Work on the Bevan Creek Bridge on North 4000 Road, known by most as Old Highway 75, is coming along well since it was closed down last week so it could be replaced.

Mike Dunlap, Washington County's District Three Commissioner, said rough grading has taken place. He said crews could be driving some piles soon, because they have a goal to pour concrete for the wing walls towards the end of the week. If they keep up the good work, they could be setting beams in the middle of this month of Febraury.

Commissioner Dunlap said that crews have worked really hard through gross weather conditions, which is why they have made so much progress. He said he is thankful for their hard work.

The projected 90-day Bevan Creek bridge project costs $850,000 with Federal and State of Oklahoma money involved. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation bid the project in November 2019, and a pre-construction meeting took place in early January.

The reason for the work on N4000 Road between West 3600 and West 3700 Roads is that the old bridge (located just to the south of Ramona) was too narrow for traffic. Commissioner Dunlap said big trucks with extended mirrors cannot cross the bridge at the same time. He said the Bevan Creek bridge replacement project has been on the list for quite some time, because the bridge has been dubbed "functionally obsolete."

The new bridge will meet the standard bridge width requirements, and it will be able to hold 40-tons. Commissioner Dunlap said the main obstacle is the weather. He explained that crews will not work during the day if it is raining. They will also be limited when it comes to pouring concrete when temperatures are around 40 to 45-degrees. There are usually specifications in contracts for work like this as to what temperatures are required for crews to pour concrete, which is an ODOT regulation.

Traffic on North 4000 Road will be detoured onto North 3990 Road. This will take drivers three miles around the work.

Commissioner Dunlap said there are 500 to 600 cars in the area per day. He said it is not like 2900 Road going into Ochelata that has approximately 2,000 cars on it per day. It is also not like the Adams and Silver Lake Road intersection in Bartlesville, which sees 35,000 cars a day.

Technicalities aside, Commissioner Dunlap said the Bevan Creek bridge project excites him. This bridge is part of his five-year plan, and it will be the eleventh bridge he has had work in in his 13-years in office.

Another bridge project is anticipated to begin this summer as it will be out for bid in May 2020. Commissioner Dunlap said there will be another bridge down the line this year, which will make 13 bridges in 14-years of service to Washington County.

The Green Lake bridge project is the project that could take place this summer. Commissioner Dunlap said very few people will ever see it as it sits along the far southeast portion of Washington County. He said this is also two miles north of the Tulsa County line and one mile east of the Rogers County line. The Green Lake Bridge spans over 110-feet over a big body of water. The estimate for that project is around $1-million.

The other bridge is much smaller. It is 30-feet long and it is on County Road 4020. To be more specific, this bridge is approximately one mile north of the Tulsa County line, and Commissioner Dunlap said people may cross over the bridge to get into the west side of Collinsville.

For the original story with phone comments from Commissioner Mike Dunlap, click here.