The bridge will connect with pedestrian trails in Two Rivers Park.
Buddy Villines is the Pulaski County Judge
Deer and other animals can be seen on the trail in the park.
It's quiet there. The rustling of the dry grass next to the bike trail seems loud.
"There's all kinds of wildlife, all kinds if plant life, fowl, birds," says Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines. "It's just an incredible natural area in the middle of an urbanizing community."
But the sounds of construction will begin soon near the south end of the I-430 bridge. The new Two Rivers Bridge will span the Little Maumelle River, linking Little Rock's riverside trails with another set of trails in Two Rivers Park.
Judge Villines says, "It's a little difficult to get to now because you have to drive quite a ways to get around to it. With this, people will just be able to walk over a bridge and they're there. And I think this bridge will see as much or nearly as much if not more traffic than the Big Dam Bridge.
Two Rivers Bridge will open up miles of new trails to bikers and hikers, eventually providing access all the way to Pinnacle Mountain State Park.
The same company that built the Big Dam Bridge won the contract for the Two Rivers Bridge. And for the folks who will use it, it will look a lot like the Big Dam Bridge. The walkway will be the same width and will have the same railings, but the Two Rivers Bridge will not be as high or nearly as long.
The design includes a steel truss that will span the Little Maumelle, leaving plenty of room for boats big and small to pass under.
Construction should be complete by summer 2011. And with the Clinton Center scheduled to begin work converting the Rock Island Bridge to a pedestrian and bike friendly structure, central Arkansas will soon be home to one of the largest sets of connected trails and paths in the country.