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- Crooked Smile Trail bridge marks collaboration throughout Durant community
Collaboration across multiple working groups was highlighted on the Southeastern Oklahoma State University campus on Tuesday, April 8, as the ribbon was cut to officially open the bridge on the Crooked Smile Trail.
“We think this is one of the best projects we’ve ever done – as a city, as a community, as a group – and we are celebrating that today with the dedication of the new bridge over Chuckwa Creek that really adds another element of amazingness to our Crooked Smile Trail here in Durant,” noted Southeastern president Dr. Thomas W. Newsom. “It’s been an amazing project for me as president here at Southeastern because it’s a project that truly has brought together every element of our community and every element of our state through the Department of Transportation, through our city council, through our regents for the Regional University System of Oklahoma, through the Durant Community Facilities Authority, through our Chamber of Commerce, and more.
“If there is a group in Durant, Oklahoma, that is active in our community to make our community a better place, they have been a part of this project in some form or fashion and that’s just pretty amazing.”
The new bridge runs from the trail’s new southern terminus near the Visual and Performing Arts Center to connect the main campus with the existing trail near the softball field and rodeo expo center. This extends the full trail to a length of 1.75 miles of concrete and natural trail.
The Crooked Smile Trail also connects with the Schuler Loop on campus, now giving Southeastern nearly 4.5 miles of campus trails.
“With this bridge, our students can now easily access the softball field, the rodeo arena, and the intramural fields without leaving the safety of the sidewalks,” noted Southeastern student body president Addison McCortney. “This may not seem like a big deal to those of you who drive daily, but I can assure you that this is a significant change for our students. I am grateful to be a part of a university who is actively investing in their campus and the livelihood of their students, and a university who is being actively invested into, by you – our community, our city, and our state.”
The bridge and path project took years of collaboration as noted by former SE vice president Tim Boatmun, who spoke on behalf of the Durant Trails and Open Spaces (DTOS) group.
“This path and bridge are testament to community collaboration. It’s a symbol of the combined efforts of our state, our county, our city, the Choctaw Nation, businesses, organizations, the university, families, and countless individuals,” Boatmun said at the ceremony.
The bridge project was originally estimated to cost far less than the eventual final total of $2.5 million, and multiple groups came together to complete land and right of way purchasing, permitting, and grant funding assistance.
“I’ve already been out here several times walking this trail and it’s encouraging to see all the entities that came together and are still coming together to make our city our campus better each and every day,” noted Durant city manager and Southeastern alumna Pam Polk. “We all together can make a difference and as you see this is what we can get done when we work together. We will continue to work together. We’re making a difference, and this next one hopefully will be a lot shorter than 10 years.”
The project initially began under the tenure of Sean Burrage, who served as the University’s 19th President, and now serves as the Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education. Burrage returned to Durant for Tuesday’s ceremony.
“When we started Imagine Durant back in 2014 and 2015, this is what we imagined – this is what we had in mind. This has been a long process with a lot of really great people involved, especially Trace and Dena Sherrill,” Burrage said.