Severe Red River flooding is causing disruptions in early May 2025 across Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana, impacting infrastructure projects and raising concerns about rising water levels. Record rainfall upstream is contributing to the high flow.
At the Oklahoma-Texas state line, floodwaters have interrupted construction on a new Interstate 35 bridge. The joint project between the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) involves building a new bridge and approaches on both sides of the riverbed.
Floodwaters reached close to the underside of the current bridge, covering construction equipment that had not been moved. The new bridge is part of a $480 million project launched last fall, which includes widening Interstate 35 in both states.
The project is intended to address increasing traffic volume. Tim Gatz, executive director of ODOT, stated that daily vehicle traffic on I-35 could rise significantly in the coming years. "It is the number one fastest growing for population and job growth in the United States, so it’s got our attention, it has to have our attention," Gatz said.
Further west in Oklahoma, water levels in Lawton area lakes are lower levels despite recent rain, with gates open at Lake Lawtonka and Lake Ellsworth. The Red River near Lawton dropped below action levels on May 4.
However, forecasters project the river could reach minor flooding levels near Lawton by May 7.
Downstream in Shreveport, Louisiana, the Red River is nearing its action flood stage. A flood gauge showed the river at 25.24 feet as of May 5, less than a foot below the 26-foot action level for the area.
Officials there attribute the rise to upstream rainfall in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, which feeds into the Red River basin. Forecasts predict the river at Shreveport will cross into the flood stage by May 8.
More rainfall is expected this week in both the Shreveport area and upstream regions, which could further increase river levels.
