New I-244 Bridge

[Red Arrow]

I'll guess that when the river floods it would look really cool.

[YoungTulsan]

LOL, maybe Broken Arrow can come up with an extravagant $100M bridge over Haikey Creek.

[Townsend]

http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=13679888

ODOT Lands Federal Money To Rebuild Tulsa's I-244 Arkansas River Bridge

TULSA, Oklahoma --  The Oklahoma Department of Transportation says it's excited to report that it's landed almost $50 million from the federal government to replace the westbound I-244 bridge over the Arkansas River in Tulsa.

ODOT and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration signed the formal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Grant agreement Wednesday, December 15th, 2010.

ODOT says the grant was actually awarded in February, and will provide $49.4 million of the estimated $80 million needed to replace the I-244 bridge.  Now that the formal agreement has been signed, ODOT can start the project, which means putting it out for bid in March.

2/18/2010 Related story:  Feds Give ODOT $50 Million Grant For I-244 Bridge Project

According to ODOT the replacement bridge will be "multi-modal"; incorporating a new section of the westbound highway, two dedicated future rail lines and an area for bicycle/pedestrian traffic into a double-decker style bridge.

The federal money for the project is coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation, "Recovery Act dollars will pay for the replacement of the existing bridge, which is in deteriorated condition.  It requires excessive lane closures for maintenance work, creating delays for travelers and extensive costs for the state.  It is ranked as one of the worst five interstate bridges in the state, according to ODOT."

ODOT is already moving forward with construction.  It announced Wednesday that the left lane of east and westbound I-244 on the west leg of the IDL will be closed until further notice to build a median access road.

The road will be used as a future detour route for the I-244/Arkansas River bridge project.

[nathanm]

How long has the west leg of 244 been fully open after the rehab? 2 or 3 months, if that?

Edited to fix stupid missing word.

[SXSW]

The rendering is conceptual.  Hopefully that is just showing the multi-modal nature of the bridge.  I'm still hoping the architects the Kaiser Foundation hired are able to do something interesting with this bridge.  I also wonder why they need the pedestrian/bikeway?  Use the funds to build that to rehab the Avery Bridge for that use instead.  I hate seeing that bridge just sitting there, at least make it useful.

[TheArtist]

The rendering is conceptual.  Hopefully that is just showing the multi-modal nature of the bridge.  I'm still hoping the architects the Kaiser Foundation hired are able to do something interesting with this bridge.  I also wonder why they need the pedestrian/bikeway?  Use the funds to build that to rehab the Avery Bridge for that use instead.  I hate seeing that bridge just sitting there, at least make it useful.

I second that.

[dbacks fan]

I posted this on the "Tulsa's Exciting Rail" page, it has some good info without all of the technical info.

http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/meetings/a2010/100429/i-244presentation.pdf

[SXSW]

If we are going to get a utilitarian bridge the Marquam Bridge in Portland, OR (also a double decker) is a good example:

[Townsend]

Sadly that is what I see in our future too.

[Conan71]

The rendering is conceptual.  Hopefully that is just showing the multi-modal nature of the bridge.  I'm still hoping the architects the Kaiser Foundation hired are able to do something interesting with this bridge.  I also wonder why they need the pedestrian/bikeway?  Use the funds to build that to rehab the Avery Bridge for that use instead.  I hate seeing that bridge just sitting there, at least make it useful.

I see no reason it can't be used now other than the alignment with current roadways and the bum haven under the existing eastbound 244 bridge.  If it can't be used by pedestrians due to structural problems, then it should be torn down if it's in that bad of shape.

[Red Arrow]

If that's all the better we can do, let's save the money for something else and keep the bridge we have.  

[Red Arrow]

If it can't be used by pedestrians due to structural problems,

I believe that is the case but I cannot find a link this morning.

[SXSW]

Sadly that is what I see in our future too.

I don't know what the design budget is and how involved Kaiser's architects are in the process.  Hopefully we will all be pleasantly surprised.  Let's hope it doesn't look like the conceptual rendering, that is awful even if it's just to show how a multi-modal bridge can look.

[waterboy]

The Avery bridge isn't a lost cause. It has holes in it but seems plenty strong for bikes and people. Its just that if you make it totally a pedestrian bridge and it becomes heavily used, there is no strength in it for rescue vehicles, festivals etc. that it will inevitably need to be productive. Then, add it to the list of bridges that will need some recurring maintenance.

Someone (important and wealthy) needs to take this historic DECO bridge under their wing. I bet it will be more expensive to tear it out and haul it off than to make it suitable for limited use.

[SXSW]

The Avery bridge isn't a lost cause. It has holes in it but seems plenty strong for bikes and people. Its just that if you make it totally a pedestrian bridge and it becomes heavily used, there is no strength in it for rescue vehicles, festivals etc. that it will inevitably need to be productive. Then, add it to the list of bridges that will need some recurring maintenance.

Someone (important and wealthy) needs to take this historic DECO bridge under their wing. I bet it will be more expensive to tear it out and haul it off than to make it suitable for limited use.

Sounds like a good next project for the Kaiser Foundation once the river trails are complete.  What a great way to bring together the new trails on both banks by rehabilitating the Avery Bridge.  The only problem is crossing SW Blvd.  It would be great to see that bridge open again and the Route 66 museum finally built on the hill right there.