FAYETTEVILLE — Washington County Road Department officials hope to replace nine bridges in the next eight years.
Officials released an updated list prioritizing nine bridges for replacement mostly in southern and southwestern areas of the county including an 88-year-old bridge on Woolsey Road near West Fork.
Quorum Court members last month heard a pitch from County Judge Marilyn Edwards and Justice of the Peace Ann Harbison about the need to replace the bridges.
Web Watch
County Bridges
Log onto the online version of this story to see an interactive map showing locations of the nine bridges and the years they were built.
Shawn Shrum, assistant road superintendent, said Tuesday he hopes the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department will help with the cost to replace the Woolsey bridge. He estimates the cost to replace the bridge at $2.1 million.
“I am very much in accord with Shawn,” said Justice of the Peace Tom Lundstrum. “I think he’s on the right track. I’m very much in favor of getting the state to do Woolsey.”
The Highway Department has bridge replacement money that could cover a portion of the cost for Woolsey. The county would have to pay about $15,000 for engineering and hydrology up front, Shrum said.
He said he didn't know how much would be covered until the state responds to a letter Edwards sent requesting help with the project.
At A Glance
Replacement Plans
Washington County prioritized replacing nine bridges. Their locations and cost estimates are listed below. Two bridges are listed as No. 1 because the county hopes the state will mostly pay for the Woolsey Bridge. The bridges, year planned and estimated cost are:
-Woolsey Road, 2014 or 2015, $2,121,000
-Stonewall Road, 2014, $409,000
-Wheeler Road, 2015, $234,000
-Orr Road, 2016, $792,000
-Greasy Valley Road, 2017, $105,000
-Whitehouse Road, 2018, $120,000
-Illinois Chapel Road, 2019, $493,500
-Jackson Highway, 2010, $171,000
-Whitehouse Road, 2021, $144,000
Source: Washington County
Surveys and engineering plans could be done through the winter with publicized bids next year, if the state approves spending the money, Shrum said. That means construction could start by the fall of 2014 or in 2015, he said.
Shrum gave justices of the peace his update last week after they asked for more details about the Road Department’s plan to pay for replacing bridges.
County crews could begin in 2014 to replace a bridge just west of Prairie Grove on Stonewall Road. Crews may begin that project after the county finishes replacing a bridge on Harvey Dowell Road east of Fayetteville.
Workers expect to finish the Harvey Dowell bridge by the end of the year, depending on weather, he said.
Shrum ranked the Woolsey and Stonewall bridges equally important to be replaced first. A bridge on Whitehouse Road in southeast Washington County would be the final bridge to be replaced in 2021.
The cost for all nine bridges is $4.6 million including Woolsey’s $2.1 million estimate, according to Shrum’s report. The remaining eight bridges are estimated to cost between $105,000 to $792,000.
Justice of the Peace Candy Clark, Finance and Budget Committee chairwoman, said she expects the cost to replace the remaining eight bridges to change because it will be difficult to predict construction prices several years from now.
“The idea of planning them out, I think, is solid, but I don’t know if those estimates will change in eight years,” Clark said.