Grants received for historic-bridge signage
CONWAY — The 1874 SpringfieldDes Arc Bridge, which is being restored and moved from northwest of Wooster to Conway, will have special signage paid for with grants awarded to the Faulkner County Historical Society.
The historical society has received two grants totaling $2,366 to create the interpretive signage for the historic bowstring bridge. It will be moved to Beaverfork Park, where it will be a pedestrian bridge. The bridge, which spans 146 feet, will connect the fishing pier to the Beaverfork Lake swimming area and will be visible from Arkansas 25.
Judy Corcoran, secretary of the historical society, said one sign will tell the history of the bridge, and the other will describe the efforts to preserve and relocate the bridge, including listing those who assisted with the project.
“Also, the signs will be full color with images, as well as text. They will be placed prominently near the entrance to the bridge,” she said.
One of the grants for $1,958 — Historical Interpretations of the Springfield Bridge — is supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Conway Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Arkansas Community
Foundation, granted $408 toward the project.
The 142-year-old bowstring bridge spanned Cadron Creek at the border of Faulkner and Conway counties, but Faulkner County has taken ownership of the bridge. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and went out of service in 1991 when the road was relocated. Officials said the bridge has deteriorated ever since.
Workin’ Bridges of Grinnell, Iowa, a nonprofit organization that specializes in restoring historic bridges, received a $328,760 contract from the city of Conway to restore the bridge. The work is being paid for with Advertising and
Promotion Commission money.
Jack Bell, assistant to the mayor, said last week that the bridge is expected to be in place sometime in February.
With the use of two cranes, the bridge was lifted off Cadron Creek in November, and work to restore the structure began. Each bolt and piece were numbered as they were taken apart, Bell said, and the bridge will be put back together at the Beaverfork Park site.
“The bridge is ready; the parts are cleaned and ready to go, and we expect the group, Bach Steel of Michigan, to be here in the next couple of weeks,” Bell said. “Everything’s going well. The holidays slowed things down, but these guys are from Michigan. They don’t mind cold weather; rain doesn’t bother them.”
He said the refurbished
pieces are being stored at a facility in Little Rock.
“I’ve heard [the bridge] looks beautiful; I haven’t been down there to see it,” he said.
“They’re going to bring the pieces of the bridge to Conway, put it together out at the lake, and then a crane will come in and put it on the caissons, or abutments. They’re built — they’re out there; everything’s ready. Once they do that, they’ll put the approaches on — that stuff they’ve been fabricating in Iowa in the past couple of weeks.”
Rocks from the bridge’s original abutments were brought to Beaverfork Park to use for aesthetic purposes, Bell said.
The ramps were not salvageable, he said. “They’ll put railings on and decking. All that has been ordered,” he said.
“I really don’t think it will take them long to put it together — days, maybe a week and a half,” Bell said. “Everything’s ready for the crane, and they’ll put [the bridge] in place. I think sometime in the month of February, we’ll have a product.”
The bridge was built by King Bridge Manufactory & Iron Works of Iola, Kansas, a branch of the King Bridge Co. of Cleveland. Julie Bowers, a contractor with Workin’ Bridges, said it is the “oldest, longest King bridge of that type in the United States. In Arkansas, it is an important bridge.”
Bell has called the bridge “iconic.”
“We’re hoping we’ll get another 100 years out of it,” he said.