The same result may have occurred if this was a brand new 1950's bridge design. Modern bridges have more redundancy built into them and also more clearance. We would probably be looking at replacing one beam as opposed to 4 beams.

Figure roughly 15 to 20,000 lbs for the truck and another 10 to 15,000 lbs for the trailer, plus the aerial lift that was on back,... say roughly another 10 to 15,000 lbs, for a combined weight between 35 and 50,000 lbs, all moving along at 40-45mph.... something is gonna happen upon impact.

True, but not all of that force was transferred to the bridge.

http://newsok.com/article/5499117


That bridge wasn't hit by the tug boat but rather by a barge, which would have an empty weight in the 100's of thousand lbs, being pushed by a tug boat.

protip: expressway to independence to 59th to may. -MWorks for westbound expressway, but not for eastbound. For eastbound to go north on May, continue to Villa, go south to NW 50, back west to May, then go north.

I believe when the bridge was first built this was the US-66/SH-3 interchange.Nope. US 66 never got north of NW 39 once it got to NE 23 and Lincoln. May Avenue WAS SH3 for many years, all the way up to Edmond Road, however.

When NW Highway was first opened to traffic, it didn't go farther east than May Avenue. The bridge was built at that time, as was the cloverleaf. The reason the cloverleaf is incomplete for westbound traffic is that such traffic simply didn't exist at that time due to absence of any road at all!

Alright, so I remember sending in a question to Don Gammill years ago, asking when the route was going to be redone. Below is the transcript and the link to the article from 2013:

Here's a question about one of those Oklahoma City routes. (The article was talking about routes in OKC).

Do you know if there are any plans to redo the May Avenue bridge over Northwest Expressway? That bridge looks like a section of the old I-40. Also, the north-south roads of May north of 50th, south of 63rd seem to have gotten worse with all of the rain we have been getting. Is it a drainage issue? Thanks in advance.

Gary

Thanks for the question, Gary.

City Traffic Engineer Stuart Chai says, regarding the May Avenue bridge over Northwest Expressway in the very near future: “This fall, the city has plans to repair asphalt patches, seal longitudinal cracks and remove, straighten and replace the handrail under the city's bridge rehabilitation unit price contract.”

That should help.

http://newsok.com/article/3869092

Works for westbound expressway, but not for eastbound. For eastbound to go north on May, continue to Villa, go south to NW 50, back west to May, then go north.

i don't know why not... there's a protected left on eastbound expressway at independence. one could turn north there, then (assuming that you don't want to go north of 63rd) back east on 59th to may where there is another light, albeit one without a protected left. now... your method, while it backtracks some, does have the advantage of all right turns. -M

Nope. US 66 never got north of NW 39 once it got to NE 23 and Lincoln. May Avenue WAS SH3 for many years, all the way up to Edmond Road, however.

When NW Highway was first opened to traffic, it didn't go farther east than May Avenue. The bridge was built at that time, as was the cloverleaf. The reason the cloverleaf is incomplete for westbound traffic is that such traffic simply didn't exist at that time due to absence of any road at all!

Good to know there's an actual, logical reason - thank you, our resident historian!

It was still that way in the late 40s and early 50s, when I was attending OU. In 1947, there was almost no development north of NW 39 between Penn and Portland. I knocked the lower hose off the water pump on my car one evening on May between NW 39 and NW 50, when I drove off the paved stretch and discovered the dirt was six inches lower (at the time I was only 16). I don't recall exactly when the expressway was extended to the east; it might have been while I was overseas in 53-54....

True, but not all of that force was transferred to the bridge.

I guess you could split hairs if you want, but yes, the energy was dispersed as the forces were absorbed by the bridge and everything connected to it, the man lift, the load boomers, the friction of being dragged off the trailer, the trailer itself and the truck pulling it, and probably numerous other factors. But there was still that initial split second impact of the whole GVW of the truck being transferred into the bridge. A physics major could probably determine all the directions the forces went in the milliseconds after impact and what they affected, But I'm just presenting a general idea.

