BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials will work with a Missouri engineering firm to save the War Eagle Bridge.
County Judge Bob Clinard has selected Great River Engineering of Springfield, Mo., to work on the bridge. The contract is being reviewed by attorneys for both parties, Clinard said.
Bridge work
Benton County officials asked Great River Engineering to make the company’s presentation on the War Eagle Bridge project at the county’s Committee of the Whole meeting set for 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Quorum Courtroom at the County Administration Building, 215 E. Central Ave. in Bentonville.
Source: Staff report
The county has considered what to do with the bridge, built in 1908, for several months. The county spent more than $640,000 on repair work to the bridge in 2010, but inspection reports from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department in 2013 identified several critical deficiencies and a number of structural problems with the bridge.
The county has reduced the posted weight limit on the bridge to three tons while it considered whether to rehabilitate or replace the bridge. More than 100 area residents turned out for a public meeting about the bridge in February and overwhelmingly supported keeping the bridge in place and open for vehicles. Clinard has said that is his goal, but also has cautioned the cost of keeping the bridge will be a consideration.
The county advertised nationally for engineering firms with experience and expertise in similar bridge projects and selected Great River Engineering from the three responses. Clinard and other county officials have met the engineers from the company to work out the scope of work and schedule.
"They gave us a schedule of their work and their costs and we made a few changes to it," Clinard said.
The company will take the lead in meeting with state and federal agencies that may have jurisdiction or interest in the bridge, according to a draft schedule. Agencies Clinard expects to be contacted include the state Highway Department and the federal Department of Transportation. Other potential partners may include the state Fish & Game Commission, the federal Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. State and federal historical preservation agencies also will be consulted, Clinard said.
"We don't know right now who is going to have input and who we will have to have input from," Clinard said. "That's what the engineer is going to do -- touch base with all these entities and see if they have any design input."
Great River will review state inspection reports, a 2006 Garver Engineering study of the bridge and any other available information, along with doing their own inspection of the bridge, Clinard said. The firm will work with the Highway Department to determine an acceptable load limit for the bridge and develop preliminary plans for repairs and probable costs.
The findings will be presented to the county in about 16 weeks, Clinard said. The county's Transportation Committee or the Quorum Court will have public hearing to discuss the recommendations and take public input. The first phase is expected to cost the county $35,000. The design work in the second phase is expected to take about 12 months and will bring the county's costs up to $113,000. The project could be completed in the summer of 2017 if the county decides to do the work recommended.
Jason Sivils, a principal and civil engineer with Great River, briefed the Transportation Committee on July 6, speaking about the company's background and the War Eagle Bridge project. Sivils said he probably has worked on 20 similar bridge projects in the past five years, including the Devil's Elbow Bridge, built in 1928 and located on historic Route 66 in Pulaski County, Mo.
"That project was very similar to this," Sivils said. "It had very similar issues."
Sivils said the goal for the bridge is not to meet current standards, which call for an 80,000-pound weight limit, but to restore the War Eagle Bridge to a condition that will keep it in use for the public.
"I don't think we'll get to 80,000 pounds, but I can beat 3 tons," he said. "I know that."
Glenn Jones with the county's Historical Preservation Commission sat in on Clinard's meeting with Great River Engineering and came away optimistic.
"It was a very good presentation, they've done similar work before," Jones said.
The cost remains the key issue to be decided, Jones said.
"Like everything in life, the question is still about money," he said. "If the work can be done and done for a reasonable price, it will be a go."
Jones is comfortable with the schedule for the initial report, coming in about four months. The prospect of having something concrete in hand is progress, he said.
"Since all this began we've been marking time," he said. "After this meeting I feel like we're taking a step forward. I'm certainly a whole lot more optimistic than I was 30 days ago or 60 days ago."
The company has worked with a range of funding sources on past bridge projects, Sivils said. On the Devil's Elbow Bridge project, he said, the county paid $40,000 of a $1.7 million project. The availability of money varies and different sources have their own requirements, which the company will detail, he said.
"Every source of funding has strings attached," he said. "We'll try to be sure we outline what the criteria are."
NW News on 07/13/2015