Fort Sill Low Water Crossing

Year-Round Accessibility

Fort Sill was established by the United States Army in 1869 and has been used as a training ground for much of its history. But an insufficient crossing over the East Cache Creek made it so a portion of the long-used installation for weapons training was inaccessible during heavy flooding.

Garver's ingenuity and efficiency throughout the design-build project has assured year-round access to the valuable training grounds near Lawton, Oklahoma. Garver handled design services for a cast-in-place reinforced concrete box culvert with five 20-foot by 15-foot cells, headwalls, wingwalls, and aprons to replace the previous low-water crossing. The new crossing was designed with two 12-foot lanes capable of supporting fully loaded heavy expanded mobility tactical trucks, built 20 feet above the previous crossing that became completely submerged when the creek flooded.

"We've done a lot of work at Fort Sill over the years, so we've seen the impact that the flooding creek would have on the Army's operations," said Director of Federal Services Wallace Smith. "The new bridge helps the Army maintain its strict training schedules, and it's a much safer option, too."

Garver's design plans were not only an economically feasible solution to meet the elevation requirements, but also protected surrounding wetlands, maintained creek flow at all times during construction through a phased approach, and avoided adjacent Native American artifacts.