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Pedestrian bridge removed at Regional Park

New bridge expected to be installed later this month

Crews work to remove a pedestrian bridge at Joe B. Barnes Regional Park in Midwest City last week. PHOTO BY JOSH RYAN

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

An old pedestrian bridge is gone at Joe B. Barnes Regional Park.

And a new one is on the way.

Last week, crews removed a pedestrian bridge over Soldier Creek at the north end of the park. A new bridge will be installed in its place later this month.

The city originally planned to build the new bridge adjacent to the old one. That would have included removing the old bridge after the new one was completed. The plans changed after issues were discovered on the site, said Brandon Bundy, director of engineering and construction services for Midwest City.

The new pedestrian bridge will be placed in about the same location as the old one.  Bundy said the new pedestrian bridge is much wider and a bit longer, so the exact location will be slightly different.

Demolition of the bridge was more challenging than expected. Bundy said that because of the age of the concrete and the type of structure it was difficult to remove the abutments. Portions of the concrete bridge broke apart during the removal and fell into the creek.

Bundy said all the pieces of concrete were removed from the creek by Wednesday morning.

The pedestrian bridge was included in a recent resurfacing project on E. Reno Ave. The city resurfaced the roadway between Midwest Blvd. and east of Douglas Blvd. The project also included sidewalk improvements.

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