A wooden, humpback bridge over railroad tracks at 14th Street will be taken down by Union Pacific Railroad after more than a month of North Little Rock city officials exploring other options.
The North Little Rock City Council agreed Monday evening to abandon and permanently vacate the portion of the 14th Street crossing within the Union Pacific right of way. Union Pacific will also pay the city $75,000 once the street-railroad crossing is removed, access to the railroad right of way is permanently barricaded and the bridge structure is taken down.
The bridge, believed to have been built during the 1940s, has been closed and due for dismantling for the past 13 months for being "structurally unsafe."
Mayor Joe Smith was the deciding vote in Monday's 5-3 decision after council members Debi Ross, Beth White and Linda Robinson all voted no. The mayor only votes when a fifth vote is needed to approve legislation. Council member Maurice Taylor was absent.
"It's a sad deal, but it has to be done," Smith said after the vote.
Legislation for the agreement with Union Pacific first went before the City Council on Feb. 26, but council members asked for alternatives to either keep the bridge open as a pedestrian crossing only or rebuild it for pedestrian and bicycle use. The bridge, about two blocks west of Main Street, is in a residential neighborhood and near the North Little Rock Boys and Girls Club.
Smith told the council that the best option is to accept Union Pacific's offer to pay the city for the railroad to close the bridge and tear it down. However, he added that the city will continue to pursue federal funds to possibly build a new crossing, though obtaining any grant "might be a year from now."
"We have looked at any and every option to make this a win-win and we can't," Smith said. "I think it's the best thing financially for the city to do.
"We can go ahead and pass this and get the railroad going and then work on a grant," he said.
Council member Charlie Hight said a sidewalk along 13th Street could "use some maintenance" to improve pedestrian access to Main Street.
"That's one option for people in that neighborhood right now," Hight said.
NW News on 04/11/2019