One lane of the Ouachita River Bridge on Arkansas 51 leading into Arkadelphia has reopened to traffic after an accident in late June forced its closure.
The bridge was reopened to traffic about 2:30 p.m. Thursday, said Danny Straessle, spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
Straessle said a heavy bridge crew is working alongside traff ic in the bridge’s other lane. The repairs could take up to six weeks, Straessle said.
The bridge was closed to traffic June 28 after a truck hit it, damaging several of the structure’s overhead beams. It forced a 31-mile detour for commuters traveling between Arkadelphia and Arkansas 7 west of the Ouachita River.
Straessle said the bridge is equipped with temporary stoplights. But, he said, travelers who expect to use the bridge should still be wary of extended traffic times, especially during morning commutes.
“For some folks, taking the detour may still be just as fast or faster,” he said.
Travelers can still opt for the detour, which affects portions of U.S. 67, Arkansas 51, Arkansas 7 and Arkansas 128 and stretches from Arkadelphia through Midway and Donaldson.
Arkadelphia Mayor James Calhoun said he was heartened to see the bridge reopened, if only to one lane.
“It’ll be great when they get both lanes open, but one lane allows a lot of people across the river, and on [the Arkadelphia] side of the river to save 31 miles of out-ofthe-way traffic,” he said.
Calhoun had expressed concern about businesses in Arkadelphia struggling with the bridge’s closure — a sentiment he said he’d heard echoed by local businessmen.
“Some people I’ve talked to have had to come around the long way, and some have gone to Camden or to Malvern rather than come into Arkadelphia,” he said.
Calhoun said the open lane will likely bring people back into Arkadelphia and its businesses.
The bridge, a 56-year-old span, serves an estimated 3,100 vehicles daily.
Richard Shields, president of Shields Wood Products, said he was overjoyed with news of the bridge’s reopening and drove out to the site after he heard about the open lane.
Shields, whose business typically transports about 15 to 20 trucks per day, said the reopening will save drivers the extra 31 miles of paved detour or 20 miles of dirt road they had taken since late June.
“It was economically devastating to have had to endure that for a week and a half,” he said. “We all had to bear a burden, but we just have to give and take and have to move on.”
Shields said he was relieved to see shorter days for his co-workers and thankful for those who helped push the bridge’s repairs forward quickly, particularly on a holiday weekend.
“All of my co-workers and I are so glad,” he said. “I texted them all in a group text and said, ‘We have a bridge.’”
Most of all, Shields said he was thankful repair crews didn’t wait to work on the bridge until the next bridge downstream — scheduled to open next summer — was completed.
“We’re all thankful they didn’t just let it sit there until the next bridge was completed next year,” he said. “I was really scared about that.”