Roosevelt Bridge reopens after truck recovery

Workers prepare to remove an 18-wheeler from Lake Texoma on June 26, 2018. (KTEN)

BRYAN COUNTY, Okla. --  The Roosevelt Memorial Bridge over Lake Texoma was reopened to regular traffic early Wednesday morning after a grueling effort to remove an 18-wheeler from the water was completed.

The Sherwin Williams truck plunged into the lake last Thursday after colliding with a car on the two-lane U.S. 70 bridge linking Mead and Kingston. Both drivers were killed.

The truck was lifted from 60 feet of murky water early Tuesday morning and its driver was removed from the wreckage.

U.S. 70 over the two-lane bridge had been periodically closed to all vehicles or restricted to a single lane as recovery teams worked to remove the big rig.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Eric Cannaday said Monday that divers attached flotation devices and a tow line to the trailer, which had been hauling an estimated 27,000 pounds of paint and supplies. Recovery teams struggled to change the position of the jackknifed big rig to make it easier to lift the truck and its trailer to the surface.

After working all morning, troopers said they were only able to shift the wreckage slightly before a tow line snapped.

The OHP put out a call for more cables, and they arrived late on Monday afternoon. Divers then worked to attach the lines to the front of the tractor-trailer.

The recovery operation was delayed over the weekend due to choppy waters.