Oklahoma begins $408 million replacement of 81-year-old Lake Texoma bridge

More than eight decades after the Roosevelt Bridge first carried traffic across Lake Texoma, Oklahoma has begun work on a massive replacement project that will reshape one of the region’s most important transportation links.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) says the more than $408 million project will replace the aging US-70 bridge while keeping the existing structure open throughout construction. Details from ODOT, Equipment World and local broadcaster KXII confirm the project’s record scale, historic origins and planned 2029 completion.The US-70 Roosevelt Bridge opened in 1945, connecting Bryan and Marshall counties across Lake Texoma in southeastern Oklahoma.

The original structure stretches roughly 4,900 feet and consists of 87 spans, including a distinctive Warren through-truss central span. ODOT records describe that central span as the only surviving example of its type on Oklahoma’s highway system with a polygonal top chord.Now, 81 years after its opening, the bridge is approaching the end of its useful life. An analysis found the structure at risk of becoming structurally deficient and classified it as functionally obsolete, prompting years of planning for a modern replacement.

The new project represents one of Oklahoma’s largest bridge investments. The contract, valued at $408 million, was awarded to a joint venture between Zachry Construction and Traylor Bros. The project is supported by state funding and a $124 million federal Bridge Investment Program grant, which ODOT has described as the largest federal transportation grant awarded in Oklahoma for the project.The replacement will feature a new four-lane bridge across Lake Texoma, along with improvements to the US-70 approaches.

The design also calls for full shoulders, improved lighting and a pedestrian path, addressing safety and capacity concerns on the existing crossing.The bridge is particularly important because US-70 serves as a regional connection between southern Oklahoma and northern Texas, supporting daily commuting, freight movement, tourism and other economic activity. Latest figures show more than 11,000 vehicles use the corridor each day.Construction is being delivered through a modified progressive design-build approach, a method being used for the first time. The process allows the transportation department and its design-build team to work together during design and construction planning, with the aim of improving the project’s schedule, design and cost efficiency.Work is already underway around the site. Crews have been clearing trees and preparing the construction area, while barges have begun drilling into the lakebed to investigate the ground conditions where the new bridge’s piers will be anchored.

Lake Texoma reaches depths of about 65 feet near the existing bridge, adding another layer of engineering complexity to the project.The new bridge will be built while traffic continues to use the old one. That means drivers will not immediately lose the existing US-70 crossing as construction progresses. Once the replacement is finished, the new structure is expected to provide four lanes of modern roadway, improving reliability and safety for motorists travelling between Oklahoma and Texas.Construction is expected to continue for roughly three years, with the new bridge scheduled for completion in fall 2029. The project therefore marks more than the replacement of an aging piece of infrastructure: it represents the transition from a bridge that has served the region since the postwar era to a new crossing designed to carry traffic for decades to come.