Bridges to the past

Hanging onto the past comes with a lofty price tag.

That's what city officials in Fayetteville have confirmed and what Benton County officials fear when it comes to preserving bridges built back in the first half of the 20th century, when they knew how to build bridges people would one day want to save.

It is a rare bridge built today that anyone in future decades will worry about preserving, at least for sentimental reasons. Back in the day, however, bridges were built with some flair, some attention to character.

That's especially true of two bridges, more than 75 years old, carrying car traffic over the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad tracks in Fayetteville. The art deco Lafayette Street Bridge -- labeled at its completion as the West Lafayette Street Overpass -- opened in 1938. The Maple Street Bridge, an open-spandrel arch structure, was completed two years earlier. Those who can appreciate the engineering and style of bridges can find much to enjoy in these structures.

But they need work. After all those decades of the usual wear and tear and an accident here and there, they are considered "functionally obsolete" by state inspectors. The city of Fayetteville commendably wants to restore the bridges rather than replace them with what would probably be very functional, but not very inspiring, spans over the still-used rail line. City officials wants a contractor on the bridges, which were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, to repair and rehabilitate them "for continued vehicular and pedestrian traffic, utilizing design specifications as close to original specifications as possible, so that the appearance and historic integrity of the structure will not be impaired."

That desire, engineers for the city estimated, would cost about $1.6 million. But the reality is much more expensive. Only one bidder made a proposal and its price tag was $3.6 million. That's so far over the estimates state law would not allow city officials to accept it, not that anyone would have necessarily jumped at that steep cost anyway.

Back to the drawing board, as one city official put it.

Another historic bridge is causing heartburn in Benton County. The 107-year-old War Eagle Bridge is a grand one-lane crossing of the creek bearing the same name. It's a popular location during the annual crafts fair at and near the adjacent War Eagle Mill. It also proves popular with motorcycle riders and anyone who likes to get off the beaten path and taste a little of yesteryear.

But War Eagle Bridge is also deficient for today's traffic demands despite the spending of more than $642,000 on it in 2010. At the time, the total cost for repairs and rehabilitation totaled $1.8 million, but the county spent the lesser amount even as officials predicted that would help it last another 50 years.

Now, Benton County Judge Bob Clinard hopes the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, which is responsible for all bridge inspections in the state, will provide some assurances that whatever repairs are made will be enough to give the bridge a clean bill of health for years to come. We're skeptical state officials will be willing to give such advance acknowledgements, nor are we sure bridge inspectors should be committing to long-term evaluations.

The specialized nature of these kinds of bridge projects make them extraordinarily expensive while mayors, city councils, county judges and quorum courts also face big expenses in other areas. In Fayetteville's case, for example, can preservation be worth an extra $2 million? How much paving of roads could $2 million fund? How far could $2 million go in trails? How much of a regional sports complex could be built with that? Or maybe some might favor not spending that kind of money on any of it.

We do not oppose preservation of these bridge structures for the wonderful historic contributions they are. In all three cases, safety must be the top priority. But at what point does the price simply not make sense?

Hopefully, in Fayetteville, city officials can find a path to historic preservation and safety within a reasonable budget. Likewise in Benton County. If costs cannot be trimmed, perhaps it's time for a discussion about whether taxpayers want to pay an extraordinary premium for preservation. Perhaps there are also donors or foundations willing to provide funding in the interest of preservation of local history much like the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Foundation has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for preservation of natural areas.

We commend the efforts to preserve historic structures because once they're gone, they are gone for good. A lot of the nation's architecturally significant connections to the past have disappeared because their value was not recognized in time. In Fayetteville and Benton County, it's clear some people understand the value of these historic bridges. But with every public project, the question has to be asked and answered according to local wishes and ability to pay: How much is too much?

Commentary on 07/07/2015