Published: July 02, 2009 10:28 am      

Coal Creek work is set

No signed contract is yet in hand, but repair work is expected to start next week on the Coal Creek Bridge, between McAlester and Tannehill.

The job is expected to result in the temporary closing of the bridge for at least four days.

Pittsburg County commissioners held a special meeting on Wednesday to sign a contract for the job after awarding a bid for the project on Monday.

Gibson and Associates of Balch Springs, Texas, submitted the winning bid of $31,900.

District 3 Commissioner Don Mathis said he sent a contract to Gibson and Associates for a company representative to sign, then to send back to the commissioners for them to sign during Wednesday’s special meeting.

However, when the contract hadn’t arrived after the commissioners convened the special meeting at 9 a.m., they decided to table the signing of the contract until their next meeting on Monday.

The contract signed on behalf of Gibson and Associates arrived at the commissioners’ office later on Wednesday, said District 3 Commissioner Don Mathis. The company plans to begin work on the project following the Fourth of July weekend.

“They’re going to come in on Monday,” Mathis said. A pre-work conference is set for Monday afternoon.

“They’ll start on Tuesday morning,” Mathis said. “We’ll close the bridge at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.”

Plans call for Gibson and Associates to repair a cracked support beam and damaged guard rails on the bridge. Mathis expects the bridge to be closed for at least four days for the work to be completed.

“They anticipate until noon on next Friday, unless they run into something unforeseen,” he said.

In the meantime, barricades will be put in place and detour signs will be posted, said Mathis. Gibson and Associates must repair a cracked support beam and damaged guard rails on the bridge before it is reopened.

Mathis plans to open the bridge to some traffic shortly after the project is finished. The narrow, one-lane bridge originally had a 22-ton weight limit, but the county commissioners set a lower three-ton weight limit earlier this year after finding damage to the structure.

In addition, the bridge had been temporarily closed to all traffic in early June. It reopened with the reduced three-ton weight limit still in place after crews had performed emergency repairs to the bridge by putting an 11-foot beam in place to shore up the structure.

If the bridge reopens as expected on July 10, Mathis said the three-ton weight limit will remain in effect until the bridge is re-evaluated. The commissioner said he will contact the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, which will then contact an engineering firm to do another inspection of the bridge.

Mathis said it’s hoped that the bridge can be approved for at least 15 tons, so school buses can cross it.

While the bridge is closed, the detour will be around Pyle Mountain and Free Road, Mathis said. That route is unpopular with many residents who live in the area, because the route has winding, dirt roads.

“I know it’s inconvenient, but this will be a permanent repair,” Mathis said. “I’m just wanting to get this fixed.”

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.