Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Terre Noire bridge closed

Clark County Judge Ron Daniell reported on Tuesday, the bridge over Terre Noire Creek on Red Springs Road, east of Gurdon, would be torn apart and rebuilt.

The bridge was declared unsafe last week by the judge. Crews began work on the bridge last week, but experienced a delay when the track hoe they were using slipped into the creek. Crews began working again on Monday, however, rains throughout the week put a damper on the repairs.

The closing of the bridge has caused one of the Gurdon School District's buses to re-route.

It will take two to three weeks to complete the project, Daniell said. David Hedges Construction of Malvern will perform the work.

A crane will be used to remove debris from the creek before any actual bridge work is done, Daniell said. He said the bridge floor will be lifted off the pilings and the pilings removed. New steel pilings and steel end caps will be put into the creek.

Steel beams will serve as the frame of the new bridge and a new wooden bridge will be construction on top of the steel pilings and frame, Daniell said. "It's gonna be sound. It won't ever sink."

The steel beams have already arrived, he said, and the rest of the materials will arrive in a few days.

In the meantime, county employees are refurbishing the track hoe that sank in the creek. "They're draining the tank and the oil out of it and gonna put in all new fluids," Daniell said. Once the machine is back together, it will be sent to a heavy equipment repair shop in Little Rock.

"They'll look it over and tell us whether it will be OK or not," he said.

In the meantime, traffic will be stopped on either side of the creek. To detour, take Vaden Road from Curtis.