Dead Woman Creek Bridge

About

Built in 1930 as part of the original paved Route 66 alignment between Bridgeport Hill and Hydro, the Dead Woman Creek Bridge is a remarkably intact example of early Oklahoma highway engineering. The roughly 80-foot steel span uses a camelback pony-truss design, easily recognized by its angular upper chords, center X-bracing and lattice safety rails.

The bridge was constructed by Whitson & Kirby as part of a larger series of improvements made while Route 66 was being paved across western Oklahoma. Today, it remains one of several historic bridges preserved along this stretch of the Mother Road and is a contributing feature of the National Register-listed Bridgeport Hill–Hydro Route 66 segment.

Despite the similar name, this bridge is not connected to the infamous Dead Woman’s Crossing near Weatherford and should not be paired with that location’s 1905 murder story. Dead Woman’s Crossing lies several miles farther west on Deer Creek, while this bridge crosses a separate tributary historically identified as Dead Woman Creek.

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