“Old River Bridge” to Begin Restoration with $500K Federal Grant

Saline County “Old River Bridge” photo by Shelli Poole, as shown before its removal for restoration.

A non-profit group, Saline Crossing, Inc. has been working for about eight years to develop a park with walking trails in Benton, using the “Old River Bridge” as a key to the project. They got the news on December 4, 2015, that Saline County has been awarded a grant in the amount of $500,000 for the restoration of the bridge. The funds are federal aid, from the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) disbursed through the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. The general public may have never seen this bridge, since it hasn’t been accessible for decades by city streets. However, many may recognize the bridge as being featured in the Billy Bob Thornton film, “Sling Blade,” as shown near the end of this movie clip below. The bridge is on the National Historic Register.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mClbBbT5IQk[/embedyt]

Saline Crossing, Inc. obtained its 501(c)(3) status and grew and worked hard to get the bridge and recreation area clean, including removing brush and a lot of litter, and installing a picnic area. Saline County Judge Jeff Arey took notice of their mission and worked together with the group to apply for a grant to restore the bridge. When restored, it would become part of a plan to build a walking and biking trail from Hot Springs to Little Rock.

Map courtesy of Google. Click to go to interactive map at Saline Crossing Regional Park & Recreation Area Inc.

Long before this group got organized, I stood outside the Royal Theatre in October of 2006. A political forum event had just finished and I was introduced to Lynn Moore. Moore had been Mayor of Benton before and was running again. The Moore family has a long history in Benton and Lynn had known the old bridge in working order. He didn’t win the election that year, but he did press forward on a subject we talked about in front of the Royal that evening – utilizing the vast natural resource running right through Benton – the Saline River.

Lynn Moore speaking at a political forum on October 5, 2006. Click to see video of that forum.

The Saline Crossing, Inc. organization formed in 2008, as their mission statement reads: “To establish a process to preserve the Old River Bridge, circa 1891 on the Saline River and establish a significant and fitting public access to William S. Lockhart’s historical first pioneer settlement of Saline County, at Saline Crossing.”

Local furniture store owner, Bill White, donated five acres of adjoining land to the project so that Saline Crossing includes property on both sides of the river, including the placement of the Old River Bridge as well as the original Saline Crossing village location.

In May 2015, the organization held a bicentennial celebration to mark the 200th anniversary of the settlement of Saline Crossing back in 1815.

The next meeting on Saline Crossing, Inc. is Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. in the Gene Moss Building at Tyndall Park, 913 East Sevier Street, Benton, AR 72015. Meetings are open to the public and are normally held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month.

Comment by Seth Hardwick on December 14, 2015 at 11:25am:

Saline Crossing Location

NOTE: The bridge and park can be publicly accessed from the county road on the south side of the river. You can take River Rd.off of Highway 67 just outside of Haskell.

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