This Unusual Bridge Makes Sense in One Specific Scenario

Roadway construction is loud, long, and leads to traffic jams at all hours of the day. Although you can’t eliminate the noise or cut short the length of a project, there are ways to minimize slowdowns. One way is by using a project-specific overpass to haul construction materials over the impacted roads. In Oklahoma, a concrete conveyor belt bridge was recently installed over Interstate 44.

As part of a highway widening project, construction partner Duit Construction put in place an innovative way to move building materials: a bridge. But this freeway overpass isn’t for commuters or construction crews. It’s for the concrete. Positioned over I-44 near Kellyville (west of Tulsa) is what the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) calls “a first-of-its-kind of installation on an Oklahoma turnpike.”

In a Facebook post, the OTA says about 83,000 cubic yards of wet concrete will roll through the conveyor bridge from the portable concrete plant on the turnpike’s northside directly to the work site. Not only does this increase efficiency in moving the concrete while reducing costs, the OTA adds that safety for motorists and work crews improves as well.

Oklahomans might be thinking, “Wait, haven’t I already seen this here before?” You sure have. Although a first for an Oklahoma turnpike, the first-ever usage on any Oklahoma highway occurred in 2023. A concrete belt conveyor belt was positioned over I-35 near Wynnewood (south of Oklahoma City) as part of another highway expansion project. Check out the video below to see the conveyor bridge in action. 

Usually, the worst part when coming across road construction is the large vehicles entering and exiting the work zone. Earthmovers aren’t the speediest of vehicles, either. And when you just want to get from point A to point B, they seemingly stop time with their methodical digging and hauling. 

Using a concrete conveyor bridge essentially removes concrete mixer trucks from this picture. The OTA says in this scenario, that means eliminating “concrete trucks from entering traffic up to 8,300 times through the life of the paving operation.” I wonder how many saved minutes (hours?) that translates to for commuters.

Concrete conveyor belts aren’t a new idea, and they certainly aren’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Utah used a version in 2015 that was much longer and looked like a construction project all its own. Colorado utilized one similar-looking 85-foot-long conveyor in 2018, which the Colorado DOT said would eliminate more than 6,000 truckloads from maneuvering through traffic and also remove the 20 minutes needed to drive between the concrete plant and the work site.

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