After years of a closed roadway just off U.S. 77 highway, a new bridge on 222nd Rd. in Cowley County is now open to traffic.
In 2019, the Hackney Bridge was closed indefinitely when a wear spot led engineers to determine the structure was no longer safe for traffic. County Road and Bridge put up signs to close the bridge in April of that year.
It had remained closed ever since.
County administrator Lucas Goff said that though the barricades are no longer there, the bridge is not officially open. Construction work on the project is continuing. A ribbon cutting will be scheduled when work is completed, he said.
The railway overpass, which is not far from Strother Field, serves area motorists including garbage trucks that use it to access the county landfill. Cost estimates put demolition of the old bridge and construction of a new one at $3 million.
Salina-based Reece Construction Co. submitted the low bid. Federal funding provided for about $1 million of the project funding.
The old bridge was constructed in 1936. The old bridge is shown below.
