Residents Wait For Water To Recede
Rebuilding Continues On White River In Carroll County
Last updated Friday, May 30, 2008 9:23 PM CDT in News
By Don Dailey
The Morning News
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BEAVER -The one-lane suspension bridge across the White River on Arkansas 187 - the only main road through this town of 97 - is both a blessing and a curse.
Known as the Golden Gate of the Ozarks, the bridge attracts tourists and is also a vital link to the rest of the world for residents. The town needs it, but it's old and vulnerable.
It has been out of commission since early April when Table Rock Lake rose after torrential rain and floodgates upstream at Beaver Dam were opened. The approaches on each end of the bridge are covered by 2 to 3 feet of water.
Since then, the flow of tourists has slowed to a trickle, and residents have to drive more than 30 miles to run errands in Eureka Springs or Holiday Island on the east side of the river, formerly a trip of less than 10 miles.
At least one resident who works in Holiday Island regularly wades across on the west approach, walks across the bridge and wades across on the other approach to her car she leaves on the east side of the bridge, said Beaver Mayor Duane Kriesel.
Another resident boats across the river to his waiting car, the mayor said.
Though the water didn't enter any homes, at least two businesses - a pet boarding concern and a store near the bridge - have seen a large drop in customers.
"The flooding has put a pretty good crimp in it," said Curtis Mills, who manages the Beaver Town Inn and General Store, which opened in 1901.
He said business was off at least 50 percent since the bridge closed.
Sue Simler, owner of Beaver Town Boarding, said many of her customers come from Eureka Springs and Holiday Island. If those people are traveling east, it's not worth it in time and fuel cost to bring their animals 40 or 50 miles out of their way to her kennel, she said.
She estimated her business was down 40 percent in April and it remains off by 20 percent.
Simler said she was part of a faction that supported the state Highway Department's proposal to build a new bridge in 2005.
The Highway Department gave up that idea in the face of opposition that held that a new bridge would take tourist traffic away from the town, Kriesel said.
"(The high water) brings to the forefront that we need a reliable bridge," Simler said.
Even after the water recedes, the town won't immediately be in the clear. The Highway Department will have to inspect the bridge and decide what repair is needed or if the bridge is even worth salvaging, said David Nilles, public information officer for the Highway Department.
A recreational vehicle park the town operates, another tourist draw, remains under water and out of commission.
Upstream, south of U.S. 62, residents continue to rebuild after a large surge of water from open spillway gates at Beaver Dam on April 11 damaged several homes.
Jan Turley, whose 10,000-square-foot home had about 7 feet of water invade, said he's making progress. He said the Federal Emergency Management Agency quickly gave him about $20,000 to help him start the rebuilding process.
He also said the Corps of Engineers has apologized and he's filed a claim with the corps to try to cover monetary damages.
P.J. Spaul, spokesman for the corps, said the corps did nothing wrong in the way the dam was operated. He said he didn't know how many claims had been filed with the corps.
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