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Following Faulty Bridge Controversy, County Road Crew Repairs Bridge Near Tontitown

WASHINGTON COUNTY (KFSM) – A Washington County road crew  worked to repair a bridge on a county road near Tontitown on Friday (April 3), county officials ...
Tontitown.jpg

WASHINGTON COUNTY (KFSM) – A Washington County road crew  worked to repair a bridge on a county road near Tontitown on Friday (April 3), county officials said.

The crew repaired a portion of the bridge that had deteriorated near a creek bed, officials said. The bridge is at the intersection of County Roads 88 and 900.

The bridge near Tontitown was repaired one day after Justice of the Peace Eva Madison sent a letter to Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge requesting that her office investigate bridge construction issues in the county.

The letter details how Washington County is a defendant in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by an employee of the county’s road department. Road worker George Braswell alleges that two bridges were structurally deficient due to not being built according to engineering plans, the letter states. One of the two bridges – the Stonewall bridge near Prairie Grove – was recently torn down after the county conceded it was built improperly.

Several members of the Quorom Court were at Stonewall Bridge near Prairie Grove on Thursday, overseeing the installation of new rebar to reinforce the center supports.

The other bridge the Quorom Court has raised concerns over is the Harvey Dowell Bridge between Elkins and Fayetteville. The bridge is still open to the public but has been reduced to a weight limit of three tons.

Washington County prosecutor Matt Durrett has also been asked to investigate whether any crimes took place when the faulty bridges were constructed.

To read the full letter from Madison to the attorney general, click here. 

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