FT. GIBSON, Okla. — A Fort Gibson trading post is concerned about its business after learning the bridge over the nearby dam is closed indefinitely.
Blackwell’s Dam River Trading Post has been sitting near the Fort Gibson Dam since 2017.
“We’ve got the bar,” said owner Charlie Blackwell. “We’ve got the bait store. We’ve got the kitchen, and we’ve got the cabins.”
Historic flooding in 2019 caused a setback for months, and now, owner Charlie Blackwell says the bridge closure is another big blow.
“I don’t think it’s going to kill us, but it’s going to hurt us,” said Blackwell.
Bartender Rebecca Willis is worried about the road closed signs leading up to the dam bridge and up to the shop.
“It looks like the road is all the way closed throughout here, and it’s not,” said Rebecca Willis.
Some fishermen share their concern, like Steven Nunley from Okmulgee, who says it took some extra time to get to his fishing hole.
“The drive going 25 minutes, almost 30 minutes out of the way, it’ll turn a fisherman off real quick,” said Steven Nunley.
The Tulsa District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says they had no choice. They say the conditions on the bridge were getting to a critical level.
“This last winter did a number on this floor beam, and it got to the point where we're starting to lose large amounts of concrete and exposing our main reinforcing steel,” said Patrick Shoopman, P.E., bridge safety program manager.
Over the past several years, the Army Corps has monitored the deteriorating conditions, making nearly yearly changes to the bridge.
In 2021, they stopped letting vehicles over 15 tons use the bridge. In 2023, the Army Corps recommended closing a portion of the downstream lane of one lane on the bridge.
In 2024, they closed the full downstream bridge lane.
“Every six months we’ve been going out to this bridge, and it’s just slowly been getting worse and worse,” said Shoopman.
Nunley says he’s seen that firsthand.
"We're talking about every 5 feet. Clink clink. Clink clink. Clink clink,” said Nunley.
The plan is to replace the bridge completely, and the Army Corps is looking for ways to pay for it. They say once they have a contract in place, it could take two and a half years to finish the work.
It makes Blackwell worried.
“Are you concerned about your business staying around that long,” we asked. “Oh, I am,” he said. “We’re just going to have to do something different to make up for it. We’ll do it whatever it takes.”
The Army Corps says they’re looking to see if they can repair the bridge and re-open it. They’re working with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to see if it’s possible.
They say the deteriorating conditions are mainly due to age because the bridge is more than 70 years old.
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