![]() I went out to one side of the bridge to try to keep more people from going off in it. "I was on duty that morning and I got a call right after it happened. He saved lives by stopping traffic on the west side of the bridge on I-40. Pollard was on duty as a police officer in Webbers Falls when the bridge collapse. "We haven't decided for sure yet," Pollard said. "I don't know if we will do this any more after this 20th anniversary," Pollard said. ‘A helpless feeling’: Webbers Falls bridge collapse witness still thinks of those lost I-40 bridge disaster: How this Oklahoma reporter navigated tragedy and uncertainty to cover I-40 bridge disaster Pollard spoke at the ceremony Monday, to remember the 14 victims who died. Webbers Falls, Oklahoma Mayor John Pollard was a police officer when the Interstate 40 bridge collapsed May 26, 2002. Janette Barlow of Wimberley, Texas traveled to Webbers Falls Sunday to remember victim Gail Shanahan. Watching my kids grow up and knowing that Shae was just a year and a half difference from my youngest daughter," Billie Eppler said. It's holidays with my children, things like that. She said holidays are difficult, even two decades later. We didn't find out for sure until Tuesday evening," Eppler recalls. We were trying to catch them on their cellphones, (James and Misty Johnson) and just the unknown. "It was a phone call from my mom asking me if I was okay. 'I was shocked': First trooper to arrive at Webbers Falls bridge disaster recalls scene Gone but not forgotten: Former mayor to host memorial in honor of Webbers Falls bridge tragedy Everybody loved Jim," Eppler said.īillie Eppler said she remembers, "disbelief," when she answered a telephone call from her mother 20 years ago about the tragedy at Webbers Falls. He was just a great person in our area in our community. She talked about her late brother at Webbers Falls Monday. She said she lives with the memories of losing three family members among the 14 people who died. Spanning eight states Interstate 40 is a major cross country freeway connecting the Desert Southwest with the Southeastern United States.Billie Eppler of Alma is the sister of James Johnson who was at Webbers Falls Monday. Starting in Barstow, California, the freeway generally follows the alignment of Historic U.S. 66 across the Mojave Desert into the high desert. Spanning the Colorado River west of Kingman, I-40 gains elevation on a course south of the Grand Canyon to the city of Flagstaff. Advancing east across New Mexico, the freeway spans the width of the state, converging with Interstate 25 in Albuquerque.Ĭontinuing to Amarillo, Interstate 40 transitions into the Great Plains in eastern New Mexico, leading into the Texas Panhandle. 66 at Oklahoma City, remaining generally eastward while U.S. Entering Arkansas, Interstate 40 trends southeast from Fort Smith along the Oklahoma state line to Little Rock. 70 east from the capital city to West Memphis. A short concurrency with I-55 precedes the Hernando DeSoto Bridge taking I-40 across the Mississippi River. Through Memphis, I-40 follows the northern arc of the inner beltway the southern half is I-240. The original planned alignment took I-40 across the city, using Sam Cooper Boulevard, a partially completed freeway/boulevard spur from the east toward Overton Park. ![]() Leaving Memphis, I-40 heads to Jackson and then Nashville, where it briefly overlaps with both I-65 and I-24. I-40 joins Nashville with Knoxville, overlapping with I-75 along an eight to ten lane freeway leading into the metropolitan area from Farragut.Ĭontraflow plans for Interstate 40, where all lanes of the freeway are switched to one-way traffic leading away from the coast, arose in 2003 during the threat of Hurricane Isabel, which packed 160 mile per hour winds at one point. Under the plan, North Carolina officials would convert 90 miles of I-40, from Wilmington north to I-95, so that all lanes accommodated westbound traffic during the evacuation phase of a major hurricane threat. The configuration will end several hours before the arrival of Gale Force or higher winds from the threatening storm. A maximum 12 hour window will be implemented for contraflow, so that emergency vehicles and other traffic needing to travel toward the coast can do so. 5Ĭontraflow was first implemented nationally in August 1999 when Hurricane Floyd threatened the Eastern Seaboard. 5 Interstate 16 leading west from Savannah, Georgia was switched to one-way traffic to aid in what was considered the largest peace time evacuation in U.S. ![]()
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