A colony of tiny birds delayed the Oklahoma Department of Transportation bridge rehabilitation project on S.H. 3 over U.S. 81 southeast of Okarche for two months, a spokesperson said.

Work on the bridges began in April, but was stopped two months ago when a colony of federally-protected cliff swallows was found nesting underneath the bridges, Lisa Shearer-Salim, ODOT public information officer said.

Although the birds’ name is derived from the cliff ledges where they typically build their mud nests, colonies of the birds also frequently nest under bridges, eaves and culverts.

Shearer-Salim said traffic already had been diverted to one lane in each direction on the southbound bridge and demolition work started on the northbound bridge before the nests were built, which prevented the contractor from restoring the four-lane traffic pattern during the delay.

“Traffic will be narrowed to one lane in each direction for the duration of the project, but just moved from one bridge to the other after the first bridge is completed,” she said.

The northbound bridge is expected to be completed by the end of October, when work will shift to the southbound bridge.

Work resumed last Thursday and, weather permitting, is expected to be completed on both bridges by the end of the year.

Before the unexpected delay, the entire project was slated to be completed at the end of October.

Shearer-Salim said the $2.6 million bridge rehabilitation project was awarded last December to K&R Builders in Wheatland.

Rehabilitation of the deck and pavement “will improve drivability, safety and cause less disruptions to traffic in the longterm and will extend the life of the two bridges up to 20 years,” she said.

Completion of the rehabilitation project will remove both bridges from ODOT’s list of structurally-deficient bridges, she said.

She noted that northwest-bound traffic can take the access road to U.S. 81 as a detour around the bridge instead of going through the work zone.