Re: 6th Street Gateway and GE Finley Bridge Open!
Unfortunately, I was out of town over the weekend and couldn't attend the dedication. Here is an August 2004 article that provides a little background on this project, but only hints at the complete story.
City to rebuild Walnut Avenue bridgeSteve Lackmeyer
08/18/04
Oklahoma City Council members agreed Tuesday to seek construction bids to rebuild the Walnut Avenue bridge -- even though they have no assurance of recovering up to half the cost from the Union Pacific Railroad.
The bridge is a main entry to Bricktown and a key link between the entertainment district and nearby Deep Deuce. The span was closed last week after engineers determined failing steel beams and crumbling concrete made it unsafe for motorists and pedestrians.
"The roadway surface has holes in it, and it's very deteriorated," City Engineer Paul Brum said.
Bids will be due Sept. 21. Brum said while the bridge is being rebuilt, the city will start a separate $1.5 million project to realign the southbound Interstate 235/NW 6 exit to allow traffic to travel directly onto Walnut Avenue.
Once completed, Walnut Avenue will be converted from one-way to two-way traffic. Landscaping, sidewalks and other gateway improvements are planned at the bridge.
The Walnut Avenue bridge has been scheduled for repairs the past decade, but years of debate on its future and questions over its funding delayed the project.
The city council ordered a reconstruction of the bridge three years ago after a heated battle between preservationists who wanted to see the 70-year-old span restored and Brum, who wanted it torn down and replaced with an at-grade railroad crossing.
Union Pacific officials favored keeping the bridge. Brum said project delays were caused by the railroad officials' uncertainty whether they would continue to run a main line under the bridge and whether Union Pacific would pay half of the $3.23 million project.
Brum said questions over the bridge's design are resolved, though the railroad has yet to agree to pay for part of the project.
City Manager Jim Couch said: "There is some risk involved because we don't have anything signed by the railroad. But we've got to build this regardless of whether there is any involvement of the railroad or not."
- - - - - - -
There were several hearings at the Planning Commission and City Council. The "Preservationists" were led by Randy Floyd, an Oklahoma City Architect.
There had been about $1.2M in funds from a 1989 bond election set aside for a new bridge, but for some Jim Brewer was promoting an extremely steep street with an at-grade RR crossing at the bottom and he had persuaded then Public Works Director Paul Brum to support the idea. Brewer and Brum had no engineering drawings of their street concept, but were trotting around a rather inaccurate rendering of the proposed street and had gotten the Bricktown Association to agree with them. Of course, they hadn't been to the Corporation Commission with their idea
The Old Downtown Guy
It will take decades for Oklahoma City's
downtown core to regain its lost gritty,
dynamic urban character, but it's exciting
to observe and participate in the transformation.
Bookmarks