Crews Work On Harrah Bridge Repair Despite Flash Flooding

A bridge on the verge of completion near Northeast 23rd and Triple X Road in Harrah was threatened by Thursday's downpour. County workers showed up at 6:00 a.m., but by mid-afternoon they were scrambling to save their work from washing away. While the wor

Thursday, June 6th 2019, 10:50 pm

By: News 9


A bridge on the verge of completion near Northeast 23rd and Triple X Road in Harrah was threatened by Thursday's downpour. County workers showed up at 6:00 a.m., but by mid-afternoon they were scrambling to save their work from washing away. 

While the work is not complete, despite the downpour, the bridge is back open thanks to crews working tirelessly through the mud and rain.

“Well, the guys almost had it finished, almost,” said Harrah resident Shirley Hayden.

“It was going so fast it was dangerous,” said Harrah resident Jaime Blakenship.

“We dug in and fought it the whole time through, we were concerned, folks were needing in and out,” said Oklahoma County Road Superintendent Michael Taylor.

County workers hoped to have the job completed way ahead of schedule, but mother nature decided otherwise.

“There was water all the way up to her back door today,” said Blakenship.  

“A lot of water, and it all came on top of us,” said Taylor.

In hopes of releasing more rushing water, workers decided to open up the temporary walk path constructed less than 24 hours ago.

The lack of walkway forced residents like Madison Layland to blaze a path of their own.

“I’ve had to park my car, I’ve had to walk. Our yard has been getting flooded, it's been insane,” said Layland.

Hayden and her husband were back at the bridge, this time on her neighbor’s lawnmower.

“They’ve been able to come out, they jumped right on it. Now they fixed it to where we will be able to walk across or ride across on the mower,” said Hayden.  

And while work is nearing completion after Thursday's deluge, some question if the bridge will hold up. 

“They ended up only putting two in, and today the water was to the very top of those tin horns,” said Blakenship.  

But with several tons of rocks in place, county workers say they're confident.

“Water is flowing good, if that amount of rain dumps tonight again, I think we are fine,” said Taylor.

","published":"2019-06-07T03:50:48.000Z","updated":"2019-06-07T03:50:45.000Z","summary":"A bridge on the verge of completion near Northeast 23rd and Triple X Road in Harrah was threatened by Thursday's downpour. County workers showed up at 6:00 a.m., but by mid-afternoon they were scrambling to save their work from washing away. While the wor","affiliate":{"_id":"5cc353fe1c9d440000d3b70f","callSign":"kwtv","origin":"https://www.news9.com"},"contentClass":"news","createdAt":"2020-01-31T18:51:21.963Z","updatedAt":"2022-03-30T20:51:00.348Z","__v":2,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e347729527dcf49dad71e72/crews-work-on-harrah-bridge-repair-despite-flash-flooding","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e347729527dcf49dad71e72"};
logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

June 6th, 2019

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024