The bridges are considered on the high-priority list to be replaced because of their condition, Ron Cagle of Kelly Engineering in Tahlequah reported to the commissioners.
In District 1, the bridge on Garrison Creek northeast of Roland is slated to be replaced. In District 2 a bridge on a county road east of East Lake Hills will be replaced. In District 3 the bridge south of the golf course on Delaware Avenue just outside Sallisaw city limits will be replaced.
The commissioners approved the replacement plans for all three bridges.
Cagle explained the bridges will be replaced with federal money and a 20 percent match from the county. He added, "But the county must acquire the rights-of-way and move utilities, and by the time they have done that they will have spent about half the amount designated for the bridges."
Cagle said the bridge just south of the golf course in Sallisaw is high on the priority list because of its condition. He said one of the bridge piers was recently found to be rusting and had to be reinforced.
"That bridge over Little Sallisaw Creek has problems with rust and with alignment to the highway," Cagle said.
The cost of replacement is estimated to be $650,000 he said.
In District 2 in the west end of the county the bridge three miles east of East Lake Hills at the bottom of Jackson Mountain has "ended its usefulness as far as its life goes," Cagle said.
The bridge was built in the 1930s and its replacement cost is estimated at $180,000.
In District 1, the bridge at Garrison Creek two miles east of Roland and one mile north of U.S. Highway 64, on Cosner Road, was built in 1927. Its replacement cost is estimated at $230,000.
Cagle explained that engineers inspected the bridges and did traffic counts on the bridge traffic, and the three bridges approved for replacement were found to be of the highest priority in each of the three county districts.
Cagle said construction could begin within 24 to 30 months.
