Route 66 enthusiasts want to reopen historic Tulsa bridge
January 31, 2019
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A historic but dilapidated Tulsa bridge that has been closed for nearly four decades should be restored for pedestrian use, according to preservationists.
The Route 66 Commission has proposed reopening the 11th Street Arkansas River Bridge for the first time since 1980, Tulsa World reported.
"It's important to save this bridge because this bridge is the reason Route 66 came through Tulsa," said Amanda DeCort, chairwoman of the Route 66 Commission's Preservation and Design committee. "And it's a big part of our history."
DeCort said an active pedestrian bridge would be an ideal fit for the area.
"We could program this (bridge)," she said. "We could have food trucks out there, people could watch the fireworks from the bridge, and it would really be a much more pleasant strolling experience."
There has already been roughly $540,000 spent to make cosmetic improvements to the bridge, as part of Tulsa's Vision 2025 sales tax package. But the city's latest cost appraisal shows it would take $21 million to rebuild the overpass.
DeCort said one place the commission might begin to search for funding is in the Improve Our Tulsa renewal package, which the Mayor's Office and City Council plan on assembling this year.
The now-renamed Route 66 Cyrus Avery Memorial Bridge was the first concrete and steel-reinforced overpass to cross the Arkansas River, the commission noted. The crossing was built in 1916 and stretched 1,470 feet.
The 11th Street Arkansas Bridge is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
___
Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com
Reader Comments(0)