County judges are beginning a statewide push to find funds to repair and replace aged rural roads and bridges across the state.
A recent study commissioned by the A̶s̶s̶o̶c̶i̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶A̶r̶k̶a̶n̶s̶a̶s̶ ̶C̶o̶u̶n̶t̶i̶e̶s̶ County Judges’ Association of Arkansas* found that Arkansas' county-owned transportation infrastructure has $750 million in needs.
Deficient bridges
A study commissioned by the A̶s̶s̶o̶c̶i̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶A̶r̶k̶a̶n̶s̶a̶s̶ ̶C̶o̶u̶n̶t̶i̶e̶s̶ County Judges’ Association of Arkansas* showed 1,196 bridges in the state are considered functionally obsolete or structurally deficient. The counties with most bridge deficiencies are:
• Garland -- 44 functionally obsolete; 10 structurally deficient
• Hot Spring -- 36 functionally obsolete; 16 structurally deficient
• Polk -- 20 functionally obsolete; 31 structurally deficient
• Arkansas -- 27 functionally obsolete; 14 structurally deficient
• Clay -- 36 functionally obsolete; 5 structurally deficient
• Washington -- 25 functionally obsolete; 15 structurally deficient
• Clark -- 26 functionally obsolete; 9 structurally deficient
• Logan -- 24 functionally obsolete; 7 structurally deficient
According to the study, which was conducted by the engineering consultant firm Flood Plain Services, 1,196 bridges are considered functionally obsolete or structurally deficient. Needed fixes for the 50,000 miles of county roadways -- many of which are gravel farm-to-market roads -- are estimated to cost $154 million.
From coast to coast, bridges, roadways and interstates are falling into disrepair, and Arkansas' share of the nation's 4 million miles of public roadways is no exception. The state ranks 40th in dollars spent per mile, according to state data. The state has the nation's 12th-largest highway system.
During a special legislative session earlier this year to address state highway funding, Gov. Asa Hutchinson was reluctant to support any tax increase. The funding measure he signed into law in May instead relies largely on portions of state surpluses and increased earnings on state treasury investments to raise about $50 million a year, which will help the state obtain an additional $200 million a year in federal highway funds under a five-year federal highway funding law.
According to Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, of the House Public Transportation Committee, any measure that would address the immediate need for $750 million for county roads and bridges would likely need voters' approval.
"Whatever ballot initiative we come up with to send to the voters -- whether it be a gas tax initiative, or the whole gamut of possibilities -- we have to ensure that there is a plan for what exactly it will be spent on," Douglas said.
"I think it's something that the voters would support if they're fully educated," he said.
Hutchinson declined to comment for this article.
Last week, county judges gathered in Little Rock for the annual County Judges' Association of Arkansas meeting where they discussed, among other things, how to get more attention for their infrastructure needs.
"I think it's an issue that we need to make sure our Legislature and our state leadership know," said Scott Perkins, communications director for the Association of Arkansas Counties.
"When the Highway Department says they have $1 billion of needs over the next 20 years, counties currently can say right now that we have $750 million in needs," he said.
On the western edge of the state, Polk County has 1,300 miles of winding roads and 250 bridges, as well as the precipitous peaks and valleys of the Ouachita Mountains. Road maintenance is hard in such mountainous country, and the $3 million budget for the Polk County Road Department has stayed stagnant for several years.
"This is a political job; you have to be elected," Polk County Judge Brandon Ellison said. "You cannot dump all of your budget on roads and bridges. People don't appreciate bridges until they're not there."
The county saw such a situation in January, when a 100-year-old truss bridge collapsed under the weight of a logging truck. The Two Mile Creek Bridge, which spanned 103 feet along Polk County Road 37, was rated to withstand only 4 metric tons, or about 8,800 pounds.
A bridge classified as functionally obsolete is one in a location where it no longer can safely handle the traffic volume, such as an area that has been urbanized. Bridges deemed structurally deficient are those that cannot hold a weight more than 40 metric tons, or about 88,000 pounds.
"It wasn't uncommon for heavy trucks to go across this bridge, because I guess it never scared them," Ellison said. "On this particular day it was an 81,000-pound truck with a truck tractor and a log skinner that hit the top of the bridge because he didn't have clearance."
The overhead metal trusses gave out, and the bridge fell to the bottom of the creek. No one was injured.
"I have log trucks loaded at 70[,000] to 90,000 pounds all day long running over these bridges that are rated at 15 tons [about 33,000 pounds]," Ellison said. "They don't care, and it's pretty much unenforceable."
White County Judge Michael Lincoln has closed several bridges during his 10 years in office. Six months into his first year in office, the Judsonia Bridge -- which connects the Judsonia and Kensett communities across the Little Red River -- was ordered closed by state inspectors.
Because the bridge was listed on the National Historic Register, Lincoln said he was able to get it repaired and reopened in three years.
"Our governor has been adamant about reducing taxes, but in doing that, if you're not careful, you push back on the local government to offset that loss in funding," said Lincoln, who like Hutchinson is a Republican.
With about 4,000 miles of county roads, the majority of which are gravel, the White County Road Department operates with an annual budget of about $8 million -- an amount that is easily exhaustible. Re-graveling all roads in his county just once, Lincoln said, would cost the department its entire yearly budget.
White County roads also have been devastated by its various industries, including lumber, agriculture, and most recently hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. In 2007 the oil and gas boom struck White County. Traffic grew so suddenly that some of the county's paved roads deteriorated into gravel paths. Instead of working to keep up with the potholes and maintenance, Lincoln reclassified several paved roadways as gravel roads. It wasn't until the boom eased that he began paying for repairs.
"I tried to work with the gas industry to time the repair, because if I repaired it and they weren't through, they'd just tear it up again," Lincoln said. "The citizens would want it repaired right there and then, and I'd try and tell them we'd just be wasting money."
During the coming legislative session, the counties association aims to ensure the continuation of the state's fuel tax funding formula, which taxes 21.5 cents on the gallon. Fuel tax revenue is split among the state, counties and cities, which receive 70 percent, 15 percent and 15 percent respectively.
However, this revenue stream, which often makes up almost 50 percent of a county's road and bridge budget, has slowly been on the decline as fuel efficiency improves.
"The problem is we've got to find a long-term funding solution for Arkansas highways and roads that takes into account the declining revenue for motor fuel taxes," said Craig Douglass, executive director of the Arkansas Good Roads Foundation.
"We are in a crisis in this country, and people ought to be talking about the crisis that our infrastructure is in, and we ought to propose taxation that is dedicated to rebuilding infrastructure," Lincoln said.
Metro on 10/02/2016
*CORRECTION: The County Judges’ Association of Arkansas commissioned a recent study that determined a $750 million cost for needed repairs to county-owned transportation infrastructure. This story and related list incorrectly reported the commissioning agency.