Dateline: October 13, 2005

Contract will replace bridge over Salt Fork

By Roger  Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has awarded a $1.4 million contract to Amarillo Road Company to replace the SH 70 bridge over the Salt Fork of the Red River below the Greenbelt Dam with a shorter but wider construction.

TxDOT hosted a pre-construction meeting October 6 at the Wellington Area Office to discuss the upcoming project. Barricades will be set starting November 7 with construction efforts to begin soon after.

The first phase of this project is to build a detour on the east side of the existing bridge. Private property owners in the area of the detour will have access to their property at all times. The detour will have 12-foot lanes with no shoulders and will be the same width as the 24 foot wide existing bridge. An advisory speed of 45 miles per hour will be posted on this detour.

The second phase includes the removal of the existing 500-foot bridge and replacing it with a smaller bridge that will cross the relief waters. The new bridge will be 40 feet wide but only 70 feet long.

Barricades will be in place for approximately seven months.

Amarillo Road Company is interested in hiring local construction workers for this project. If anyone is interested, please call Steve Wright at 806-335-2922.

The current Salt Fork bridge was constructed in 1954. The south end washed out in 1957. It was rebuilt and then lengthened some time later.

In 2002, one lane of the bridge dropped more than an inch and a half after a heavy load put too much stress on one of the main pylons. TxDOT temporarily closed the bridge to make emergency repairs at that time.