GENTRY -- The bridge over Flint Creek on Dawn Hill Road will likely remain closed for at least four more months as a result of the late April flooding which damaged the bridge's support structure.
According to Kevin Johnston, Gentry's mayor, "the debris that washed downstream accumulated under the bridge, causing the water to detour around the north abutment of the bridge, which caused scouring and undermining to the support structures of the bridge."
Recent core samples reveal that the bridge support structure does not rest on bedrock and a special bridge engineer will need to determine how best to fix the bridge and make it safe for traffic.
According to Johnston, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has examined the damaged bridge and will pay 85 percent of the city's cost for the debris removal and 75 percent of the cost for bridge repair or replacement. He said if repair costs are estimated to be more than 50 percent of the cost to replace the bridge, replacement was likely.
The initial inspection of the bridge was performed by engineers with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. With the support structures under the bridge undermined, a corner of the bridge settled and caused the pavement to crack and a hole to open up. Until the support structures are repaired, the bridge was deemed unsafe for vehicular and foot traffic.
Ron Homeyer with Civil Engineering, Inc., of Siloam Springs, is the engineer involved with assisting the city with the planning of repairs. He contacted GTS, Inc., for geotechnical testing services, according to Johnston.
Though the bridge will remain closed for several more months, Johnston said he wanted to be sure the city did things right and made the bridge safe and less likely to suffer similar damge in future flooding events.
General News on 08/09/2017