Bridge over I-35 OK’d in Moore

MOORE — The Oklahoma Transportation Commission has awarded an $11.3 million project to build a SW 34 Street bridge over Interstate 35 in Moore.

“This is a bridge we’ve been working on with the city for a number of years now ... which

will help the economic development in the City of Moore,” said Mike Patterson, executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

Moore City Manager Brooks Mitchell said the city needs another bridge over I-35 to divert some of the traffic from the SW 19 Street retail corridor.

“This is a project that has been needed for quite some time,” he said, adding that it is projected to take about 25 percent of the traffic that now uses the SW 19 Street bridge.

With construction beginning this fall, the project is expected to take more than a year to complete, said Lisa ShearerSalim, public information manager for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

There may be some I-35 lane closures whenthe time arrives to hang the bridge beams, but it’s too early to know when such closures might occur, ShearerSalim said.

The city will be widening SW 34 Street to four lanes near the bridge as part of another project.

Silver Star Construction Co. of Moore was awarded the bridge project. Federal funds will pay for $4 million of the project, with the remaining $7.3 million coming from the City of Moore.

No state funds are involved. The Oklahoma Transportation Commission oversaw the bidding process because of the federal funds involved.

State transportation commissioners on Monday also awarded a nearly $25 million pavement reconstruction project in Tulsa on US-75/US-64/SH-51, also known as the south leg of the Inner Dispersal Loop.

Five bridges will be rehabilitated along the south and east legs of the Inner Dispersal Loop as part of that project.