JONESBORO — Craighead County officials agreed Monday to tearing down an 83-year-old wooden bridge rather than restoring it because it poses a safety hazard.
The safety news quelled earlier objections from residents who wanted to preserve the historical span. More than 1,300 people signed a petition earlier this summer asking that either the railroad restore the bridge or the county take it over and make its own repairs.
The bridge, which crosses over Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks southeast of Bono, was built in 1882 and replaced in 1927 after a fire. The bridge connects Craighead County Road 352 with Craighead County Road 353.
Residents have used the 100-foot-long span as a short cut for years, but the county closed it after two cars plunged off the bridge in December.
County Judge Dale Haas, several Quorum Court members and Steve Cline, who represented the group wanting to save the bridge, met Monday with railroad engineer Charlie Murphy.
“The old bridge is not fit to stand,” Haas said. “I can’t see where it’s repairable.”
The bridge has been used for decades as a meeting place where youngsters and adults could dangle their feet off the suspension and wait for trains to pass underneath. As the trains sped below, the bridge would shake, thrilling those atop it.
A June 28 Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department bridge inspection showed that most of the structure’s timbers are rotted, split and cracked.
“Settlement or structural failure is subject to occurrence at any time,” Brad Smithee, a Highway Department construction engineer, wrote in the inspection report.
Cline said he had been concerned about keeping the road open since the nearest other passage across the tracks is about 5 miles away.
“The bridge has met its life,” said Cline, who added that he had tried to use the historical aspect of the bridge to procure funds for its restoration.
Murphy said the Bono bridge has posed more problems than any other bridge in his Burlington Northern Santa Fe district, which stretches from Springfield, Mo., to Birmingham, Ala.
He said the bridge is not structurally sound, it’s in a remote area and it’s a frequent target for vandalism.
“People build fires on the bridge,” he said. “They take timbers from the bridge and burn them or throw them down on the tracks.
“I’ve been with Burlington for 32 years and never had trouble with a bridge like I’ve had with this one,” he said.
Officials did not say when the bridge would be taken down.
Haas said the county could provide dirt work to build up accesses to a new bridge if the railroad decides to build one. Murphy said he would talk with Burlington Northern Santa Fe officials to determine how much it would cost to build a new bridge there.
“Our main concern is with the public’s safety,” Haas said. “The historical thing is out of the question for me.”
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 07/27/2010