Beaver bridge gets state reprieve
Posted on Tuesday, March 7, 2006
The state Highway and Transportation Department said Monday that it plans to keep the beloved one-lane suspension bridge in Beaver, rather than build a new bridge to replace it.
Dan Flowers, director of the Highway Department, said in a news release that the social, environmental and economic impacts of replacing the Carroll County bridge were all considered in the recommendation.
“We believe the best course of action at this time is to continue to maintain the existing Beaver Bridge and not build a new structure nearby,” Flowers said.
“We will continue to maintain the existing bridge just as we have done since its construction in 1949.”
Flowers also announced that the department is recommending two other Beaver-area bridges on Arkansas 187 — the Leatherwood Creek Bridge and the Butler Creek Bridge — stay as they are.
But it has been the picturesque Table Rock Reservoir Bridge, commonly known as the Beaver Bridge, that drew the most attention from Beaver’s 100 or so residents.
The yellow suspension bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been featured in state tourism advertisements.
“The Highway Department made the right decision,” said Jan Turley, a Beaver-area resident and Rogers urologist who helped fight to preserve the bridge. “They made the wise decision. The local people got behind it and did what they could, and [the department ] heard them. “ A lot of people were involved in saving that bridge,” he said. The Highway Department had proposed three routes for a new two-lane concrete Beaver Bridge near the present bridge. The bridge can’t handle tractor-trailers, and at one point a team of department engineers recommended demolishing the 57-year-old structure. “That’s a deficient bridge,” said Randy Ort, a Highway Department spokesman. “Our job is provide the best system possible. Had we built the new bridge, we would have looked to get that [existing ] one off the highway system. It does not meet current design standards.” The bridge is safe for motorists as long as their vehicles are within the weight limit set by the bridge, Ort said. He didn’t immediately know the limit, but he said it is clearly marked on both sides of the bridge.
“As long as it’s used within those limits, it is a safe bridge,” he said.
Ort said it’s the first time in the 18 years he’s been at the Highway Department that an environmental assessment resulted in a “no-action” recommendation.
Public sentiment for the bridge was one of the reasons behind the recommendation, Ort said. Another was the cost to build a new bridge.
“All of these factors were considered when it came to the ‘no-build’ solution,” he said.
Turley said he doesn’t care how Highway Department officials reached their conclusion.
“We just have to take them for face value and say ‘ thank you, thank you, ’” he said.
The Highway Department will hold a public meeting on the environmental assessments of the three Arkansas 187 bridges at 6 p. m. April 4 at the Beaver Fire Department and Community Building.
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