The new Cincinnati Avenue bridge over the Burlington Northern Railroad, shown looking north from First Street, opened in December 1981 after being closed for more than two years. The old bridge, which was built in the early 1930s and was about 3.5 lanes wide, as well as a platform connecting it to the Tulsa Union Depot, created some problems because Cincinnati Avenue is five lanes wide and the extra lanes required traffic to turn onto Archer Street. The bridge received a 10-ton load limit in 1976 and remained open until a warehouse fire damaged it in the fall of 1979. At this time, the bridge was closed, and southbound traffic was detoured a block east to use the northbound left lane on the Detroit Avenue bridge, as the next possible southbound crossing to the west was Cheyenne Avenue. After crossing the Detroit bridge in a single lane, traffic returned to Cincinnati Avenue on First Street. Prior to its closing, the bridge already was slated for replacement through a 1977 bond issue project, so the closing would be a short-term inconvenience. Construction began on demolishing the old bridge in the summer of 1980, and work began on the new bridge's piers and abutment walls that fall. The new bridge opened in December 1981 and has five lanes, which eliminates the mandatory turn lanes at Archer Street. The old depot platform was not incorporated into the new bridge and later was demolished. Photograph taken June 1982.
