James C. Nance Memorial Bridge

The US 77 James C. Nance 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 [3] crossing the Canadian River between Purcell and Lexington, Oklahoma. The bridge carries U.S. Route 77 (US-77) and Oklahoma State Highway 39 (SH-39) from McClain County to Cleveland County. The bridge is named for James C. Nance, longtime community newspaper chain publisher and Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, President Pro Tem of Oklahoma State Senate and Uniform Law Commissioner.

James C. Nance Memorial Bridge
US 77 James C. Nance Bridge, a deck truss 2-lane bridge built circa 1938 as seen from the Purcell train station prior to 2019 rebuild as 4 lane concrete pier bridge.
Coordinates35°0′51″N 97°21′10″W
US Highway 77 Bridge at Canadian River
Location in Oklahoma
Location in United States
Location US-77 / SH-39 over the Canadian R, Lexington, Oklahoma
Coordinates35°0′54″N 97°20′38″W
Area3.5 acres (1.4 ha)
Built1938, rebuilt 2019
Built byGuy H. James
Architectural styleDeck Truss Bridge 1938; Concrete Pier Bridge 2019
NRHP reference No.03000882[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 2, 2003
Carries2 lanes of US-77 / SH-39
CrossesCanadian River
LocalePurcell-Lexington, Oklahoma
Maintained byOklahoma Department of Transportation
ID number06593
Characteristics
DesignDeck truss 1938; Concrete Pier 2019
Total length1,110.1 metres (3,642 ft)[2]
History
Opened1938, rebuilt 2019

The Nance bridge allows travel time from Purcell (west side of the Canadian river) to Lexingon (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 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 wrought iron railings.[3]

Municipal Water Source

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.

Historical Notes

The Nance bridge is 1,110.1 meters[2] (3,642 ft) long, making it among the longest in the state.[4]

The bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 2003-09-02.[2][1]

2019 Grand Opening

In 2019, the US 77 Purcell/Lexington James C. Nance bridge was re-opened by Oklahoma Department of Transportation [3] 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." [3] The 2 lane state owned bridge built in 1938 replaced a 1 lane privately owned toll bridge built in 1911, which had replaced a wooden constructed 1 lane Cleveland County bridge over the river, according to historic records.

See also
  • Transport portal
  • Engineering portal
  • Oklahoma portal

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. National Bridge Inventory
  3. Department of Transportation, website. . “US-77 James C. Nance Bridge between Purcell and Lexington”. Accessed 26 July 2019.
  4. Kinsler, Wes. . Oklahoma Bridges. URL accessed 20 January 2008.
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