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UPDATE: Northwest Expressway Could Reopen Next Week, May Bridge Might Take Months

Garland Moore
May Avenue Bridge at the Northwest Expressway

The City of Oklahoma City is going to try to reopen portions of the Northwest Expressway next week after the May Avenue bridge collapsed Thursday afternoon.

Updated May 20, 2015, 1:22 p.m.

Oklahoma City Public Works Director Eric Wenger said a quote this morning indicates it will cost about $55,000 and take months to repair the bridge.

“We do have funding for emergencies. In this case we do have bond funds that are in an unlisted category that allow us to proceed with emergency repairs like this,” said during a press conference. “So in this case there's funding available with the city of Oklahoma City to proceed very quickly on the project."

A plan for permanent repairs should be finished within 10 days. Wenger said the municipal government and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation inspect all city bridges every other year. The May Ave. bridge was last checked in August 2014.

“This was not a bridge that fell on its own. This was hit from the side, and caused it to fail,” Wenger said.

Wenger says he doesn't expect the entire bridge will need to be replaced solely because of the collision.

“If it were replaced as maybe part of a future bond package or other project, we would look at the bridge design at the time,” Wenger said. “Height would be an item, possibly adding pedestrian access, additional lanes.”

The city says the bridge carries about 22,000 cars daily along May Ave. over the Northwest Expressway. The westbound lanes, where the crash occurred, have a clearance of 14 feet, 4 inches. Part of the southbound side of the bridge (that’s not what collapsed Thursday) fell in 1993 after a tractor-trailer crashed into it. A second collision in 2014 caused only minor damage.

Original Post

The May Avenue bridge that crosses over the Northwest Expressway collapsed Thursday afternoon at about 2:40 p.m. when a tractor trailer that was too tall hit the overpass.

The Oklahoma City Police have closed traffic in all directions on both roads and, according to the City of Oklahoma City’s website, detours are in place.

Damage to the bridge is being determined. No serious injuries have been reported.

District Fire Chief Benny Fulkerson told the Associated Press “May Avenue will likely be shut down ‘for a very long time’ and that the bridge may have to be totally rebuilt.”

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Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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