Guest writer

Save our bridge

Historic span’s fight not over

The Arkansas Delta has long had a history of hard luck and even harder times. As farming has become mechanized, our population has fled to cities of industry, leaving the Delta in a sore state of being. Since the year 2000, Monroe County alone has had a nearly 30 percent population loss.

But this is not written to proclaim the misfortune of the Delta; it is rather to inspire hope and steadfast action for what could quite possibly turn the negative tide that has beset the eastern portion of this great state.

Some two years ago in my hometown of Clarendon, my brother Johnny Moore began to ask what was to be the fate of the monolithic structure known as the Historic White River Bridge. After learning that it was to be demolished, he began making phone calls to see what could be done to preserve it. Upon returning home for the summer from college, I joined him in his movement to save our bridge.

Since that time, the nonprofit Friends of the Historic White River Bridge has been formed with board members from all over Monroe County and beyond. I must also mention here the efforts of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Stacy Hurst, and the law offices of John Gill for their unrelenting support for our cause. After striving to overcome incredible odds to save this bridge, we've come to what some would have you believe to be the bitter end, but for us it's only just the beginning.

The final issue that we face stems from the fact that part of the historic bridge rests within a federal wildlife refuge. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department owns the bridge, but in order to build a new bridge, they had to conduct several compatibility and water-flow studies, and did so with regard to the historic bridge being removed. The highway department also mitigated the construction of the new bridge with the promise of giving that land to the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge.

Due to new evidence that suggests the historic bridge will not greatly affect the natural habitat or hydrology adversely, the Friends group and the city of Clarendon are suing the highway department to stop the demolition of the bridge. In fact, since the original study, new federal law has protected an aquatic species known as the rabbitsfoot mussel. They have been found to inhabit the water directly underneath the historic bridge. We also stand on the grounds that state law requires that new highways must be constructed with cyclists in mind; the new bridge was built with no evident consideration.

This is a situation of biblical stature. It's David against Goliath. The Delta has seen many disappointments over the past half-century, but this time we intend to stand up for what is ours. It is a movement of preservation, rejuvenation, and a campaign to make a brighter future for generations to come.

What started as a simple effort to save a single structure has become a movement to revitalize the entire Delta through tourism. Thanks to the Arkansas Electric Cooperative, the Friends group has developed a plan written by the Ecological Design Group. This plan will energize the Delta through cycling, agri-tourism, paddling, and hiking.

These are ancient lands that the general populace has never had sufficient access to or even education about. Once this historic bridge is saved, we will pursue this plan with all determination. This bridge is the linchpin connecting all varieties of trails and providing a western doorway to the Delta at large. This is the historic bridge to economic development.

We ask you to join our movement by becoming a friend to the Eastern Arkansas Delta and a friend of the Historic White River Bridge. We want to involve all of our wonderful state, not just the inhabitants of Monroe County and Eastern Arkansas.

For further information, read more about us at www.whiteriverbridge.org. Find out what you can do and how you can support us in this bootstrap effort.

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Jeremiah Moore lives in Clarendon.

Editorial on 07/11/2016

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