In the end, it wasn't the bridges fault.

Correct me if I am wrong but I was under the impression that bridge decks float on top of the structure and are usually on rollers for expansion/contraction. Since bridges are built that way it wouldn't surprise me if bridges fall down when heavy moving objects hit them.

Nope. US 66 never got north of NW 39 once it got to NE 23 and Lincoln. May Avenue WAS SH3 for many years, all the way up to Edmond Road, however.

When NW Highway was first opened to traffic, it didn't go farther east than May Avenue. The bridge was built at that time, as was the cloverleaf. The reason the cloverleaf is incomplete for westbound traffic is that such traffic simply didn't exist at that time due to absence of any road at all!

You're right. May Avenue used to carry both OK 3 and OK 74, and OK 3 split off at this interchange. When NW Expressway was extended east, it was OK 66A to connect to US 66. When 66 was decommissioned, that stretch became 3A.

Shouldn't a bridge not collapse if something hits it? You would think it would only be damaged but the thing fell down. I'm no engineer, and could easily be wrong about this but I would hope bridges could withstand a bit without collapsing. :dontgetit

Just because they have enough extra safety margin that they can take some bumps similar this does not mean it will be able to take everything. Is your house designed to take a tornado strike? It can be done but cost has always been a factor in design and the likelihood of any one span being hit is fairly low, then this was built in the 50s and the average semi size and weights have changed a lot since then.

Depending on shape, elevation changes in the road, and what it did after impact it is possible it damaged multiple support beams to begin with.

One thing for sure, its going to be expensive. One of those unplanned for expenses. Don't know if the guy has eough liabity issurance on his truck or company policy to pay for it. One thing for sure, it made a huge mess of things and a lot of head aches for all involved.

The May Avenue bridge reopened last evening, with one lane open in each direction.

City still saying there is no timeline to finish the repairs on the bridge.

May Avenue bridge needed repairs before collapse, reports reveal (http://newsok.com/may-avenue-bridge-needed-repairs-before-collapse-reports-reveal/article/5501200)


The bridge was labeled "structurally deficient" for the first time on July 7, 2004, when the deck was rated "critical," the superstructure "poor" and the substructure, or supporting piers, "fair."

But yet we are still driving over it after the collapse

But yet we are still driving over it after the collapse

I drove over it this weekend, but think I'll avoid it when possible. The structure is half gone and I'm not confident in the remaining half of the structure, given the violent jarring it took when it was already in a state of disrepair.

If I'm not mistaken, the bridge is actually 4 seperate spans, which probably doesn't make much difference to most folks. I drove over it yesterday. Didn't fase me a bit.

I don't think the city would take a chance with lives, or money for that matter. If it happened to fail and there were injuries/fatalities involved, it could cost them a lot. I remember when my bridge at N. E. 122nd East of Sooner was on it's last legs (it was a one way wood surface/steel frame bridge), the city dropped the weight limit from five tons to one ton. Since some motorcycles and two heavy riders weigh over one ton, it sounded scary, but we assumed the city was allowing use (use at your own risk) of the bridge while avoiding liability. We drove over it for another two or three years before it was replaced with the nice four lane concrete bridge. In a nutshell, I will drive over the bridge with no concerns.
C. T.

So, I have driven both east and west bound on NW Expressway and it has been narrowed for construction of the collapsed lanes. I really wish they would have consistency on the east and west bound lanes about how it merges.

On the west bound lane, the left lane merges into the middle lane and the right lane is forced onto Northbound May Avenue. After the merging, the middle lane, then jogs over to the middle lane of the east bound lanes.

On the east bound lanes, the left lane merges with the middle lane and then the middle lane merges with the right lane, pretty quickly, causing backup in the area.

I know this is only temporary, but would have like it to be cohesive as I am sure there are many people who travel both ways every day.

They won't be traveling at all on May from June 29th through July 2nd. All lanes will be closed.