Yesterday a covered boat dock with power boats tied in their slips came loose from Texoma Marina in 40 mph winds, as reported by KXII.com It floated in the lake and ran aground about 1/4 mile from the Willis Bridge over Lake Texoma's West End, Highway 377/99.

A collision was averted, and crews managed to get the free-floating dock back to the marina and secured once again.

Will it be the only dock that breaks free in the still-rising waters?

As I write this post today, Wednesday May 27th, we have not yet reached the highest lake elevation recorded in 1990, which was 644.76.  As I type, the elevation is currently 643.32, so we have a little over a foot to go before we set a new record.

The Willis Bridge carries a lot of traffic, especially wide loads, which means HEAVY loads between Oklahoma and Texas. Crossing the bridge and facing one or more pieces of oilfield equipment or half a house coming at you is not for the fainit of heart.

Especially when the water is so high.

The Army Corps of Engineers website reports:

"Construction of a highway bridge across Lake Texoma at the Willis Ferry site started April 24, 1958, and was completed October 30, 1960. The 5,426-foot-long bridge replaces a former crossing south of Woodville, Oklahoma, on Oklahoma State Highway 99 and Texas State Highway 91. The roadway surface is about 37 feet above the top of the power pool."

I am not looking forward to any bridges closing, and there's been talk of the Roosevelt Bridge closing during heavy rains, although it's not closed at this time.

But water high enough to force closure of the Willis Bridge would not only be unprecedented in the history of Lake Texoma, but it would create MANY other problems as well.

Seems like it was not so long ago we were all talking about praying for rain, due to low lake levels in drought conditions... Now it seems we need to pray for the rains to stop!