Bids Approved For Parks Street Bridge

Project Necessary, But Inconvenient

PRAIRIE GROVE — It’s been 4½ years since spring floods in 2011 damaged the Parks Street bridge and after dealing with multiple agencies to gain multiple approvals, construction to replace the bridge will finally start, possibly before the end of October.

Prairie Grove City Council approved a low bid of $ 575,236 from Crossland Heavy Constructors of Columbus, Kan., during its Sept. 21 meeting. Federal funds will pay 80 percent of the costs with Prairie Grove responsible for the balance.

Larry Oelrich, director of public works and administrative services, said the city only received two bids for the project and he attributes that to busy contractors.

“There’s so much work, it’s hard to get bidders on any job,” Oelrich said. “There’s tons and tons of work out there.”

The low bid is about $40,000 more than the engineer’s estimate and Oelrich he believes that’s also because contractors do not need work right now.

McClelland Engineers of Fayetteville designed the new bridge. Wayne Jones with McClelland said the construction company will remove the existing bridge structure, replace it with a new bridge, widen the roadway leading up to the bridge and install guard rails on both sides.

The opening under the bridge will be clear for water to flow through, Jones said.

The project is expected to take about four months and during that time, Butler Road will serve as a detour. Oelrich cautioned that work will be going on during winter months and weather could affect the time frame.

The city has discussed installing a foot bridge across the tributary so that emergency personnel will be able to get to the other side quickly.

J.C. Dobbs, fire chief, said city officials also have discussed whether to leave a first responder vehicle parked on the other side of the bridge. The fire department

did this when the bridge first was damaged but Dobbs noted it was summer at that time. He wasn’t sure how it would work leaving a vehicle parked outside during weather months.

“It’s not the first obstacle we’ve overcome,” Dobbs said last week.

Oelrich and other city officials have commented many times about the length of time to get bridge plans approved through the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.

Some of the agencies involved in the decision making process for Parks Street bridge included Bureau of Indian Affairs, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Fish and Game Commission, Arkansas Department of Environmental Affairs and Federal Highway Administration.

“I think everyone is well pleased that we’re finally getting it replaced,” Oelrich said Thursday. “It’s a necessary evil and I know it will be an inconvenience for people in that area of the community. We’ll do it as quickly as we can.”