[Luvvarkansas]

They are making plans to tear down the old bridge at Turner Bend on the Mulberry River on Hwy. 23. That bridge was built in 1935 and is part of the charm of the river crossing there. They already ruined another cool bridge on the Little Mulberry Creek on Hwy. 215....it was a one-lane bridge and the trees hung over it....the creek had a nice green pool there....now it's so open and dull, and even the creek is changed.

Any ideas on who to contact to protest? I heard that Brad (owner of Turner Bend store) started to or thought of having the bridge declared a historic bridge or something, but never followed through or somehow otherwise wasn't able to get it done.

[HollyhockGarden]

Hello -
I am so glad you posted this to City Data. It is wonderful to have concerned citizens who care about preserving our treasures from the past. Usually the state hwy dept does have to go through proper channels when proposing to demolish a structure, so it may be too late ..... but, since you posted this, bridge buffs may be able to travel to this site and take some final snapshots. In addition, if you do send this info to the foundation, it will receive some national attention.

Maybe it can still be saved. Are you able to post a picture of the bridge so the rest of us can see it?

Heres the link:Historic Bridge Foundation

[ArkansasSlim]

Thanks for the post Luvv. I have a friend who calls himself "ghostbridgehunter" who travels all over the state taking photos of interesting bridges and ones that are threatened. I think he recently went to this one to take photos. You may Google that user name and see what you come up with, and I understand he is a prolific letter writer about the subject. He, almost singlehandedly, saved an old steel bridge up near Danville and I understand it will be moved back to Danville where it was originally built.

[Luvvarkansas]

Well, I tried to copy and paste a picture that I found, but it didn't seem to want to work. Here is a link to Slim's friend's site that has several pictures: http://bridgehunter.com/ar/franklin/mulberry-23/

I'm not sure anything can be done at this late date, because their plans are already very detailed....they're going to go to the left of the old bridge, wiping out the campground at Turner Bend, and I'm not sure what all else they might wipe out in the process. It sounds like your bridgehunter, Slim, might be the guy to contact....I'm a state away and can't do anything hands-on in Arkansas. From what I came up with in a Google search, his site is called just Bridgehunter.com. Is his name James Baughn?

I'll try both of your suggestions, thanks!

[Luvvarkansas]

Ok, I've emailed both the Baughn guy and the Historic Bridge Foundation. Maybe they'll have some ideas of what else I can do, or they may already be working on it, or maybe they'll get to working on it now!

I have a feeling it's too late, though.

[ArkansasSlim]

Originally Posted by Luvvarkansas

Well, I tried to copy and paste a picture that I found, but it didn't seem to want to work. Here is a link to Slim's friend's site that has several pictures: Bridgehunter.com | Mulberry River AR 23 Bridge

I'm not sure anything can be done at this late date, because their plans are already very detailed....they're going to go to the left of the old bridge, wiping out the campground at Turner Bend, and I'm not sure what all else they might wipe out in the process. It sounds like your bridgehunter, Slim, might be the guy to contact....I'm a state away and can't do anything hands-on in Arkansas. From what I came up with in a Google search, his site is called just Bridgehunter.com. Is his name James Baughn?

I'll try both of your suggestions, thanks!

Nope, my friend is J. Randall Houp. I'll contact him.

[Luvvarkansas]

Thank you, Slim!

I've heard back from the lady at the Historic Bridge Foundation. She asked questions I didn't know the answers to (something about a "Section 106 process"), and asked who she should get in touch with, so I told her how to contact the owner of the Turner Bend Store, whose campground will be wiped out if the new bridge goes in.

We'll see what comes of it!

[ArkansasSlim]

Houp tells me that the bridge was placed on the National Register several years ago, but that doesn't stop them from taking it down, but should make it more difficult to get permission. Maybe that's what the lady was referring to in "106". The locals are the ones to "get up in arms" about it so maybe that contact will help.