Cardwell Road Bridge in Johnson Closed

Richard Long, the mayor of Johnson, has finally gotten rid of the fourth and final one-lane bridge in his town. The Cardwell Road Bridge was closed at the end of July. Engineering Services Inc. of Springdale designed, and Sweetser Construction Co. of Fayetteville built, a new two-lane inlet to Carley Road that bypasses Little Sandy Creek so that no bridge is required.

The new street is about 400 yards west of the defunct bridge. Cardwell was a snarl of a street that ran into Carley and connected Springdale’s upscale Timber Ridge and Willow Bend subdivisions to Johnson.

That whole area has become a traffic jam since shoppers at Steele Crossing and the Northwest Arkansas Mall figured out they could get to Interstate 540 through Johnson.

Long said the job cost only $180,000 because Dr. John Kendrick donated the right of way through some of his property to create the inlet.

Long, who took office in 1995, said a $290,000 widening of Wilkerson Street in Johnson, is also under way. That will ultimately create turning lanes on Wilkerson and Main Drive where they meet at a three-way stop.