A project began Monday to replace the single-lane bridge on Bowman Avenue, east of the Golf Course.

Kingfisher County District 1 Commissioner Jeff Moss announced the project start at Monday’s county meeting. (Maintenance of that section of Bowman Avenue is under county jurisdiction.)

Depending on the weather, the project will take six to eight weeks to complete, including 28 days of curing time for the new concrete.

Both the city of Kingfisher and the county sheriff’s office have made alternative plans for emergency service routes.

(See city map on Page 1.)

Some of Kingfisher’s residential areas east of the railroad right of way and south of Bowman Avenue are only directly accessible from Bowman itself.

Access is compounded this time of year because Kingfisher Winter Nights is utilizing the park for its nighttime displays and the park gates are locked during the daytime hours for security purposes.

Union Pacific Railroad also creates issues when it intermittently stops its trains along the Bowman Avenue intersection, blocking that route as well.

Kingfisher City Manager Dave Slezickey said the police and fire departments both have keys to the park gates and both he and Sheriff Dennis Banther said they are reaching out to Union Pacific to urge the railroad to keep the intersection clear while construction is ongoing.

By early Tuesday afternoon, the old bridge had been taken out to allow work to begin on the replacement structure.

Sheriff Dennis Banther said two sheriff’s department members would be assigned to each end of the street to divert traffic.