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Whatever happened to the bridge project in LR?

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Arkansawyer Whistle-Stop

Arkansawyer

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Wasn't there plans to turn a pedestrian bridge connecting LR/NLR into a landmark with a tower?

What happened to that?

That story that the Arkansas Times ran a few years ago was nothing more than a few people's visions of what they'd like the bridge to be. It had no groundings in feasibility.

I know that the city owns the bridge (or did the last time I knew), and plans to convert it into a pedestrian link to Little Rock and North Little Rock. Specifically, who is overseeing the project, how is it being funded, and what is the timetable?

Not having a tower doesn't disappoint me; I prefer towers on terra firma. However, the unattractiveness of the conceptual drawing is disappointing. It's just bizarre. I'd rather just put in a new bridge altogether, but that would change the whole economic picture.

I'll reserve full judgment until something finally happens. I'm confident that those in charge will make it a nice project for both downtowns.

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skirby Town

skirby

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I think they should forget the bridge as a pedestrian link over the river. If you want to walk you can use the Main St. and Broadway bridges. I would like to see the following for the bridge.

Remove the lift span and build a viewing platform at the ground level side of the Little Rock lift tower.

On the NLR side replace the southern most span and replace it with a large pedestrian deck. This would make the NLR side a huge pier type structure over part of the river.

Use the two lift towers as light beacons or lease out their tops for advertising.

Turn the underside of the bridge into a water feature. Pump the water from the river and let it become a waterfall from the bottom of the bridge.

On the NLR enterance develop a fountain park.

This would provide something different for the riverfront and the view from the deck would be great.

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Mith242 Gigalopolis

Mith242

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I think they should forget the bridge as a pedestrian link over the river. If you want to walk you can use the Main St. and Broadway bridges. I would like to see the following for the bridge.

Remove the lift span and build a viewing platform at the ground level side of the Little Rock lift tower.

On the NLR side replace the southern most span and replace it with a large pedestrian deck. This would make the NLR side a huge pier type structure over part of the river.

Use the two lift towers as light beacons or lease out their tops for advertising.

Turn the underside of the bridge into a water feature. Pump the water from the river and let it become a waterfall from the bottom of the bridge.

On the NLR enterance develop a fountain park.

This would provide something different for the riverfront and the view from the deck would be great.

I don't know what the other bridge looks like, but the idea you had sounds interesting. It would seem that the area around the river is a good place to do some developing.

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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I think they should forget the bridge as a pedestrian link over the river. If you want to walk you can use the Main St. and Broadway bridges. I would like to see the following for the bridge.

Remove the lift span and build a viewing platform at the ground level side of the Little Rock lift tower.

On the NLR side replace the southern most span and replace it with a large pedestrian deck. This would make the NLR side a huge pier type structure over part of the river.

Use the two lift towers as light beacons or lease out their tops for advertising.

Turn the underside of the bridge into a water feature. Pump the water from the river and let it become a waterfall from the bottom of the bridge.

On the NLR enterance develop a fountain park.

This would provide something different for the riverfront and the view from the deck would be great.

These ideas are great.

I just want them to light up multiple bridges and give them a little more character. A multicolored scheme like the causeway to the port in Miami would be nice but some simple lights like the river bridge in Memphis would be an improvement. The bridges are too drab and plain at night.

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Arkansawyer Whistle-Stop

Arkansawyer

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I think they should forget the bridge as a pedestrian link over the river. If you want to walk you can use the Main St. and Broadway bridges. I would like to see the following for the bridge.

Remove the lift span and build a viewing platform at the ground level side of the Little Rock lift tower.

On the NLR side replace the southern most span and replace it with a large pedestrian deck. This would make the NLR side a huge pier type structure over part of the river.

Use the two lift towers as light beacons or lease out their tops for advertising.

Turn the underside of the bridge into a water feature. Pump the water from the river and let it become a waterfall from the bottom of the bridge.

On the NLR enterance develop a fountain park.

This would provide something different for the riverfront and the view from the deck would be great.

With the Rock Island Bridge also being converted for pedestrian use, the Junction Bridge project would give Little Rock two such bridges very close to each other. I would prefer that the city focus on the aesthetics of the useful bridges we do have; in other words, make them more of a symbol of Little Rock. I agree that the areas at the base of the Junction Bridge need to be developed.

