Benton County Officials Eye Bridge Repair

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials said Friday they will try to find money to repair War Eagle Bridge after the $300,000 job was excluded from a list of projects recommended for federal aid.

The Technical Advisory Committee of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission recommended Thursday nine projects be paid for if the federal highway bill is extended past May 2015. Benton County applied for assistance with two bridge projects: War Eagle Bridge and Osage Creek Bridge on Old Arkansas 68. The Osage Creek project was withdrawn after officials said there were problems with cost estimates. The Quorum Court authorized the county to apply for federal money for War Eagle Bridge.

County Judge Bob Clinard said Friday the Regional Planning Commission's decision wasn't a surprise and the county will try to find money to get the work done next year.

"We're going to have to try to find the money to fix the bridge," Clinard said. "We don't have an extra $300,000 in our budget to repair that bridge."

The state Highway and Transportation Department inspected the bridge last spring and found problems with rusting pins needing to be replaced, Clinard said.

"The Highway Department engineers have said those pins are wearing out and are going to fail," he said. "If they fail, it'll be more expensive to fix it."

The state inspects bridges on its own schedule, and War Eagle Bridge probably will be checked again sometime in spring 2015, Clinard said. It's unlikely the bridge will be closed if the repair work isn't done, but the state could put restrictions on traffic, Clinard said.

Kurt Moore, justice of the peace for District 13, said the county needs to move ahead with the repair and use money from reserve.

Tom Allen of District 4 and chairman of the Finance Committee, said Clinard can bring a request to that panel for discussion. Allen also said the most likely source of money is reserve.

The county's reserve stands at about $12.5 million, said Mike Crandall, accounting manager.

"It probably will have to come out of reserves unless we can pinch it out of somewhere else, which isn't likely," Allen said.

NW News on 09/20/2014

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