The historic Basin Spring Bath House bridge from Spring over Main Street to retail outlets downtown was closed off recently by Jacob Coburn, the city building inspector. Coburn said the bridge has deteriorated and is unsafe.
Yellow caution tape closing access to the bridge had been cut and orange safety barriers pushed to the side this past Friday when the town was packed for the Eureka Springs Pride Festival. Sunday afternoon the situation was the same.
A meeting about the bridge was held last Thursday between city officials and the Cross family, which owns the bridge. Charlie Cross, CEO of CS Bank, said everyone in the meeting was lockstep with wanting to preserve the bridge while dovetailing that with making it safe.
“I thought the meeting was very positive and productive,” Cross said. “We are hopefully heading to a resolution about how to repair the bridge. It got run into by a gentleman the other day that caused some damage. It is our responsibility to repair the bridge when it is damaged. It has been hit numerous times and we have put repairs into it numerous times.
“The person who hit it this time fell asleep and hit a support column below the bridge. It happened at 9:30 in the morning. We will do what is needed to make sure the bridge is up to snuff and historically appropriate. We are headed down that path working with engineers and general contractors involved with the ability to repair that.”
The bridge is more than 100 years old. Cross said his family wants to make sure that historic aspects are preserved and that nothing is done to diminish its historical authenticity.
He said it is definitely detrimental to businesses located across the bridge to have it closed.
“We don’t want those gift shop owners to be burdened by it any longer than they have to be,” Cross said. “We want repairs to be done post haste because it is vital we be sensitive to their needs and burden. It is also important for the safety of pedestrians.”
He said another meeting is planned this week, with city representatives and the engineering firm.
“Hopefully the meeting will go well, and we will find a solution,” Cross said. “It will benefit everyone to have the bridge stay where it is at and be in safe working order.”
Coburn said the bridge is in a state of major disrepair.
“The vehicle striking the support column only added to the defects of the bridge,” Coburn said. “I want people to understand the reason why I shut it down was egregious defects discovered during an inspection on various parts of the bridge. I required the owners of the bridge to have a structural engineer come out to verify the stability of the existing material supporting the bridge. The engineer who came out onsite reported to me by phone that he would not put his stamp on the repair for the bridge. His recommendation was to completely rebuild the bridge to meet correct building standards.”
Coburn said whether the bridge is replaced or repaired, it is imperative that the bridge remains because it acts as a main pedestrian crossing place between Main and Spring streets.
Currently there are temporary metal support columns underneath the bridge on the Spring Street side. Coburn said because of condition and use of the bridge by pedestrians, repairs or replacement are vital, and that he sees similar issues all around the city regarding maintenance of buildings and structure.
“It is the responsibility of owners to maintain the condition to ensure the structure integrity of their buildings or other structures,” Coburn said. “Additional inspectors for property code compliance should be the city’s number one priority. For too long, building owners and landlords have been allowed to get away with whatever they wanted without any real enforcement. Some buildings have not been maintained and because this is a life safety matter, the city should prioritize enforcement of the property maintenance code. With the increase of inspectors and compliance, we can bring these structures back up to code to ensure fire prevention, life and safety to prevent loss of life or property damage.”
Coburn said he has had push back from other property owners in town including owner of a parking structure downtown where Coburn found structural defects and sent the owner a letter requiring repair, replacement or abatement.
“The city has an obligation to make sure buildings and other structures are safe,” he said.