Benton County to appraise War Eagle Bridge proposals

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials will interview three firms interested in working on War Eagle Bridge.

County Judge Bob Clinard said Tuesday the county received three responses to its request for proposals, which was advertised nationally. Clinard wants to have the firms detail their qualifications and experience and to hear any initial ideas they may have about the bridge.

Bridge repair

War Eagle Bridge was closed for repair work for about three months in 2010. The cost of that work was about $604,000. Engineering studies done on the bridge at the time identified about $1.7 million in work needed. County officials, citing budget concerns, opted to do only part of that work.

Source: Staff Report

"We are setting up the interviews now for next week," Clinard said. "We want to hear their thinking about the project. We want to know 'Have you done this before?' and 'Have you done this in Arkansas?' because Arkansas laws are different than they are in some other states. We want to ask them 'How do you see this beginning?" and then discuss what we can do. Nobody is going to have experience with exactly this type of bridge. There aren't many of them. But they may have experience with similar bridges. It's up to them to make a presentation to us as to why they're the most qualified to do this work."

According to records, the county received responses from two Arkansas engineering firms -- McClelland Consulting Engineers with offices in Little Rock, Fayetteville and Tulsa, Okla., and Gore 227 Inc. of Pea Ridge -- and from Great River Engineering of Springfield, Mo. All three firms listed projects they have worked on and how their experience might relate to the War Eagle Bridge project.

Daniel Barnes, president of McClelland's Fayetteville office, was guarded in his comments, with the three companies approaching a competitive interview situation. Barnes did point to the Maple and Lafayette street bridges in Fayetteville as examples of work his firm has done on older bridges. Barnes said both those bridges are on the National Historic Register.

Great River Engineering has a long list of historic bridge projects it has worked on in Missouri. Jason Sivils, a principal and civil engineer with the company, said the work on historic bridges is an outgrowth of their work on more modern bridges, not something they set out to specialize in.

"I don't know if I'd call it specialized, but we do a lot of it," he said.

The company has done work to repair and replace historic structures, Sivils said. Different projects bring different challenges, he said.

"We try to find the best solution to keep it within the client's budget," Sivils said. "We also try to keep the historic appearance as much as possible while keeping it safe."

Messages left with Gore weren't returned Thursday.

The nature of the solution the company proposes depends on the condition of the bridge, Sivils said. Some have been neglected, others damaged by weather or accidents, he said. Some bridges can be restored to modern levels while others may only have their useful lives extended for a period of years.

Older bridges often are what Sivils called "fracture critical," meaning even slight damage to one part of the bridge may endanger the entire structure. More modern bridges, with the difference in construction methods and material, tend to be less prone to such events. He related one incident in Missouri where a road crew was trimming trees near an old bridge and inadvertently dropped a large tree onto the bridge.

"They lost the bridge instantly," he said. "It was a matter of seconds from when it was standing to when it no longer existed."

Sivils has followed the interest in preserving the War Eagle Bridge.

"It's hard to find a bridge that's got such a unique situation with the mill and the craft fairs," he said. "That's what's cool about this one is people are still using it. A lot of older bridges are out in the middle of nowhere and no one knows about them."

Jenny Harmon, a resident of the War Eagle area, is happy the county has gotten some response from engineering firms interested in the bridge project.

"I'm glad the judge is open to continuing the process," Harmon said. "Wait and see, I think that's the best way to describe it. Our small group of people that's been talking back and forth has just been waiting to see how that comes out."

Clinard said the interviews may lead him to negotiate with one of the three firms or seek other interested companies. At least one engineering firm indicated it was interested, but the three-week period for submitting a response didn't give it enough time.

If the county finds a qualified firm to develop a program to restore or rehabilitate the bridge, the final question will be how much it will cost and is the cost justified. The Quorum Court will decide whether to put county money into the bridge, but may also limit the county's continued investment in the bridge.

"Absolutely there is a limit," said Tom Allen, justice of the peace for District 4 and chairman of the Finance Committee. "I don't know what that limit is just yet. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the bridge just a few years ago. I am for keeping and preserving the War Eagle Bridge. But at some point you just can't continue to throw money down a hole. I guess I'm patiently waiting to see what the experts tell us."

Kurt Moore of District 13 said he would draw the line at the point where repair costs exceed the cost of a new bridge.

"I'm still trying to work out my go or no-go dollar figure," he said. "I'm probably thinking about $1.5 million right now. If it significantly exceeds that to rehabilitate an over 100-year-old bridge that won't handle modern traffic you have to ask why you're spending the money. Sentimentality is worth a lot, but at some point you have to put a dollar figure on it. Which is to say I'm not prepared to issue a blank check on this."

NW News on 06/12/2015

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