BENTONVILLE -- Officials will seek public input as they begin to craft plans to replace the historic War Eagle Bridge.
Benton County Judge Bob Clinard and Glenn Jones with the Benton County Historical Preservation Commission will plan a meeting for the public to listen to county officials and offer their views on the bridge.
Historic Bridge
Built by the Illinois Steel Bridge Company in 1907, the War Eagle Bridge is significant as one of six Parker through trusses in Arkansas. The bridge is located next to a reconstructed grist mill, which is fourth in a series of mills on the same site dating back to 1832.
Source: Library of Congress
The county needs to replace the bridge, which has been flagged by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for serious structural deficiencies, Clinard said last week.
Studying the site, doing engineering work and developing a design for a new bridge will be part of a process expected to take at least three years, Clinard said. The county will try to obtain state and federal money for the project. Clinard hopes the existing bridge can remain open in the interim.
"The bridge has been reported by the Highway Department for the last three years as being deficient," Clinard said. "This cannot continue. We are going to have to provide a bridge across that river that can meet the needs of the people of Benton County now and in the future."
Jones wants to get accurate information out to people who are interested in saving the bridge. A public meeting could be set for mid-February.
"When the story first got out in the paper, I got a number of phone calls, emails and text messages from people thinking 'The county is going to tear down the bridge.' I've called them back and explained that's not the case. The judge is going to look at all the options," Jones said.
The county will have a study done of the area near the bridge to determine suitable areas for putting another span across, Clinard said. The first choice will be to put a new bridge as close to the existing bridge as possible to save cost from building less roadway, he said.
Jones has done his own inspection of the bridge since he heard of the Highway Department finding. He agrees the existing bridge is dangerous.
"I did a four-hour inspection over it and under it, and the bridge is dangerous if you've got a fully loaded cement truck trying to cross," he said.
Ron Easley is the newly elected justice of the peace for District 1 where the bridge is located. Easley said he was not familiar with the structural problems reported, but he's aware of the significance of the bridge in the community's history and the lives of the people in the area.
"I've spent a lot of time as a child playing on that old bridge," Easley said. "That's part of the area, it's a landmark. Hopefully it can all be worked out so it can be saved."
Kevin Harrison is justice of the peace for District 2, which includes southeastern Rogers and some area east of the city toward the bridge. Harrison has heard from area residents on the importance of saving the bridge.
"I've gotten more calls on this issue then I have on anything since I've been on the Quorum Court," Harrison said.
Jeff Clark, county public services administrator and head of the Road Department, said the county is in the initial information-gathering stage.
"Right now, we're just trying to get together all of the options," Clark said. "Then we'll go through them and pick one. It's going to be a long process. "
NW News on 01/25/2015