Osage Prairie Trail Bridge Nears Reopening After 3-Year Closure

A pedestrian bridge that’s been closed for more than three years is getting close to opening back up. The bridge sits along the Osage Prairie Trail near 41st Street North and Peoria.

The trail runs from downtown Tulsa to Skiatook, but the bridge was closed after a series of arson attacks. Bicyclists and runners use it, some of whom say they are glad the barricades will soon be going away.

“We use it all the time for training and for just a pleasurable ride,” said Tom Brown, owner of Tom’s Bicycle Shop. “It’s really beautiful.”

Brown says he and others in the cycling community were disappointed when the bridge closed in 2020. He is glad to hear the repairs are underway.

“You go out on that trail, and there’s marshlands, birds, animals, farms,” he said. “It’s just really pretty.”

The news of the construction isn’t just being celebrated by cyclists. Mitch Drummond is a runner in Tulsa and has used the trail and the bridge to train.

“We actually were running across that bridge and back on the day that it caught fire,” he said. “We smelled the smoke and knew something was going on.”

The City of Tulsa engineers say initial repairs were paused when rotting wood was discovered. It has also been an issue to lock down funding for the project.

The money is there now, and contractors are working to get the new pieces in place. The city says the new materials are fire-resistant to help prevent future arson attacks.

“The plan is it will happily exist for years and years,” said Henry Somdecerff, City of Tulsa.

The city is hopeful the bridge will be fully operational by Christmas.