Bridge concerns shutdown part of Arkansas Highway 9 in the Ozarks

At least one lane of traffic has been opened on a previous closed section of Arkansas 9 connecting Salem to Oxford, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation. One lane of traffic will be allowed to cross the Harkle Creek Bridge. Portable traffic signals have been placed on each end of the bridge to guide motorists. 

The thoroughfare in Northeast Arkansas from the Missouri state line to central Arkansas was partially shutdown after a routine inspection by ARDOT on Wednesday (Aug. 30). 

Inspectors found a reason to shutter traffic from crossing the bridge near the township of Wheeling. Why the bridge has been closed was not released nor has a timetable for its complete re-opening.

Attempts by Talk Business & Politics to gather more information about the closure from ARDOT were unsuccessful.

Motorists traveling north on the highway had been diverted in Oxford to Highway 354/289 and then routed to Glencoe. Motorists traveling south had been re-routed onto U.S. 412. The shutdown impacted about 10 miles of the highway and will add at least 30 minutes or more to travel times in the area.

Arkansas 9 starts on the Missouri border at Mammoth Spring and then makes it way south through Salem and then snakes its way through the Ozarks region and through central parts of the state before ending in the township of Crows in Saline County.