An installation that the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is calling the “first-of-its-kind” is now taking the place of truckers during highway construction.
A conveyor bridge was installed above the Interstate 44/Turner Turnpike at mile marker 203 near Kellyville in Creek County, Oklahoma this month.
According to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, this special bridge will help the concrete plant on one side of the turnpike transport concrete to the opposite side of the turnpike, where construction crews are working to widen the road.
Approximately 83,000 cubic yards of concrete are expected to pass through the conveyor bridge. The Authority calls this “a significant safety improvement for motorists and workers in this $98 million ACCESS Oklahoma work zone because it will eliminate concrete trucks from entering traffic up to 8,300 times through the life of the paving operation.”
“That’s a lot of drivers out of a job,” one person wrote.
“A malfunctioning dump bed will take it out,” added another.
Utah Department of Transportation used a similar strategy on Interstate 15 about a decade ago, and commenters on the Authority’s post say that the state used a conveyor bridge just one year ago over Interstate 35.