BEAVER -- Motorists will need to find another way across the White River next week in this small Carroll County town.
The Arkansas 187 Bridge over the White River, also known as the "Little Golden Gate Bridge" and the Beaver Bridge, in Beaver is scheduled to close daily from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, according to a press release from the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
Crews will be installing load sensors and cameras to monitor how the bridge responds to overweight vehicles, the release states.
Digital message boards will be in place at the intersection of Arkansas 187 and U.S. 62 west of the bridge and the intersection of Arkansas 187 and Arkansas 23 east of the bridge to notify motorists of the closure, according to the release.
Beaver is about 7 miles northwest of Eureka Springs via Arkansas 23 and Arkansas 187. The only road running through the whole town is Arkansas 187, and the bridge is the only way to access the town by road from the south or east, meaning motorists coming from those directions will have to take Arkansas 187 and 23 to Eureka Springs, head northwest on U.S. 62 and turn east at Arkansas 187 to get into town. The trip from Eureka Springs to Beaver via U.S. 62 and Arkansas 187 is about 16 miles.
The Beaver Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, where it is cited as one of three wire-cable suspensions bridges still in use in Arkansas.