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tem. At that time, nearly 1,200 of Oklahoma’s
6,800 highway bridges needed
major rehabilitation or replacement.
“‘Top 10’ isn’t just a slogan. It is the
vision that helps form and guide our
road map to improving state government
and changing the future of all
4 million Oklahomans for the better,”
said Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.
“Transportation is the backbone of the
economy, and this designation shows
Oklahoma is a new national leader in
highway bridge infrastructure thanks
to the dedication of ODOT employees
and an unprecedented investment in
our bridges by the Legislature.”
In 2005, the Oklahoma Department
of Transportation (ODOT) embarked
on a massive effort to improve highway
bridges after decades of underfunding
to transportation infrastructure
took a toll, causing a backlog of
critically needed projects. A targeted
approach to fixing the state’s bridges
began taking shape through a series
of legislative funding mechanisms
and identifying key funding opportunities
by the congressional delegation.
The rehabilitation effort took an even
more aggressive approach in 2011,
when the state’s Bridge Improvement
and Turnpike Modernization Plan was
announced. One of the goals of the
plan was to specifically reduce the
structurally deficient highway bridges
to 1% and have a manageable bridge
system by the end of the decade.
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