Mulberry River AR 23 Bridge
Facts
- Overview
- Three-span pony truss bridge over Mulberry River on AR 23
- Location
- Franklin County, Arkansas
- Status
- Open to traffic
- Future prospects
- Scheduled for Replacement
- History
- Built 1935 by McEachin and McEachin, Inc., of Little Rock
- Builder
- - McEachin & McEachin, Inc. of Little Rock, Arkansas
- Design
- Three riveted, 11-panel Parker pony trusses
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 111.8 ft.
Total length: 445.8 ft.
Deck width: 20.0 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +35.66985, -93.82954 (decimal degrees)
35°40'11" N, 93°49'46" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/424923/3947648 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Cass
- Average daily traffic (as of 2014)
- 1,900
- Inventory numbers
- AHTD 01789 (Arkansas Highway and Transportation Dept. bridge number)
AHTD 1789 (Arkansas Highway and Transportation Dept. bridge number)
BH 10332 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection report (as of December 2017)
- Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 25.3 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com
Update Log
- January 22, 2014: New photos from J. Randall Houp
- August 8, 2013: Updated by David Backlin: Bridge is now doomed
- August 12, 2010: New Street View added by Jason Smith
Sources
- AHTD
- Jason Smith - flensburg [dot] bridgehunter [dot] av [at] googlemail [dot] com
- David Backlin - us71 [at] cox [dot] net
- J. Randall Houp
Comments
Did they just renovate it or is there still plans to change it?
I recently purchased an old photo album of postcard size photos of construction of the mulberry river bridge Franklin co.Arkansas. They have white lettering on front with info like a rppc just no postage or ink on reverse. If anyone is interested in purchasing email me. They have interesting equipment and crews at work. Some pages are written with markings for example " M-3 B-15" thanks.
Hopefully Robert, you will once again use your magic and get this bridge saved. I see no reason why this bridge can't be saved as a walking/fishing bridge and a brand new bridge constructed on the downstream side. Bridge could easily be restored and have traffic lights installed at both ends to allow the large trucks to cross easily. Truckers use this highway as a short-cut and should be using I-540 to the west. Or better yet, have this highway closed to all truck traffic and use it only as a scenic highway. Locals really want this bridge saved as well as several Arkansas bridgehunters.
AHTD has a project to replace the bridge, but it is very early in the process. One of the first things we will do is send out marketing letters to the County Judge, any nearby cities, federal agencies with land in the area and the local historic society just to name a few. We always do this to determine if one of the groups is interested in assuming ownership of the bridge in place or in a new location. We are at least a few months away from sending out these letters. This is part of the Section 106 process that we will go through before a new bridge can be built. I will try to keep this group up with where we are and what is happening during the process. I will be happy to answer any questions about our process.
Bob Scoggin
Are federal funds involved with the replacement? Is any federal agency involved? If yes to either, has a Section 106 Review to consider alternatives to demolition been conducted as required by law?
This bridge is about to be torn down and replaced. The new bridge will wipe out the Turner Bend Campground. Can someone who knows what they're doing contact someone and get them to stop?
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/ar/franklin/mulberry-23/
Has there been any news on replacement? I was just there and the bridge is still (thankfully) in place. This photo was taken on 10/10/2021.