Working in association with HNTB and Grubbs Hoskyn Barton & Wyatt, Garver's services include designing the replacement bridge and related roadway approaches. Anticipated work includes a bridge type selection study, design, and construction plans and specifications. Approximately 24,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day, and Garver will also be responsible for a maintenance of traffic plan to reroute vehicles to nearby river bridges.
After the selection meeting on Wednesday, Frank Vozel, deputy director and chief engineer with the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette several reasons why Garver was selected for the work. The newspaper summed up Vozel's thoughts as, "the company's understanding of the work to be done, the firm's proposed schedule to build the bridge, and its past experience working with other agencies, including the Highway Department."
First opened in 1923, the bridge is structurally deficient, and officials have determined that it will cost too much to renovate. The bridge will be demolished, and a new bridge connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock will be built in its place. The structure is anticipated to be a four-lane bridge on existing alignment with bicycle lanes and sidewalks. The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department estimates that the project will cost $45 million, and construction is anticipated to start in 2013.
