Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

No Answer To Caney Project

A bridge problem is causing concern for Gurdon and Clark County.

An agreement was reached between city and county officials to allow truck traffic to use Stone Street in Gurdon as a way around Caney Creek while a new bridge was built over the creek. This was in 1996, and, so far, the project is about half done.

Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith said the city has kept its bargain by providing an alternate truck route, but the project has stalled.

The city and county reached the agreement for trucks to use Stone Street with the county to repave the street once the bridge was done.

Smith said the city and county have been patient, but the project should have been finished by now.

Clark County Judge Grady Runyan said the contractor, Hurley Construction of Warren, was given a contract of 120 days to get the job done.

The contract was let in October 1996, with the work order issued Nov. 15, 1996, according to Claude Parton, assistant engineer with the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD).

Parton said the contractor has completed 54 percent of the work and used 62 percent of the time allotted for the project.

Currently, he said, the contractor is in what the AHTD calls "no charge time." This is a period from Dec. 21 until March 15, where contractors are not charged with time against the contract because of winter weather. "That's the way we do it," he said of department policy.

Another little problem with the project is the use of a crane by the contractor.

The AHTD, Parton said, will not allow him to put the crane on the existing work because the department's engineers have stated this will cause undue stress to the work and possibly damage the bridge.

This means the contractor has to find another way to install the necessary piers and pilings in the water.

According to Runyan, the contractor has offered to purchase a pad used for bridgework so as not to damage the foundation. But, the AHTD has refused this offer.

In addition, Runyan said, the contractor has offered to pay for any slabs damaged by the crane being on the bridge. Again, the AHTD refused.

According to Parton, Hurley Construction has four more caps to install, and weather permitting should be able to complete the job in 60 working days, if he can figure a way to get the pilings in place. "We haven't heard from the contractor in quite a while," Parton said.

"But from our point of view, if he can get it figured out he can do the job in 60 days, with good weather. This time of the year is not good for weather. Hopefully he can be done by July, but we can't say for sure.

"There's nothing we can do about it unless he defaults on the contract."

The AHTD can charge the contractor $250 per day should the project run over the allotted time in the contract.

"It's a problem," Parton said. "These things aren't expected. We expected him to be through."

Runyan said this will be the last project he does with federal funding because of the headaches involved. "It's costing us (the county) big bucks," he said of the delay.

Once the project is finished, Runyan said, the county will then overlay Stone Street as agreed. Until then, though, it would be a waste of county road funds because the log trucks going over the street would ruin the work.

Smith said the people in Gurdon, and especially along Stone Street, are upset about the situation. Log trucks going through a residential neighborhood poses a potential hazard, he said, but the trucks couldn't be allowed to go down 10th Street because of the primary school.

"Eventually, we'll get a new street out of it," he said, "but now it's causing us problems in the city."

Parton said the contractor will start being charged overtime on the project if it is not finished by August this year.

The bridge, he said, is two-lanes wide and about 150 feet long.

According to Parton, another problem with the project has been road work. He said the bridge is in a new location and the dirt work hasn't been done yet. Once the dirt work is done, the rest of the road work can be finished quickly. But, he said, one day of rain will undo a week's worth of dirt work.

In the meantime, nothing is being done on the project and the log trucks are still being forced to use Stone Street as an alternate route. This also means the street conditions continue to deteriorate and the possibility of an accident remains viable with the trucks driving in a residential area.