WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — Bridge remediation work began at the intersection of Parker Branch Road and Wyola Road just south of Westfork.
"When I first came into office we inspected the open road projects that we had as a county ... upon those inspections and analyzations we knew immediately we had a problem with this particular project," said Patrick Deakins, Washington County judge
Judge Deakins says the bridge in Brentwood is about a year old and was never in service. The main design problem is the bridge was too tall for the surrounding roads.
"We know this has been an issue out here for the citizens and neighbors in this part of the county. This project has taken too long and has put us behind ... this is our top priority. We're assigning any resources that need to be put out here to get this done in the next few weeks," Deakins explained.
“We have half a million dollars into this project at this point to take this down. we're going to be able to salvage the bridge footings and be able to use those in our remediation project, but I would estimate a sunk cost of $400,000 to the taxpayers of Washington County," Deakins said.
Neighbors say they're glad the county is fixing the issue with the bridge, but they also say they’re concerned about the cost, and heavy equipment damaging pavement on the way to the work site.
"They've also been tearing the road up here with their big trucks and all the loads, and nothing is being done about it," Brentwood resident Kirk Goad said.
Kirk has owned property in the area since the 90s and says the demolition is causing pretty big travel delays.
"You can't cut over to 74 because they've got it torn up. it's just been rough and the water through here is terrible. They have to fix a lot ... the water is diverted and coming onto the road instead of the creek," Goad explained.
On top of road damages and delays, neighbors also have concerns that their money as a taxpayer has gone to waste.
"All they've done is wasted our money, and they're probably not going to fix our road. It's just a shame," said Goad.
Judge Deakins says this project should be completed in two weeks and a new bridge will be built in its place.
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