Businesses breaking ground soon in Coweta along with major bridge repair

COWETA, Okla. — Coweta residents will soon receive a new fast food option as bigger economic projects continue.

Braums will break ground in just a few days. It's part of a bigger economic project to attract more people to their small town.

Her goal was to attract big-name brands to their small town, like the Braums planned for Highway 51 and BancFirst.

“It's kind of the entrance to our Broadway district. We have a lot of smaller realtors in the Broadway area and we’re hoping it will bring additional traffic to those people," Casteen said.

One of the stipulations to building the new businesses in the area was to reconstruct the bridge that was destroyed in the flood of 2019.

“Originally, we had chosen not to reconstruct it because of the cost. It serves five families right now, and FEMA would not pay for the reconstruction because it was built formally in an old-fashioned kind of way," Casteen said.

The Wagoner County Economic Development Authority helped fund the repairs.

"They were able to contribute some money to make it happen," Casteen added.

Julie Casteen, the city manager of Coweta, tells FOX23 that the work to attract businesses to the area was years in the making.

"We're really excited to bring this to our community, and everybody has been waiting for it for a long time,” Casteen said.

Braum's official groundbreaking ceremony is expected to be held on Tuesday, July 2nd at 10:00 a.m. on Highway 51 in Coweta.