Early stages of Broadway Bridge construction to start next month

Span won't close for 'months' to come, official says

The Arkansas Highway Comission and Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department have accepted a $98.4 million bid for the Broadway Bridge replacement project. The bid by Massman Construction Co. of Kansas City offered the lowest cost and shortest amount of time for the bridge to be out of service.
The Arkansas Highway Comission and Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department have accepted a $98.4 million bid for the Broadway Bridge replacement project. The bid by Massman Construction Co. of Kansas City offered the lowest cost and shortest amount of time for the bridge to be out of service.

The beginning of a two-and-a-half-year construction timeline to replace the Broadway Bridge connecting downtowns Little Rock and North Little Rock is set to begin next month, but highway officials say a closure to traffic is still "months" away.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department last week accepted a $98.4 million bridge from Kansas City, Mo.-based Massman Construction Co. to replace the aging bridge. The bid called for the 2.5-year construction plan and the bridge being out of commission for only six months, significantly less than the 18 months to two years highway officials had estimated it might take.

Jeff Whatley, a spokesman for the Highway Department, said while construction will officially begin in about two to four weeks, it will be in the "very early stages" and largely involve "planning and that sort of thing."

"It doesn't mean they'll be out there with a hammer," he said, noting it's unclear when exactly motorists will start seeing construction workers active on and near the 91-year-old span.

As for when the bridge actually closes, that too is up in the air, Whatley said, but it won't be soon.

"We're talking months," he said.

Massman was awarded the contract after submitting both the lowest bid and a plan with the least amount of time the bridge would be closed to traffic. If the closure extends beyond six months, or 180 days, the company would be fined $80,000 for each extra day.

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