Afton residents want to save endangered Horse Creek Bridge

Residents of Afton, Oklahoma, have embarked on a longshot bid to prevent to destruction of the historic Horse Creek Bridge.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation plans to replace the 1936 bridge on Route 66 because the agency says it’s structurally deficient and functionally obsolete. ODOT may take bids for the bridge’s demolition and replacement as early as fall.

However, the Miami News Record reports some residents won’t let the bridge be torn down without a fight.

“It’s unique because it has two pedestrian walkways protected by concrete guardrails,” Kenda Bynum said. “ODOT wants to replace it and of course the town doesn’t want to replace it. We want to keep it as is because of the historical significance. I think as word gets out we’ll get even more support.” […]

“We’re down here today trying to save the bridge. This is the last bridge connected to Route 66 that has the pedestrian walkway on each side. It is a very important piece of history. It is protected on the National Historical Registry and the State Registry,” Afton resident Cindy Todd said.

“I would like to see it repaired. I am sure, as with anything built in that era, it needs upkeep. We would like to see it repaired and refurbished and stay a part of this hometown. I grew up here and when we hit that bridge we knew we were home.”

The Afton residents said the economic impact of losing the historic bridge would be detrimental to the town as well, which sees thousands of tourists from across the U.S. and international travelers as well touring across old Route 66.

“They come to see these important aspects of Route 66. If they can’t see that then we lose tourism dollars,” Bynum said. “It’s important for the shops and restaurants here, the impact that has, economically this is devastating.”

Bynum also said many townsfolk also have a sentimental attachment to the bridge to because their relatives built it during the 1930s.

Kenna Mitchell, a spokeswoman for ODOT, said public hearings were held in 2016 over the replacement of the bridge, and “we have to move ahead” with razing it and selecting a replacement.

Longtime Route 66 bridge researcher Jim Ross said in an email in March:

With the Horse Creek Bridge, it is about money. There is ample room for an offset alignment and new bridge, but they complain about the cost of new right of way. Their official reason is that a new bridge will disturb bats roosting nearby. But they also dismissed an option to rehab the bridge because it will disturb bats roosting under the bridge, a direct contradiction. I can’t say how many consulting parties there were involved with the Horse Creek Bridge Section 106 Review, but I can tell you that at least five of them, myself included, refused to sign off on the Memorandum of Agreement between ODOT and SHPO [State Historical Preservation Office].