New South Canadian River Bridge to Be Built at Purcell and Lexington

Three years after the Purcell-Lexington bridge over the South Canadian River was closed because of the discovery of cracks, the state is about to begin construction of a new bridge.

Work is scheduled to begin this year on replacing the 79-year old U.S. 77/State Highway 39 that links the two cities.  It could last 18 months before completion.

Three years ago, the bridge was shut down for several weeks because cracks were discovered, prompting the Department of Transportation to begin environmental and design work on a new bridge. At the time, a chief engineer at O-DOT indicated the old bridge still had about 10 years of use remaining for motorists.

The cracks forced the Department to begin a fast-track plan to design a new bridge.