Historic ‘Pony Bridge’ to Undergo Lengthy Reconstruction

BRIDGEPORT – Dozens of classic cars cruised across the Pony Bridge just south of Geary on Saturday in a ride organized by the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, taking the opportunity to enjoy the famous structure while they can.

The bridge, officially called the William H. Murray Bridge, will be closed this spring for reconstruction and probably won’t open again for nearly two years.

Rick Howland, construction and maintenance engineer for District 4 of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, told the Hinton Record that the Pony Bridge project will go out for bid in November with construction expected to start around March 2022.

Once construction begins, the commute between Blaine and Caddo counties will become considerably longer. Those traveling from Watonga or Geary to Hinton will have to take the 281 spur to the Cherokee Travel Mart, then travel west on I-40 until Exit 101.

Howland said ODOT will try to expedite the project.

“We’re trying a few things with this one,” Howland said, “some accelerated bridge techniques where we have some of the precast panels, and things like that. So we’re hoping to reduce the time that it’s closed.”

Even so, he expects construction to last up to 570 days, about a year and a half.

The Pony Bridge has long been a famous Route 66 landmark because of its distinctive pony trusses, which don’t connect at the top. It was even featured in “The Grapes of Wrath.”

Howland said the bridge’s iconic trusses will be preserved and reinstalled, though they will no longer be “structural.” “They’re going to be, more or less, just for looks,” he said, “but they will at least give the appearance of the old bridge.”

The 3,944-foot bridge, said to be the longest anywhere on Route 66, was built in 1933. Its 22-foot width no longer meets the demands of modern traffic, and the bridge has been declared structurally deficient.

“Technically, loaded semis aren’t supposed to drive over it,” Howland said, “even though we know they do.”

The reconstructed bridge will be wider and safer, he said. Plus, there will even be a parking area with historic markers built on the north side of the bridge for tourists and anyone who wants to stop for a picture.

“We’re going to clear a little bit of the treeline on both sides,” Howland said. “One, just to help with construction. But two, to actually give the public a little better sightline of the bridge itself, once it’s completed.”

In the meantime, motorists have a few months to complete their farewell drives for the original structure.