City council members Hugo Naifeh, Carla Gunn, Craig Henderson, Wes Galloway, Lou Martin, Jr., Marty Cummins, Mayor Reg Green, John Anderson, and Bruce Bledsoe listened intently as the “messenger” -from Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) delivered the bad news for the long-neglected Rock Creek Bridge on Ozark Trail (old Route 66). Bruce Martin, a Bridge Inspector from ODOT, was called upon to tell the powers-that-be at City Hall that the bridge that is on the National Registry of Historic Places is deemed no longer navigable by vehicles and is even risky for a large number of people, such as a bus-load of tourists or a family reunion.
Mr. Martin spoke in public as he is legally bound to do, telling the group that the bridge is at “Critical Finding” that if the there is a fracture of a critical major member, the whole bridge, may totally collapse. The City has 30 days to close the bridge, and 90 days to repair it. (It is closed to through traffic now) If after 60 days, nothing has been done, the ODOT authorities have to close it to all traffic. Officially, the bridge holds 4 tons, but the distribution is different for several people or a vehicle.
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