asst. to editor

ALTUS — Jackson and Greer county residents whose livelihood demands ready access across the Salt Fork of the Red River on County Road 158 now have a low water temporary bridge to traverse.

Jackson County workers have spent the past week or so hauling and placing some 650 tons of riprap into the river channel to create a diversion around the north side of the ill fated bridge that collapsed in April when a 30-ton trash truck owned by IESI buckled one 60-foot span and sent another into the water below.

The temporary bridge is open to traffic, said Jackson County Commissioner Dale Dunn, but he adds this heads-up: it’s not designed for heavy-laden traffic, and drivers can expect to cross through 4 to 6 inches of water.

Signs are posted near the crossing warning drivers not to cross in the event of flooding, Dunn said, adding that, “If you can’t see the bottom, you have really no business crossing the water.”

On Sept. 26, about 30 ranchers and business people from the two counties vented some pent up frustration during a special meeting of the Jackson County commissioners, at which Dunn and District Attorney John Wampler explained the ongoing struggle to resolve the payment for repairs of the 600-foot bridge two miles west of Martha with the insurance company for IESI — CNA in Oklahoma City.

The amount for repairs is estimated at some $238,000.

Meantime, Dunn said, commissioners on Tuesday submitted an application to the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma for placement on a list for extraordinary bridge funds. If the county can get on that list, Dunn said, it would still be at least five years before funding would be made available for the bridge repairs.

“It’s not going to be an easy process, it’s not going to be a fast process,” Dunn said.

Besides the riprap, which took about 30 semi truck loads, the county has also placed cable across the channel on both sides of the bridge — about 250 feet on the north and about 750 feet on the south — to deter trespassers and establish boundary lines.

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. Now, Dunn said, the only time residents will have to use those routes will be during flood stage.

“I think all the local folks out there are going to be very satisfied,” he said.