?  I'm starting to be very disappointed in the (lack of) development around the BOk center and it does not appear the City is helping the cause.

[dsjeffries]

Well, it's official now... The bridge will be closed off to pedestrians.  The pier caps have started to fall off and it's apparently making noises when people walk across it... Just how fat ARE Tulsans now? []

What's funny is that the City of Tulsa actually thinks they have a chance of getting state funds to replace it (like that will happen!).

Here's the article:

quote:Boulder bridge now unsafe for foot traffic, Tulsa World, By BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer, 3/12/2008

The Boulder Avenue bridge in downtown Tulsa has been permanently closed, even to pedestrians, after inspectors found it to be unstable.

City officials soon will decide whether to spend about $2.6 million to tear down the bridge completely.

"It's not repairable," said Paul Zachary, the Public Works Department's deputy director of engineering.

The bridge, which was closed to traffic in 1998 because of deterioration, stretches from First to Archer streets over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tracks.

It is a main thoroughfare for people walking from parking lots to their workplaces.

The bridge is now blocked with yellow caution tape and orange "Bridge Out" signs but soon will have chain-link fencing and a padlocked gate.

"The pier caps that support the outside sidewalk are starting to slough off, so it's a safety issue," Zachary said.

"People need to take this closing seriously."

The inspection was prompted by calls from pedestrians who reported hearing noises while walking on the bridge, he said.

If demolition is decided upon, the cost would come from the $4.8
million set aside in the 2006 third-penny sales-tax program as matching funds to replace the bridge.

The city last year applied for federal grant money through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to cover much of the $12 million replacement cost.

But ODOT officials notified the city this week that although the Boulder bridge is deficient, the federal money is tied up in state bridge projects and not being doled out to cities.

After all the 2006 third-penny projects are complete, Zachary said, there might be enough money left to replace the bridge.

"We'll have to see how that works out," he said. "If there's not enough there, the project will have to go into another funding package."

The 2006 tax program runs until 2013.

The bridge was built in the 1930s to provide access -- unhindered by trains -- to the north side of downtown.

I hope a big gust of wind knocks it down... Then, demolition costs are cut enormously []

[sgrizzle]

Yeah, go widen that bridge to nowheresville to 4 lanes, while this one is too bad for PEDESTRIAN traffic.

Just wait until we do some severe train/railway damage from falling debris.

[dsjeffries]

Great news!  The Streets Package includes money to replace the Boulder Bridge!

quote:A total of $78.5 million is earmarked to replace 27 city bridges, including the recently closed Boulder Avenue Bridge downtown. Another $7 million is set aside to repair 63 bridges, and $270,000 is allocated to seal and paint six more.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080615_16_A1_spancl953970

[TheArtist]

I had noticed that.  There is also some money for bike trails, landscaping type things... so makes you wonder if they are having that in there so they can do the bridge with some park type features along it to tie both sides together and make it an enjoyable walk across.

[MichaelBates]

quote:Originally posted by dsjeffries

Great news!  The Streets Package includes money to replace the Boulder Bridge!

We had money for that bridge in the 2006 Third Penny.

[cannon_fodder]

and I believe in V2025 a part of the Vision Walk.

/correct me if I'm wrong.

[blindnil]

The money included in the streets package for the Boulder Bridge is to supplement the money for the bridge from the Third Penny now that the project is a full replacement.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by MichaelBates

quote:Originally posted by dsjeffries

Great news!  The Streets Package includes money to replace the Boulder Bridge!

We had money for that bridge in the 2006 Third Penny.

Yes, but it's well known it was very little money and very low priority. don't let this turn into another low water dam argument that just because there is "some money" for a project, that must mean there is enough to do what they want to do.