Oklahoma DOT Awards $408M Contract for New Four-Lane Bridge Over Lake Texoma
The original 87-span link to Texas over one of the largest reservoirs in the U.S. opened in 1945 and is classified as functionally...
machineryasia 
The Oklahoma Transportation Commission has awarded a $408 million contract for the US 70 Roosevelt Bridge replacement project.
A joint venture of Zachry Construction and Traylor Bros Inc. has been named the best value proposer and will build the new structure over Lake Texoma, one of the largest reservoirs in the U.S.
The joint venture will deliver a new four-lane bridge, improve the roadway approaches on US 70, and add safety features like full shoulders and lighting. The new bridge should also stand up better to extreme weather.
ODOT says the new bridge will bring improved safety, reliability and long-term connectivity to the region and for the 8,500 drivers who cross the lake every day. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year and conclude in 2029.
For the first time, the department used what it calls a “modified progressive design-build” delivery method, meaning ODOT will contract with multiple design-build teams over the course of the project. The delivery method aims to incentivize design-build teams to streamline delivery and optimize their designs, budgets and timelines.
The original 87-span bridge, measuring roughly 4,900 feet long, opened in 1945 and contains a Warren through-truss central span. ODOT documents state the original bridge is the only surviving example of a vehicular Warren through-truss span on Oklahoma’s highway system with a polygonal top chord.
A 2021 ODOT analysis found the bridge was at risk of becoming structurally deficient and classified it functionally obsolete.
The bridge is a critical link between southern Oklahoma and northern Texas and will remain open for the duration of the project.
