Published: March 21, 2009 01:23 pm      

Hole in bridge found

A hole in the deck of a bridge just west of Haileyville on U.S. 270 has prompted work to fix it — including the temporary placement of portable signal lights in the area.

During an already scheduled bridge joint repair project on the bridge, a hole in the deck was discovered, but the hole was not large and presents no danger to the public, according to Mills Gotcher, an Oklahoma Department of Transportation spokesperson.

Had it posed a danger, she said, the bridge would have been closed.

Work on the bridge has been going in two phases and motorists driving the busy roadway may have had to stop at the lights or from workers’ signals.

The first phase has already been completed, according to Gotcher, and the second phase will start Monday and — weather permitting — should be completed by Wednesday.

Stop lights were set up an timed to, roughly, allow 10 vehicles to clear the bridge at a time when they are in operation.

Lights are timed with a 30-second light and a 17-second delay for traffic to clear.

Bridge joint repairs began Jan. 19 at various locations in ODOT’s Division II area, which includes Pittsburg County.

Repairs on the specific bridge west of Haileyville where the hole in the bridge deck was found began March 16. The average annual daily traffic count for that area of highway is 9,700 vehicles, according to Gotcher.

John Yates is the news director for McAlester Radio. Contact him at 426-1050.