asst. managing editor

ALTUS -- Since April 22, when a 30-ton trash truck buckled the bridge spanning the Salt Fork of the Red River on County Road 158, ranchers and business people from Jackson and Greer counties have grown increasingly frustrated.

About 30 of them took the opportunity this morning to vent some of that frustration during a special meeting of the Jackson County commissioners.

The 600-foot bridge two miles west of Martha was taken out of commission when a 30-ton trash truck owned by IESI, traversed the vital link between the two counties, buckling one 60-foot span and sending another into the water below. The bridge had a load limit of 13 tons.

Cattle rancher and wheat grower Jim Billington got the conversation started this morning, laying out the hardship on him and other farmers and ranchers due to the extra mileage and time required to maintain daily operations.

Since the collapse, residents have been buying more gas and traveling one of two alternate routes -- the Highway 34 bridge near Mangum and the Highway 62 bridge near Altus. Those two spans are more than 20 miles apart. Billington said that his fuel expenses have increased by some $2,800 since the bridge has been out.

Commissioner Dale Dunn explained that the insurance company for IESI, CNA in Oklahoma City, appeared at first to be committed to a resolution of the payment for repairs -- about $238,000 -- but has since taken a different tack. "They're obviously trying to get out of it as cheap as they can," Dunn said.

The county, Dunn said, has even offered to contribute about $50,000 in labor to repair the bridge, adding that that is a "reasonable offer."

When he first spoke with the attorney for CNA, Dunn said, he was told, "We're going to be settling up and you guys are going to be in business within the next 90 to 120 days."

District Attorney John Wampler explained that the county has, up to this point, been trying to resolve the issue without a lawsuit.

CNA, he said, is contending that the trash truck driver did not know the weight limit of the bridge because the weight limit signs had been torn down and were lying on the ground on the day of the collapse.

Nevertheless, Wampler said, the truck was overweight to be traveling anywhere on that road, according to Oklahoma Department of Transportation standards.

The ranchers in the audience at the county courthouse this morning pressed the point that they need a way across the river -- and they need it now.

Wampler explained that one possible avenue would be for citizens to file a class action lawsuit.

Meantime, commissioners agreed to begin the process for receiving a permit from the Corps of Engineers for construction of a low water temporary bridge, while litigation continues with CNA.

"I know it's frustrating for you all, but it's been frustrating to me, too," Dunn told the crowd as the meeting neared its end.