Crews are preparing to begin work on a major component of the new Broadway Bridge to connect Little Rock and North Little Rock.
The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department says the steel that is needed to build arches for the new bridge will start arriving this week.
The department says the steel will be delivered to a staging area near the Clinton Presidential Center on the Little Rock side of the Arkansas River. Once there, the steel will be painted and loaded onto barges, which will be floated upstream.
The arches will be constructed on a floating staging area before they are hoisted into place.
The department estimates the current bridge will be closed in the late spring with the new bridge reopening 180 days after that.