If the sunshine holds and the winter stays warm, the Broadway Bridge should open to traffic in early spring to the delight of Little Rock and North Little Rock residents alike, said Danny Straessle, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
Once the bridge closed in September, Massman Construction Co., the company charged with rebuilding it, had 180 days to re-open the span to traffic. It's set to reach the halfway mark of that period — 90 days down and 90 to go — at midnight Thursday. Crews will still work on bridge for about two months after that date, Straessle said, but it will be open to at least some traffic.
In the three months since the old span was closed, that structure was toppled and extracted from the river and new arches were floated into place.
Workers have now started on more "traditional" bridge construction, like pouring concrete on the deck of the north arch over the holiday weekend, Straessle said. Massman has used every day where the temperature is above freezing, and with luck, the span should be open to vehicles in early March, he said.
"It just depends on what Old Man Winter decides he wants to do,” Straessle added.
Lightning storms, freezing rain and snow could temporarily halt construction, he said, but Massman factored potential bad weather into the 6-month time frame they allotted themselves. The 180-day cap was included in the company’s bid, Straessle said.
The contract includes a clause in which Massman can earn up to $80,000 per day, for a maximum of 50 days, for every day the project finishes early. But the company would have to pay that same amount every day the project goes past March 29, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported. Weather delays would not alter that arrangement, Straessle said.
Straessle likened the entire operation to both a marathon and a sprint. Though many tasks have to be completed quickly, “no single milestone is going to make or break the project,” he said.
“It’s a collective effort, if you will,” he added.
During the construction there have been a few hiccups, including when the old bridge was detonated but did not actually tumble into the water until five hours later. Straessle said despite those unexpected detours, the project has been humming along smoothly.
“I think that folks, seeing the speed at which this is being accomplished, most people find that remarkable,” he said.
And traffic on the North Little Rock side has been relatively smooth as well, said city spokesman Nathan Hamilton.
“Considering we were expecting armageddon, it’s been a pleasant surprise,” he said.
Hamilton noted there are still times when an accident will cause delays, or congestion will get thick. But in general, the bridge closure has not been as inconvenient as people predicted, he said.
Hamilton said he attributes this, in part, to the “huge amount of preparation” that happened well before the bridge was shut down. The city of North Little Rock invested in traffic cameras and traffic light changing software, he said, which allows officials to respond quickly to the ebb and flow of cars.
Plus, they made sure to get the word out about traffic problems the closure might cause, he said.
“I don’t think anyone was caught by surprise,” Hamilton said.
Residents from both Little Rock and North Little Rock have also enjoyed witnessing the spectacle of bridge construction, especially the explosions, Straessle said.
People have lined the Arkansas River shores or gathered at their office windows to watch a scheduled implosion. They’ve even had grade school classes take field trips to talk with engineers about the science and physics behind the project, he said.
The fascination makes sense, Straessle said, because “you don’t have something like that happen in the downtown area very often.”