Like a troubled bridge over Northwest Expressway

Sunday, July 28, 2024

297

COMMENTARY

Northwest Expressway bridge — (Mike Allen)

Yes, I’m sure that more than a handful of people use the pedestrian bridge at Northwest Expressway and Wilshire Boulevard, but I couldn’t give you any evidence of it if you asked me to. Call it “belief,” I guess.

Whoever has been using it, however, must go back to the old fashioned method — darting across Northwest Expressway’s six lanes of traffic — for a little while, as city crews have closed it for reconfigurations that will achieve Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. While meeting ADA standards might seem like a critically important priority that should have been ensured before construction of the $5.3 million project began in 2021, what do I know? This “repair” isn’t expected to take too long, at least not in terms of the bridge’s construction history, and the Northwest Expressway pedestrian bridge should be open again early next month.

As an aside, I was a long time resident of this area, and I always thought the City of Oklahoma City built this bridge at the wrong intersection. Anecdotally, at least, I witnessed far more people crossing Northwest Expressway at Meridian Avenue, as many people use two sections of trail that connect the Lake Hefner portion to the route to the south. Space and land ownership were likely limiting factors at that location, but it made a bit of sense in an ideal world. Instead, however, the bridge was built more than a mile to the west.

All in all, Northwest Expressway isn’t exactly known for being pedestrian friendly, so really any effort to make it more so, at any intersection, is appreciated.