Sharp County bridge work expected to be finished soon

SHARP/FULTON COUNTY, Ark. (KAIT) - Work continues on a structure at the Sharp and Fulton County line that will connect Hardy to the Nine Mile Ridge Community during flood season.

Arkansas Department of Transportation District 5 Engineer, Bruce Street, explained that work began on the bridge in 2020 and work is still going on.

The current structure is a low-water crossing bridge. More times than not it is deemed impassable when water levels are high. The new bridge will be much higher than the current one.

Street said crews still have a handful of work to do before the bridge is completed.

“They’re setting the steel. They’re setting them on top of the caps. They’re bolting them together. Then they’ll start putting pans in to create a bottom. This is what we call superstructure work,” he said.

Due to the bridge’s height, the new structure should rarely be impacted by flood waters.

“This new structure will take care of supplying the needs of people in this area for most storms that we’ll have in this area,” said Bruce.

As the work continues, Street asks those in the area to take it easy and be mindful of workers.

“It’s a process. We are in the way sometimes. We are out in the road. I think people in this area, we have gotten zero complaints,” he said. “I think they are so excited to see something like this come in that they are willing to go through a little bit of trouble.”

He expects the project to be finished by the winter of 2023.

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