Broadway Bridge opens

Weather helping out, traffic allowed to flow

Traffic moves across the Broadway Bridge shortly after it was opened by highway officials Wednesday night. Good weather allowed crews to paint lane markings earlier in the day so the span could open.
Traffic moves across the Broadway Bridge shortly after it was opened by highway officials Wednesday night. Good weather allowed crews to paint lane markings earlier in the day so the span could open.

The new Broadway Bridge connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock quietly opened to traffic Wednesday night.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department announced without ceremony shortly after 9:30 p.m. that the bridge over the Arkansas River had been opened ahead of schedule.

"We've always said that the bridge is going to open without great fanfare, because we didn't know when it was going to open," agency spokesman Danny Straessle said.

Straessle, wearing a reflective vest, was among several Highway Department employees who stood at South Broadway and West Markham Street and watched as the first vehicles crossed the new bridge Wednesday night.

[BROADWAY BRIDGE: Video, photos and more detailing the demolition of the old span and construction of the new one]

At one point, a northbound car stopped at the intersection and a passenger rolled down a window.

"Hey," the man yelled, "it's finally open! Yes!"

Straessle asked the man, "You going across?"

"Yeah," the man replied, smiling.

"All right, be careful," Straessle said.

The driver honked the horn as the car traveled across the bridge.

The opening came 152 days into the 180-day closure period contractor Massman Construction Co. of Kansas City, Mo., had to complete the project. The early finish qualifies the company for an $80,000 a day bonus for the 28 days left on closure period, though the Highway Department said the final bonus total will be announced at a later date.

The department said Monday that it didn't expect the bridge to open until next week, at the earliest. A section on the south part of the bridge had been covered by a tarp to allow concrete to dry. But favorable weather Wednesday allowed construction crews to put some of the finishing touches on the $98.4 million project, according to Straessle.

A balmy Wednesday allowed pavement on the bridge to dry and for traffic lines to be painted. Crews also installed signs and light poles, though some of the lights had not been connected.

The bridge arches were illuminated Wednesday by construction equipment, he said.

Straessle said the Highway Department knew Wednesday afternoon that the bridge would open in the evening.

"You sure wouldn't want to open this around rush hour," he said.

"We know we had the first ceremonial drive across on Monday, and we honestly did not know at that time that it was going to open tonight," Straessle added. "We thought we were going to have more rain this week than we already had, and that turned out not to be the case."

This fall, Massman began demolishing the old Broadway Bridge, which was built in 1923 for just under $1 million. The old bridge, before it closed, carried about 25,000 vehicles per day.

The opening is for north-south vehicular traffic only, the department said in a news release. A southbound off-ramp that will take traffic onto LaHarpe Boulevard, also known as Arkansas 10, is not open to traffic yet. Also, a 16-foot bicycle-pedestrian lane will not open for several weeks.

Straessle said he expects the bridge to see a lot of traffic during the commute this morning.

"I think everybody is going to go across the bridge in the morning," he said.

There will be alternating daily lane closures during nonpeak hours to allow crews the space they need to finish some of the work, he said.

In October, the old Broadway Bridge defied a number of explosive charges designed to send it into the Arkansas River. The bridge, with the help of pulling by towboats, went into the river several hours after it was expected to fall.

Straessle said there was a lot of doubt and speculation after that added effort. But he said he hopes people were impressed with the quickness of the project overall.

"People love to see construction go fast," he said.

Metro on 03/02/2017

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