Douglas Road Bridge - Oklahoma County, OK
Posted by: hamquilter
N 35° 41.776 W 097° 22.303
14S E 647320 N 3951482
This is a beautiful example of WPA construction on Oklahoma roads.
Waymark Code: WMXRDD
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 02/19/2018
Views: 1
This WPA-constructed bridge is located at the intersection of Coffee Creek and Douglas Roads, 2.5 miles east of Interstate 35, and 3 miles north of Arcadia Lake. The bridge traverses an unnamed creek which runs north-south along the roadway.
At the surface, on either side of Coffee Creek Road is a concrete railing consisting of four concrete pillars which have inset rectangles, and concrete cross bars. On the south side, the center concrete horizontal bar has been replaced with metal guardrail. Climbing down the embankment, we discovered that this is a culvert designed to carry a large amount of water. It has three tunnels, each about 5 feet high and 7 feet wide.
The New Deal programs did extensive work in Oklahoma (see website below). The state was suffering deeply from not only the economic Depression, but the terrible Dust Bowl phenomena. Families were destitute, and work was non-existent. The New Deal programs offered much-needed income and also provided much-needed infrastructure for local farm-to-market travel. It was a win-win situation.