| Keel Creek Bridge | |
| Coordinates: | 34.6094°N -96.145°W |
| Architecture: | concrete slab bridge |
| Added: | April 4, 2007 |
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Refnum: | 07000257 |
The Keel Creek Bridge is a bridge on Oklahoma State Highway 31 seven miles northeast of Coalgate, Oklahoma.[1] The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2] It was constructed as a Works Progress Administration project. The bridge is significant because of its importance to the transportation history of the area and because it is a WPA-built structure.[1]
Prior to the Great Depression, the economy of Coal County, Oklahoma was already very poor; the county's main product, coal, was no longer in demand by railroads, which had switched to oil-powered trains, and boll weevils had decimated the county's cotton farms.[1] [3] The railroads abandoned the lines to Coal County since coal was no longer needed.[1] The Great Depression further weakened the county economy.[1] A variety of New Deal projects were completed in Coal County, which provided needed employment and improved the quality of life.[1] Coal County had historically had very poor roads, and the end of railroad transport in Coal County meant that roads were an essential means of transportation.[1] Coal County thus prioritized infrastructure improvements, ranging from road resurfacing to bridge construction.[1] Between 10 and 15 bridges were built in Coal County, including the Keel Creek Bridge.[1] The Keel Creek Bridge was completed in 1940 as a Farm-to-market road project.[1] In 2007, when it was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places, it was still in use, even though many of the WPA bridges in Coal County had been replaced.[1]
The bridge is a concrete slab bridge with a sandstone foundation.[1] Stone was chosen because it would require the greatest number of workers.[1] The poured concrete slab deck was chosen because it met Oklahoma highway department of transportation standards for strength and width.[1] The bridge has three spans with two piers and, the bridge deck is around 18 feet above Keel Creek.[1] The masonry shows that those who worked on the bridge were either skilled stonemasons or had perhaps developed their skills working on previous bridge projects.[1] The stones were cut with sharp edges, which gives the bridge a finer appearance than the other Coal County bridges.[1] The bridge has extruded mortar joints, which is a feature no other Coal County WPA structure has.[1]