The Oklahoma Department of Transportation has spent more than $15,000 since April on emergency repairs to a crumbling portion of Interstate 44 in Tulsa. Despite repeated costly repairs, a permanent fix isn’t on the books until 2028.
ODOT crews have made emergency repairs to the I-44 bridge over Peoria Avenue seven times this year. Still, concrete has fallen from the patch on the underside of the bridge for months.
Jeremy Mitts lives not far from the busy thoroughfare and says traffic is bad in the area, but he’s more concerned about falling concrete.
“It’s inevitable that someone gets hurt from this — either seriously injured or killed. These are large blocks of concrete that are falling,” Mitts said.
The Peoria bridge rehabilitation is one of 13 projects across six counties outlined in ODOT’s 2028 asset preservation plan, estimated to cost nearly $22 million. The Peoria project will cost about $350,000 to complete.
T.J. Gerlach, ODOT’s public information manager, says the bridge over Peoria was completely redone in 2012 as part of a project that widened I-44 from four to six lanes between Riverside Drive and South Yale Avenue.
“We’ve got some (bridges) on (U.S. Route 412) that have some recurring issues, but they’re a lot older bridges,” Gerlach said. “For a bridge of this age, it is slightly unusual.”
Gerlach says ODOT engineers are still determining what the structural issue is, but he noted the problem is exacerbated by rain.
“They are not really certain themselves,” Gerlach said. “We do have our bridge division working with the local division up here to investigate what exactly is going on, and how we might be able to do a more long-term fix.”
In the meantime, Mitts is concerned someone could get hurt if the state agency does not repair the bridge sooner.
“Just replace the deck,” Mitts said. “Obviously that’s what’s going to have to happen.”
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