This story was updated on July 19, 2024.
For anybody who has ever traveled from Durant to Kingston down Hwy 70, then there is a good chance they have crossed over Lake Texoma by way of the Roosevelt Memorial Bridge. While most people travel to and from, never giving much thought to the bridge, it has recently been the topic of several upgrades and even a rebuild.
The existing bridge was constructed in 1945 by the U.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers to provide a crossing of the newly created Lake Texoma. The metal truss span over the main channel is a Warren through-truss and is the only example of this type remaining in Oklahoma on a vehicular bridge.
For this reason, the Roosevelt Bridge is considered eligible to be placed in the National Register of Historic Places, meaning it is a significant historic site, causing ODOT to look at multiple options on updating the bridge while maintaining its historical integrity. According to Oklahoma.gov, ODOT studied many alternatives for replacing the Roosevelt Bridge, including partial offset alignments, full offset alignments and a new align- ment.
ODOT looked at the collision history of the area and found an elevated rate of severe collisions. When future development is considered, a four-lane highway and bridge will be necessary to carry future traffic volumes. The bridge is narrow and has low clearance at the truss span and the bridge has deficiencies related to the condition of the deck, beams and railings.
The state applied for grants in hopes of starting the project as soon as 2025, but most project dates are slated for 2029, The project includes US-70 between State Park Road in Bryan County and Johnson Creek Road in Marshall County, including the bridge over Lake Texoma.
The purpose of the project is to provide a safe crossing on US-70 over Lake Texoma that accommodates current and future traffic demand. The current bridge scored a five out of 10 on a safety scale, making the existing bridge a risk of becoming structurally deficient, meaning it does not meet today’s standards.
Update: ODOT reported that they will receive $124 million for the Roosevelt Memorial Bridge Replacement Project.