At least let them try

I’ve followed with interest the discussion on saving the 87-year-old steel bridge that spans the White River at Clarendon. The Arkansas Department of Transportation has, in the past, offered the bridge to Clarendon, but not the western approach. It seems as though the mayor, the town, and Friends of the Historic White River Bridge have a plan that saves the bridge and turns the nearly 3-mile western approach into the longest elevated biking and pedestrian trail in the world. However, an agreement signed in 2007 would prevent this. Folks can change their minds, right? As a part of that agreement, the state Transportation Department transferred 147 acres (the western approach) to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in exchange for a 49.69-acre easement for the new bridge. Not a bad deal for the feds. The Clarendon “plan” would extend the route of the Big River Crossing, which opened in October, allowing cyclists and walkers to cross the Mississippi River from Memphis into eastern Arkansas. The route would continue through the St. Francis National Forest from where the levees end at Marianna all the way to HelenaWest Helena. Make a turn at Marianna onto U.S. 79 and pass over the old Clarendon Bridge on the way to Little Rock. Sounds great, huh? Mikki White opines that the bridge might bankrupt the city of Clarendon in the event of an earthquake or barge strike. Governor Hutchinson, earlier this year, stated that “Ecotourism, cycling and historic sites are new opportunities for bringing money into the local economy.” The city mayor, Friends of the Historic White River Bridge, and others say they’d like a chance to make this work. Don’t they deserve that? What is our congressional delegation saying about this? JOHN BROWNLEE Conway