4B Construction Plan Approved by Oklahoma Transportation Commission

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The Oklahoma Transportation Commission has approved a $4 billion, eight-year construction plan that includes work on 563 bridges.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the proposal announced also includes more than 446 mi. (718 km) of shoulder and other upgrades to two-lane roads and $1.9 billion in improvements to major highways.

Transportation Secretary Gary Ridley said there are 109 more bridges in this year’s proposal than in last and the work on them will cost about $260 million. Ridley said the work would help ease Oklahoma’s deteriorating bridge situation.

As of 2008, Oklahoma had about 5,680 bridges that require significant maintenance, repairs or replacement.

Ridley believes it will take 12 to 15 years to alleviate the problem.

Region: Western Edition | StoryID: 13380 | Published On: 9/26/2009

Keywords: Mission, Transport