New U.S. 81 Rock Island Bridge that pays tribute to Route 66 opens in El Reno

State and local officials on Friday held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of a new U.S. 81 Rock Island Bridge in El Reno, Oklahoma, that pays tribute to the original span’s Route 66 history.

According to the El Reno Tribune, the ceremony for the new $10 million bridge included a performance by the high school’s marching band and a classic-car cruise. The old — and new — bridge brings westbound Route 66 travelers over a set of railroad tracks and into downtown El Reno.

The bridge replaced a 75-year-old span that was functionally obsolete. Local attorney Dean Reinhart, 90, participated in Friday’s ceremony after witnessing the previous bridge’s dedication in 1946, when he was a teenager.

Oklahoma Transportation Secretary Tim Gatz, who happens to be an El Reno native, praised the city officials’ involvement with the project:

“Look at the aesthetics,” Gatz said. White and City Manager Matt Sandidge helped design the Route 66 motif that celebrates El Reno’s connection with the Mother Road.
“The centennial of Route 66 is coming up and this bridge will be a major part of that celebration,” Gatz said.

El Reno’s mayor also told KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City the new bridge wasn’t a cookie-cutter design:

“You’re looking at a new bridge with an art deco style, with the latest Lumiere lights for safety. This is a great partnership with the city of El Reno and ODOT (the Oklahoma Department of Transportation),” El Reno Mayor Matt White said.

Here’s a video by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation about the bridge dedication:

Here’s an excerpted image of Google Street View from 2019 of the previous bridge.

Gatz also mentioned the U.S. 81 spur bridge (aka the iconic Pony Bridge on Route 66) over the North Canadian River near Bridgeport, which is slated to be widened and rebuilt starting next year, but the historic bridge’s original pony trusses will be incorporated into the design.

(Screen-capture image from Oklahoma Department of Transportation video of a Route 66 motif on the new U.S. 81 Rock Island Bridge in El Reno, Oklahoma)