Officials break ground on four-lane US-70 bridge over Lake Texoma

Oklahoma transportation officials broke ground Thursday, Sept. 10, on a four-lane replacement for the 1945 US-70 Roosevelt Bridge across Lake Texoma, a crossing north of the Texas line that drivers will keep using while the new span is built, according to Sen. James Lankford's office and the official project website.

Lankford joined Oklahoma Department of Transportation Executive Director Tim Gatz, Federal Highway Administrator Sean McMaster and state and local leaders at the ceremony in Marshall County, his office said in a statement issued the next day. The statement did not name a venue.

Transportation commissioners approved a $408 million contract in April with the Zachry Construction–Traylor Bros. joint venture for final design and construction, ODOT announced. That announcement describes four travel lanes, full shoulders, improved lighting and improvements to the US-70 approaches. The project website adds a separate walking and biking path.

Construction is tentatively set to run from this fall into late 2029, about three years, the project website says. The existing bridge will stay open during the work, and ODOT plans to remove it after traffic moves to the replacement. Lake Texoma is expected to stay open, though temporary safety zones may restrict access around work areas on the water.

ODOT says the current span opened in 1945. A December 2024 federal report described two lanes on a 24-foot deck with no shoulders and called the crossing functionally obsolete and at risk of becoming structurally deficient. At a July 2023 public meeting on alternatives, the department listed railing safety, low clearance at the truss span, bridge condition and thin future capacity among its concerns.

| Project record | Figure |

| --- | --- |

| Design-build contract, April 2026 (ODOT) | $408 million |

| Bridge Investment Program grant, 2024 (FHWA table) | $123.85 million |

| Existing bridge | 4,943 ft., 2 lanes, 24-ft. deck, no shoulders |

| Replacement (ODOT, project website) | 4 lanes, full shoulders, walk-bike path |

Gatz said the roughly $124 million federal grant covers about 30 percent of the cost, according to Lankford's office; FHWA's grant-award table records the award at $123.85 million. ODOT says House Bill 2915 authorized up to $200 million in bonding for the project, and reported in 2024 that its construction costs had climbed more than 60 percent since 2022. Commissioners advanced the start from 2029 to 2026 in the 2025–2032 construction plan.

The bridge links Bryan and Marshall counties in Oklahoma, and ODOT's preliminary engineering report puts the Oklahoma–Texas boundary about seven miles south of the project, outside Cooke County. ODOT reported 8,500 vehicles per day in its April 2026 announcement. Lankford's office reported 12,000, without a count date or method, so the two figures cannot be read as growth.

Roosevelt is ODOT's first project using Modified Progressive Design Build, which brings designers, builders and the department together during design and construction planning, according to the department's November 2025 announcement. Oklahoma's 2027–2031 county roads and bridges plan includes $3.5 million for Texoma Park Road, west of the crossing.