The debris from the Randolph bridge collapse has been removed and now everyone is waiting. Traffic has become a big headache and the city is trying to keep commuters from using residential streets to get around the mess.

The loss of the Randolph bridge has been declared an emergency by the city commission. There will be an attempt to have a replacement bridge built by the start of school in the fall. In order to speed up the process the commissioners have waived the normal bidding process on the project. The emergency declaration will save the city time on taking bids but will still allow the city a right to reject bids if they are higher than estimated.

Estimates on fixing the bridge have been priced at $250,000 for a two-lane bridge and $1 million to $1.5 million for a four-lane bridge. Construction on the bridge could take about 120 days.

In other bridge news, a review of city bridges found only six structures in the city capable of supporting its heaviest firefighting equipment. The city has started a structural evaluation of about 76 bridges in Enid and fire officials have asked the city to post weight limits on all bridges, regardless of their capacity.

Labels: downed bridge, enid, oklahoma