BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials say they will continue efforts to save the War Eagle Bridge.
About 50 people crowded a meeting of the county's Transportation Committee on Monday night to hear an update on the bridge. Residents of the area in eastern Benton County again overwhelmingly supported preserving the bridge, with cheers and applause for those who spoke in favor.
Bridge Repair
War Eagle Bridge was closed for repair work for about three months in 2010. The cost of that renovation work was about $604.000. Engineering studies done on the bridge at the time identified about $1.7 million in work needed, but county officials, citing budget concerns, opted to do only part of that work.
Source: Staff Report
County Judge Bob Clinard said the county will continue seeking an engineering firm willing to examine the bridge, and oversee its repair or restoration. Clinard said having an engineer working on the project is crucial in determining how the bridge will be used, whether as a pedestrian bridge, as a bridge for limited traffic or whether it must be replaced.
"The maximum loading we can get an engineer to sign off on will tell us what we can use it for," Clinard said. "We want the maximum load we can get from that bridge. We want it in that spot and we want it safe."
The panel took no action but Clinard said he will continue searching for a qualified engineering firm to work on the bridge project. So far, he said, firms in Arkansas and other states the county has contacted with have declined due to liability concerns.
The bridge, built in 1908, faces an uncertain future. The state Highway and Transportation Department has identified several structural defects in inspection reports. The county is weighing the cost of rehabilitating and maintaining the bridge and the possibility of building bridge, either in a nearby location or at the same site, which crosses War Eagle Creek on Benton County 98.
Clinard said claims the county plans to demolish the bridge are false.
"I have never, ever said that and I do not intend to do that," he said.
Susan Anglin, justice of the peace for District 9, said she wants to county to do more to find an engineer for the project.
"I think we need to have an exhaustive search for an engineer," Anglin said. "I can't believe that 108 years ago they could build a bridge like that and today we're acting like it's impossible."
Barry Moehring of District 15 suggested the county go national in its search for a qualified engineer. Clinard agreed that could be done.
Jenny Harmon, a resident of the War Eagle area, suggested the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one possible source of information on similar work done elsewhere. She said other bridges have been saved and Benton County should make use of the experience and knowledge gained in those efforts.
"This is not the only historic bridge in the country," she said. "There are many all over."
The Road Department and Clinard identified three options the county has examined: rehabilitating the bridge, bypassing the bridge and leaving it intact; and replacing the bridge with a new one at the same location.
NW News on 05/05/2015