VIDEO: Oklahoma DOT drops Highway 51 bridge into river

February 19, 2016
The Oklahoma Department of Transport has sent the Grand River Bridge to the bottom of the Grand River in a massive five-second controlled detonation.

The bridge, officially called the Richard D. Newkirk Bridge, was built in 1949 and named after an engineer and long-time employee of the Oklahoma DoT. Newkirk died in 1998 at the age of 80 at his cabin on Fort Gibson Lake, close to the bridge.

Newkirk began his career as a highway labourer working for 35 cents an hour. By the time he retired in 1987, he had served as Division 1 district engineer for more than 13 years.

The new bridge built alongside the old one cost around US$17 million and also carries his name. It opened in January. A $9.2 million project to widen the Oklahoma 51 causeway approaching the bridge was completed in summer 2014.

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