The Dr. G.E. Finley Bridge is named for the Oklahoma City physician who maintained a practice in the Deep Deuce area from 1937 to 1999.
The bridge reopened on July 21, 2006 after being closed for almost two years for repairs and renovation.
The bridge was previously known as the Walnut Avenue Bridge.
It leads into Bricktown from the Deep Deuce neighborhood. It was built between 1934 and 1937 to carry traffic into what was then the City's warehouse district.
It crosses the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and Main Street.
With the redevelopment of the warehouse district into Bricktown, and the growth of Deep Deuce, the aging bridge again became an important route. But there was disagreement about whether it should be restored, replaced with a more modern bridge or replaced by a grade-level railroad crossing.
Dr. G. E. Finley
Voters approved a bridge replacement project in the 1989 General Obligation Bond Issue, but because the bridge crossed railroad tracks, approval was also needed from the State Corporation Commission and the railroad itself.
The $4.3 million construction project saved parts of the bridge that were still usable and replaced the rest with new construction matching the original design.
Funding for the project will came from the following sources:
- $3,649,483 from the 1989 General Obligation Bond Issue, Proposition 1 - approved by voters December 14, 1989.
- $643,053.06 from the 2000 General Obligation Bond Issue, Proposition 2 – approved by voters on December 12, 2000.