DECATUR -- Over the past three months, several utility companies have been working to relocate underground and aboveground cables near the Decatur Branch bridge on Arkansas Highway 59 in the southern part of Decatur.
All this work is in preparation for the Arkansas Department of Transportation's ARDOT Decatur Branch/Wolf Creek bridge replacement project.
The Wolf Creek bridge, located just north of the Arkansas 59 and Crystal Lake Road intersection, has been deteriorating due to the high volume of cars and heavy transport traffic that travel along the highway from southeast Missouri to Siloam Springs.
The bridge's concrete rails began to crumble, causing the ARDOT to repair the deck structure and rails several times in the past two years.
In addition to its structural state, the bridge is too narrow and has been connected to more than 20
accidents and three fatalities over the past 10 years.
The Decatur Branch bridge is in better condition but has recently begun to crumble, itself. Its biggest fault is, like Wolf Creek, that it is too narrow. Although it has seen fewer accidents over the years, it too is in need of replacement.
During its July 15, 2019, meeting, the city council began the discussion on replacing both structures. After determining that the project would cost the city nearly $426,000, the council asked Decatur Mayor Bob Tharp and James Boston, director of public works, to contact Governor Asa Hutchinson and the Arkansas Department of Transportation to see if they could assist the city with this project.
In December 2019, ARDOT proposed a payback program in which the department would pick up a large percentage of the cost of the project, with the city of Decatur picking up a smaller portion to be paid back over several years. The city will have to also foot the cost of relocating the water and sewer lines along Arkansas 59.
The cost for the two bridges replacement project will be $759,700.40, which includes $671,050 construction cost and an assortment of legal and other fees. ARDOT will pick up 68.86 percent of the cost, which comes to $523,129.70.
The city will be responsible for the remainder, or $236,570.70.
The council reviewed a draft of the contract with the Arkansas Department of Transportation during its March meeting. The contract is still under review and will be placed on the April or May agenda, pending the outcome of the coronavirus outbreak.
The first phase of the project which is the replacement of the Decatur Branch bridge could begin as early as the fall of 2020 or early 2021.
General News on 03/25/2020