The US 77 James C. Nance Memorial Bridge connecting Purcell and Lexington was originally built as a circa 1938
deck truss two-lane bridge and in 2019 rebuilt as a concrete pier four-lane bridge
crossing the
Canadian River between
Purcell and
Lexington, Oklahoma
Lexington is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States. The city population was 2,152 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Lexington is located in southern Cleveland County at . It is bordered on the west by the Canadian River, which forms the ...
. The bridge designated on the
list of state highways in Oklahoma carries
U.S. Route 77 (US-77) and
Oklahoma State Highway 39 (SH-39) from
McClain County to
Cleveland County
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
. The bridge is named for
James C. Nance
James Clark "Jim" Nance (August 27, 1893 – September 3, 1984) was a leader for 40 years in the Oklahoma Legislature in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and was community newspaper chain publisher 66 years. Nance served as Speaker of the Oklahoma H ...
, longtime community newspaper chain publisher and
Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The speaker exercises administrative and procedural functions ...
,
President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate
The President ''pro tempore'' of the Oklahoma Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the Oklahoma Senate and the highest-ranking state senator. The Oklahoma Constitution designates the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma as the highest-r ...
and member of U.S
Uniform Law Commission
The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also called the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, is a non-profit, American unincorporated association. Established in 1892, the ULC aims to provide U.S. states (plus the District of Co ...
.
The Nance bridge allows travel time from Purcell (west side of the Canadian River) to Lexington (east side of the river) to be only 3 minutes by car, according to google maps. When the bridge was closed (Emergency Closure, below), the same trip was 43 minutes when re-routed North to the nearest bridge, or 1 hour and 4 minutes when re-routed Southeast to the nearest bridge. The Nance bridge features a scenic pedestrian walkway with sweeping views of the
South Canadian River valley.
The 1938 construction of this bridge enabled communities from West and Southwest (Byars, Cole, Dibble, Paoli, Pauls Valley, Purcell, Rosedale, and Wayne) side of the river to reach the communities on the east side of the river (Lexington, Slaughterville, and Wanette). Traffic using the bridge allows trade and commerce to freely flow in this retail trade area of southern McClain County, southern Cleveland County, Southern Pottawatomie County, and northern area of Garvin County, and eastern portion of Grady county. The 2019 rebuilt bridge features the same design elements with concrete post and original circa 1938 design wrought iron railings.
History
In 1982, the James C. Nance bridge was structurally reinforced and a large elevated pipeline was attached underneath to carry the bulk of Purcell's water supply which comes from deep water wells that tap into an aquifer east of Lexington. The pipeline was later bored under the river during bridge reconstruction
The James C. Nance Memorial Bridge was officially named by House Joint Resolution 525, Okla. Session Laws 1967, pg. 709; 69 O.S. 1981, Section 1612 to enable the State Highway Commission name the Purcell/Lexington US-77/SH-39 bridge the James C. Nance Bridge, to honor his legislative service, under OK title 69, Chapter 1, Article 16 Section 1612 established the James C. Nance Bridge which is 1,110.1 meters
(3,642 ft) long, making it among the longest in the state.
[Kinsler, Wes]
''Oklahoma Bridges''. URL accessed 20 January 2008.
The James C. Nance Memorial Bridge was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on 09-02-2003.
[
The two year project to rebuild the bridge in 2 sections used 20,000 Cubic Yards of Concrete, 6 million pounds of rebar and is 3,726 feet long taking 325,000 man hours to build at a cost $38 million. The project met with numerous challenges including inclement weather and local protected wildlife living on or under the historical bridge and delayed work. Despite the challenges, the James C. Nance Memorial Bridge project was finished 5 months early.]
In 2019, the US 77 Purcell/Lexington James C. Nance bridge was re-opened by Oklahoma Department of Transportation
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an government agency, agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Sec ...
According to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, "History was made Friday July 26, 2019 in Purcell and Lexington, just as it was more than 80 years ago when the two cities celebrated the grand opening of a new bridge connecting their communities. The new US 77 Purcell/Lexington James C. Nance Bridge that links the cities, located less than one mile apart, fully opened to traffic with much fanfare on Friday, July 26, 2019, the culmination of a major two-year, expedited reconstruction project.
The 2 lane state owned bridge built in 1938 was the first bridge in the area to be on the list of state highways in Oklahoma and installed at the site by Oklahoma Department of Transportation
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an government agency, agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Sec ...
and replaced a bridge in nearby vicinity within several blocks north which was a 1 lane privately owned toll bridge built in 1911, which in turn had replaced a wooden constructed 1 lane Cleveland County bridge over the river, according to historic records.
See also
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References
{{NRHP in Cleveland County, Oklahoma
Truss bridges in the United States
Bridges completed in 1938
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma
Buildings and structures in McClain County, Oklahoma
Buildings and structures in Cleveland County, Oklahoma
Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System
U.S. Route 77
National Register of Historic Places in McClain County, Oklahoma
National Register of Historic Places in Cleveland County, Oklahoma