Bridge Bash: Guardrail Damage Causes 12-hour Highway Closure

Kingston, Oklahoma – Just before three a.m. Wednesday, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported that an automobile drove into the lane of a semi-truck on Roosevelt Bridge, forcing the semi-driver to swerve right into the bridge to avoid a crash.

“Apparently it impacted some guardrail on the bridge, and it may have done some other damage,” said TJ Gerlach of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

Several agencies have replied.

“They’re working as fast as they can, but we do expect the repairs to take probably until 3 to 5:00, maybe even later, depending on just how much work he actually needs to be done,” Gerlach stated. After assessing the bridge, particularly the railing, repairs were completed at 3 p.m., bringing an end to a 12-hour period during which east and westbound Highway 70 were closed, forcing cars to use alternate routes.

More information on ODOT lane and road closures can be found online.

” Follow us on Twitter or ‘X’ at OKDOT for updates. They may also sign up for email notifications on our homepage and by county,” he explained.

A new, broader bridge was recently cleared for construction, in part to prevent incidents like these.

There were no injuries in Wednesday’s crash.