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  • 2 months later...
skirby Town

skirby

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Funding for the rehab of the Rock Island Bridge near the Clinton Library is almost complete according to Skip Rutherford. They are still working on the design mainly for the NLR side. As for the Junction Bridge there is a meeting Feb. 2nd at the Oyster Bar. From the Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas website:

PLANS FOR JUNCTION BRIDGE TO BE PRESENTED AT FEBRUARY 2, 2006 MEETING

George Wittenberg, AIA, coordinator of Urban Projects and Design for the UALR School of UALR Urban Studies and Design Program, will speak about the Junction Bridge. This program will be both informative and exciting as George is actively involved in the design of the bridge. Plan on attending the meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Oyster Bar.

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Mith242 Gigalopolis

Mith242

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Great to hear. It would be really nice for me just to park in one area and be able to walk over to North Little Rock too and take pics. A pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas River could also help lead to the more types of development I'd like to see in that area.

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skirby Town

skirby

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Junction Bridge update: Plans are to be completed this summer with bids at end of summer; construction will take about 9 months. They hope to have it finished by Riverfest 2007. If additional funds are raised they will add lighting to the bridge. Plans include a fountain on the LR side.

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Mith242 Gigalopolis

Mith242

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Junction Bridge update: Plans are to be completed this summer with bids at end of summer; construction will take about 9 months. They hope to have it finished by Riverfest 2007. If additional funds are raised they will add lighting to the bridge. Plans include a fountain on the LR side.

Cool, thanks for the update skirby.

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  • 2 months later...
skirby Town

skirby

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There is a lot of work being done in Riverfront Park but none has started on the Junction Bridge yet. I'm looking forward to being able to walk across the bridge. There should be some great views from the bridge. I read that it will be able to hold 2500 people at one time.

dscf26247as.jpg

The black object on the lower left of the bridge across the river is the sub.

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  • 4 months later...
Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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from http://www.healthyarkansas.com/eng/planrev...ENG/Pulaski.htm

Received: 8/22/2006 - JUNCTION BRIDGE PEDESTRIAN RIVER CROSSING CONVERSION WATER LINE IMPROVEMENTS LITTLE ROCK PULASKI COUNTY MCCLELLAND CONSULTING ENGINEERS 2 SETS PLANS $200 FEE PD

Anyone seen a more recent design?

And when in the world in the Clinton Foundation going to get to work on the Rock Island Bridge?

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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They need to restore that bridge. It would certainly add foot traffic over the river, and would help beautify the area.

They were supposed to start working on along with the Clinton Library. The Clinton Foundation agreed to pay for it but apparently they were short on funds and put it off for a while but still intend to do it. I haven't heard much lately but a year ago they were still getting their financial resources together. That bridge has a lot of potential, I agree.

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  • 3 weeks later...
skirby Town

skirby

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Arkansas Business has an article about the Junction Bridge. It says most of the money for redevelpoment has been raised and it will go to bid in the coming weeks. Construction on the project should start later this fall. The area around the bridge will be a busy place with the Enclave on the North, the Nature Center, the Center for Arkansas History and Riverfront Park improvements on the Southside all under construction.

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theman Hamlet

theman

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Arkansas Business has an article about the Junction Bridge. It says most of the money for redevelpoment has been raised and it will go to bid in the coming weeks. Construction on the project should start later this fall. The area around the bridge will be a busy place with the Enclave on the North, the Nature Center, the Center for Arkansas History and Riverfront Park improvements on the Southside all under construction.

That's great news. It's about time. I was hoping that they could get this completed before the area host the NCAA regional in 08. Downtown LR and NLR is going to have a very urban feel for those who come in for the tournament who have not been to to central Arkansas before. Imagine people staying downtown and them taking a trolley or walking across the bridge to attend games at Alltel and being able to see the Razorback Sub, Dickey Stephens Park and look down river and see the Clinton Center and Nature Center.

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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That's great news. It's about time. I was hoping that they could get this completed before the area host the NCAA regional in 08. Downtown LR and NLR is going to have a very urban feel for those who come in for the tournament who have not been to to central Arkansas before. Imagine people staying downtown and them taking a trolley or walking across the bridge to attend games at Alltel and being able to see the Razorback Sub, Dickey Stephens Park and look down river and see the Clinton Center and Nature Center.

Agreed. I hope the Rock Island work will get underway soon as well. It's kind of an eyesore detracting from the Clinton Library.

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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The article talked about how they are still trying to raise the funds for additional features such as lighting and furniture. I sure hope that gets taken care of. Lights on that bridge would be a great addition to the night views downtown.

junctionbridgege3.jpg

I think lighting the bridge should be the priority. The riverfront could really be spruced up by lighting all of the bridges, starting with the two railroad bridges. Anyone that's ever traveled across Biscayne Bay in Miami knows what I mean. Even the lighting on the I-40 bridge in Memphis is impressive.

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