Benton County residents show support for War Eagle Bridge
ROGERS — Offered the choice of seeing the War Eagle Bridge closed and abandoned by Benton County or bypassed for a new span, area residents were nearly unanimous in supporting a third option: repairing the 108-year-old bridge and keeping it open for traffic.
County Judge Bob Clinard hosted a public information meeting about the bridge Saturday at the visitor center at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area.
Clinard said the county has two options. It could close the bridge and abandon it, at which point ownership of the bridge would revert to the property owners on the site. The second option is to build a bridge nearby and bypass the War Eagle Bridge for traffic.
Clinard said he’s working on the project with the goal of saving the bridge, but he offered no promises.
“I am 100 percent dedicated, I am committed to saving the bridge,” he said. “Removing the bridge is an option, but I don’t expect that to happen.”
Clinard said the bridge has been inspected by the state Highway and Transportation Department, and several critical deficiencies have been identified. He said the county has six months to remedy the defects, but he believes the state will be flexible on the question of keeping the bridge open while the county is making progress toward a solution.
Clinard told the group the county already spent more than $600,000 to repair the bridge several years ago, but that work had not fixed all of the span’s problems.
He said the most recent cost estimate to rebuild the bridge is between $1.5 million and $2 million. But even a rebuilt bridge wouldn’t meet current codes and would still
be subject to state inspections that could find new problems.
About 100 people attended the meeting, and most who spoke were determined to save the bridge, citing its role in the community and economy.
Among those were Bruce and Terry Covey, who bought property adjacent to the bridge about three years ago. Terry Covey urged the county to seek information from other areas in Arkansas and other states where historic bridges have been preserved.
“This is a really special place,” she said. “I know other places have done it.”
Sandy Wright, who works with the War Eagle Mill, ran down a list of points highlighting the importance of the mill and the bridge to the county and to the state.
“The mill is a major tourist attraction, one of the top 10 in the state, as acknowledged by the Arkansas Department of Tourism,” Wright said. “The mill’s photo can be found on many state materials, on their website and that of many others. Each year we get about 30,000 to 35,000 people in tourist traffic that also fuels other Benton County attractions, hotels and restaurants. This translates into more than $45,000 in sales tax per year.”
Wright said those figures don’t include the Fall Fair, the Sharp’s Fair or the Mill’s Fair. She said those arts and crafts fairs draw an estimated 125,000 people to the area. The mill alone has an average annual payroll of $336,000, plus $65,000 in payroll taxes and expenses, she said. The annual revenue for the mill over the past two years was more than $1 million.
Wright said closing the bridge or moving the roads away from the mill area to serve a new bridge would damage all that activity.
“Easy access is critical to us,” she said. “We strongly urge the county not to disregard the economic impact of a significant business in the area. Please look at creative ways to preserve the bridge.”
Zoe Caywood said she’s been working to preserve the War Eagle Bridge for many years. She pointed out that many other areas have preserved historic bridges, suggesting there should be a way for Benton County to do the same.
She suggested reducing the weight limit on the bridge, barring heavy trucks from using it. She also said the county should examine the suggestion made at the meeting that a pylon could be built under the center of the existing span, shoring it up and keeping it open for future use.
“It won’t be a major thoroughfare, but a major thoroughfare doesn’t benefit Benton County,” she said, pointing out that much of the traffic on the bridge is from people cutting through the county on their way to and from Carroll and Washington counties.
“I’m not saying this isn’t somewhat of a Band-Aid — it certainly is,” Caywood said. “But maybe you and I won’t be fighting this next time.”
Bruce Covey said after the meeting that he’s pleased the county took the time to hear residents, but he’s concerned about the direction the county seems to be heading.
“The majority of the people want the bridge repaired,” he said. “It bothers me that four years ago they didn’t put the money into it then.”
Covey said he plans to monitor the project and remain vocal in expressing the wishes of the community. He said Saturday’s meeting was just a start.
“I definitely think he got an earful,” Covey said of Clinard. “The people want to put the money into it and keep that bridge as it is.”