Little Rock approves $25,000 engineering increase for Hilaro Springs Bridge replacement

Little Rock’s Board of Directors adopted a resolution July 21 authorizing an additional $25,000 for engineering work tied to replacing the Hilaro Springs Bridge over Little Fourche Creek in southwest Little Rock.

The amendment raises the maximum authorized contract with Michael Baker International to $319,634. The added work is intended to update the project information needed for a proposed supplemental 2026 federal Bridge Improvement Program grant application.

What the added engineering work covers

According to the adopted city resolution, the additional work will update existing conditions, the project scope and cost projections. It also includes a required cost-benefit analysis for the grant application.

Little Rock submitted a Bridge Improvement Program application in 2024 but was not awarded funding, the resolution says. The 2026 application is a separate future funding request, not a grant award already secured by the city.

How the amendment is funded

The $25,000 contract increase will be paid from the city’s 3/8-cent capital-improvement sales and compensating-use tax funds and 2018 capital-improvement bond funds.

The $319,634 figure is the ceiling for Michael Baker International’s professional engineering agreement. It is not the total projected cost of replacing the bridge.

What drivers should expect

For drivers in southwest Little Rock, the action means the city is continuing engineering and grant-preparation work for the Hilaro Springs Bridge replacement.

It does not, by itself, confirm a construction start, construction schedule, immediate bridge closure or detour. Those decisions would require later approvals, funding and construction planning.

The bridge was built in 1936 and crosses Little Fourche Creek. The current resolution says the city is updating the project to reflect current conditions, scope and cost projections, including the analysis required for the federal funding request.

Federal funding remains the next major uncertainty

The next major question is whether the proposed 2026 federal grant application receives funding. Until then, the city’s confirmed commitment is the additional engineering expense and the higher contract ceiling.

The July 21 action separates two steps: Little Rock has authorized more engineering work, while the records reviewed do not establish that bridge construction is funded, scheduled or underway.

Sources

• City of Little Rock Hilaro Springs Bridge replacement resolution