Beaver Bridge (Arkansas)

The Beaver Bridge in Beaver, Arkansas is a historic one-lane suspension bridge carrying Arkansas Highway 187 over the White River at Table Rock Lake. Built in 1949 by the Pioneer Construction Company, the structure is the only suspension bridge open to traffic in Arkansas. The Beaver Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[2]

Beaver Bridge
Facing north, the bridge is decorated in red, white and blue bunting to celebrate Independence Day
Coordinates	36.4708°N 93.7683°W / 36.4708; -93.7683
Carries	One lane of AR 187, pedestrians and bicycles
Crosses	Table Rock Lake (an impoundment of the White River)
Locale	Beaver, Carroll County, Arkansas
Maintained by	Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD)
Characteristics
Design	Suspension
Material	Steel with timber decking
Total length	554.2 ft (168.9202 m)
Width	11.2 ft (3.414 m) (roadway) 12.1 ft (3.688 m) (deck)
Height	746 ft (227.4 m)
Longest span	312.0 ft (95.0976 m)
Clearance above	13.8 ft (4.206 m)
History
Designer	AHTD
Construction start	December 19, 1947 (December 19, 1947)
Construction end	1949 (1949)
Opened	1949 (1949)
Statistics
Daily traffic	650[1]
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Designated	April 9, 1990[2]
Reference no.	90000730

History

Close up on north tower

The bridge was bid on December 19, 1947 to Pioneer Construction Company of Malvern, Arkansas. The construction foreman who led the project was M.R. Blair (1914-2014), who later served as lead foreman on numerous bridge and highway projects across Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee, and who led the construction of numerous dams, highways and bridges throughout the southwestern United States, including the 1964 Big I interchange of Interstates 25 and 40 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Remarkably, Mr. Blair and his team completed the project without the benefit of an industrial crane, using only a pickup-mounted, knuckle-boom type crane.

Since the construction was coincident with the building of Table Rock Dam, completion was delayed until 1949 as the United States Army Corps of Engineers required the bridge to be raised 40 feet (12 m). Upon completion, the bridge remained a vital link for the citizens of Beaver until its closure for major deck rehabilitation in 1981. Further rehabilitation occurred in 2003.[3] The bridge has a 10-ton weight limit. The bridge was temporarily closed for inspection in October 2018 after two overweight buses crossed it.[4]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Carroll County, Arkansas
• List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
•  United States portal
•  Transport portal
•  Engineering portal
•  National Register of Historic Places portal

References

1. Planning and Research Division (2012). "Arkansas Road Log Database". Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Archived from the original (MDB) on June 23, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
3. Michael, Swanda (August 16, 1988). "HAER AR 53: Beaver Suspension Bridge". Historic American Engineering Record. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
4. "Beaver Bridge reopened after video shows it sag beneath bus". KTHV-TV. October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.