The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-03-12
OF
BRIDGE BUILDING
Day of the Old Wooden
Structure Confined to
Small Area

''NNNN ''N. ia''l N''''l' NJ l'l l'lNH'' o." INl""
ING from the scene iu bklnHumt
ErHrvlul'y ornate creations ur con.
. crete ryiuio,t'd with ribs OF steel
ln tho last thruu years hundreds ut
. these whit" arches have been
moulded over streams 10 inc EASTERN
n," ,,'.''"' l','''9 W ,'', H',', ''','''
g',u,,,i l'"N "',' 1," 49,
| i',',f3.,. 5,, M -. NJ. -
,,,,,s ,,t,,.S .,.,t 'i.,. ',.,,'..,,,',,,,..t
,''l., ,,,,,..,.. ~ ,,,,t..,a,t ,',,.5
. ,..,,,,..t ,.I ,'...,.
h' 'N"III'h uI ih' permanent
. nrldk' ln ihls state "s revealed hN
/ u'' l,'ol u7 OF ln' t'"i' hlEhN"y
/ u'I,,' ''.'",' u. %" lI'.I ''''"h 'v'l-
/ i'l'I'l'ly ON l"1 Puu"El,'s ot lu'
/ pI.ips,nn,, ,.li.l or tl, rl,,t Nongs
T nf ,nv. ,,,ui,g a., .,lt.,,, tI..r f,,r,
/ s.ttI,r,,rt A., ,.tI,p,,rt tridg',
/ we're are,Iy REGARDED ps Injuries
/ put with in, srttI.urut Of ihp rottn.
/ inv and tIs In,,pr Of roads ovrr
] which prnIric s,honu,rs truusport,d
/ families INTO ir, now s,t, of IA,
/ soutnv,sl and guppIv train. b,nr-
/ ing uroyIsiDus bogpu To uush ont
/ into tho remote grptlous p,,pv from
the rnilrouds. there came a need Tor
/ som,thlug better than ford4 nrrost
| the streams. wooden bridges
/ roughly hcwn from the timber OF
/ the surrounding countrywide, began
. To span tho water courHvs, aud for
. years wooden bridges only we're seen
IN oklahoma
Then with the advent Of tho auto
. mobile, the motor truck and tho
. heavy CQuipmout used In the oil
fields. wooden bridges began to
prove Inadequate. steel was hailed
az the logical successor, and many
steel bridges were built throughout
the state. From the staudpoiut of
strength those bridges proved adc-
Quato, and with few exceptions have
not been replaced
IpkcCp Proves Costly.
urt r,r,i. ,,d r,,ir,,rar,, lille
vcro to bn ,n,h,tnJ agpinst th,u
WooJcr tI,ors had ia Ln r,rIa,",
aud steel suporstructurcs had To bc
painted TO prevent rust. Bridge
maintenance bills continued 10 be Il
regular item on tho budgets ap-
proved by county commissioners.
Then Camc the concrete bridge
Last year therc was practically no
money spent I'm the state on any
type OF bridge construction save
concrete.
when tbo statc highway dcport.
mont first began urging county orr.
riaIs to roplacc Nornout wooden
, bridgos with others OF permanent
, concrete. almost universal opposi,
] tion was encountered. A woodcI
bridge costs from SIG to $50 run
70 ming foot while concrete cannot h,
used for less than approximatcl,
. 500 a foot. according to hiRhwa,
, officials. This difference iu initla
cost caused county commissioners I,
oppose tho permanent type. Main
tcnance OF wooden bridges average
50 n foot annually, highway depart
ment figures show. while there Fl
no maintenance expense In connec
; tlon wlth concrete bridges except 10
, the case or accidents IN when fail'
, ings are damaged by contact win
heaNy NehloIos'
Eventually most county officials
subscribed to the highway depart
mcnts Endorsement Of permanent
. bridges. That section Of the state
composing approximately the west
ern third is the only territory IN
. oklahoma still clinging I" the old
8 type OF bridges, tho records show
90 ~ ''''''''''N ~ '''T'.'f '''f'
ever have been built there, prin'
Clpaly I'm the southwestern part
twenty Tons the LOAD.
b SlngIc-span concrete bridges bulI
; In oklahona To-Day nave an aVeraE'
, carrying capacity OF ~ TONS Jusl
81 l"Ioe mat OF wooden spans,
was pointed OUT az lne h'bhWhy u'
paIuh,Ht lhat ohlhupIh" mas h'
o h'a'e IA" rcb"lh'ihE tHe "eIbut %
y,u,N lOaus, an "aoo h"'''o eloi'a ,,
i i'lIuE'S i' WIN ~ ~-r,loh p'i o1paui'y
niT,%no' ~, ,o ',,o W. o,,nra,a a.
,'us "''N !" t"i i''''' ''''"" va
!. Pn,I'y' ,,,,--
4, IN audllloh 70 scores OF single spa
pilHgra 'l'HeI punt OF "hper co"
slructloh' H'VeiaI concrete stiu'
lures OF Ereat"r lenBih ana dllteioh
construction are b'lnE placed owe
. n NUMBER or larger streams IN lh
, state a cnntiIcFer concrete bildg
~ Is TO be huilt soon over kingIlshc
:, crock I'm Kingfishor county II wa
/, said by highway officials. TIL
ing its length the greatest In IN
state for such "A bridge. A l2O
foot CautiloVor bridge has Just beer
-, and an s5-fout oantlcyor bridge &