The cost of maintaining the proposed color scheme of the new Broadway Bridge if it’s painted red, white and blue remains too much of an unknown to move forward with the proposal, Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines said Monday.
He also cited sharply divided public opinion in scrapping the idea, which provoked strong responses on both sides of the color divide.
The proposed design of a new Arkansas River crossing between Little Rock and North Little Rock will now be bathed in white when it is unveiled March 28 at a public hearing at the Arkansas Transit Association building at 620 W. Broadway in North Little Rock.
But the design of the new bridge, which Villines has dubbed “America’s Bridge,” still will incorporate features paying homage to the nation’s military, the county judge said.
“A lot of people liked the red, white and blue, and a lot of people didn’t,” he said in an interview. “As I gave presentations, people liked it more, but I was running out of time” to persuade more.
Without knowing more about “America’s Bridge” proposal, Villines added, people were reacting simply to the “aesthetics.”
Even more vexing to him was the cost of maintaining the colors, which would fade faster than the lighter tones the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department typically uses on its bridges and thus require more frequent repainting. The Highway Department’s gray and beige paint tones serve more to protect the bridges than for aesthetics, and can last 20 years, according to department officials.
Villines said he fears that the bridge, if painted red, white and blue, would need to be recoated far more frequently to maintain it as a landmark.
The last bridge on the Arkansas River connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock to be cleaned and painted was the Interstate 30 bridge in 2001 at a cost of $379,000, according to the department.
“I like the red, white and blue, but I couldn’t get over that future cost,” Villines said.
Villines has hopes that money could be found to add lights to the bridge. Painting it white, he said, would “reflect [the lights] better.”
He also pointed to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a potential inspiration. Earlier this month, artist Leo Villareal switched on what has been billed as the world’s largest LED light sculpture, illuminating the bridge’s western span with 25,000 white lights. The lights, the judge noted, adorn the cables of the bridge.
“It’s really spectacular,” Villines said.
Villines came up with the patriotic color scheme after he committed $20 million in county money spread over several years to the bridge project to incorporate two arches into the design. The Highway Department maintained that entities other than itself would have to cover the cost above what it deemed to be a safe, efficient and functional replacement for the 90-year-old bridge it said was becoming increasingly too costly to maintain.
Villines’ idea, which he presented to the Quorum Court and local civic groups, envisioned a white arch and a red arch with the bridge deck trimmed in blue. Other details would include a list of recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration for valor, by state; a registry of all the nation’s wars, leaving spaces blank for future conflicts; and another section to honor peace.
The American Legion Department of Arkansas and other veterans organizations had endorsed Villines’ original concept, which Villines crafted to try to give central Arkansas a signature bridge and also serve as a tourist attraction rather than just a structure to get vehicles from one side of the river to another.
The American Legion department commander, Mary Erdman of Hot Springs Village, said Monday that she was fine with Villines’ decision not to have the bridge trimmed in patriotic colors.
“I don’t think that’s a problem at all,” she said in an interview. “The major components of the bridge that makes it ‘America’s Bridge’ will still be there.”
People who thought the colors are too gaudy welcomed Villines’ decision.
Justice of the Peace Tyler Denton of Little Rock voted last month to endorse Villines’ decision to steer $20 million in county money toward the cost of the bridge but said his constituents’ critique of the color scheme ran 135-10 against. He represents parts of the midtown and northwest sections of the city.
“Most of the folks I represent will be happy with a more classic and timeless design,” Denton said Monday. “I would like to work with the judge using lights [on the bridge] rather than paint” to achieve the same effect.
Stringing the bridge with lights, Denton said, would allow a wider cross section of the community to embrace the bridge. For instance, he added, the lights could be pink for the annual Race for the Cure or the the lights could be switched to orange, the colors of the Hall High School Warriors, if one of their teams won a state championship.
“I’m confident the [county] judge will come up with a great way to bring the community in on that decision,” Denton said.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 03/19/2013