LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Anyone driving across the Cantrell bridge near Dillard's Corporate in Little Rock has seen a handful of pretty large gaps in the median.
As a result, some Arkansans have taken their concerns to social media.
"I'm definitely concerned," Arkansas driver JP Braunfisch said. "Just knowing how many people drive over that every day."
Braunfisch travels on the Cantrell bridge by Episcopal Collegiate School almost daily and recently noticed the gaps in the median.
"I don't know if they need a whole new bridge or if they just need to do some work," Braunfisch said. "At the very least... make people feel safer."
According to ARDOT, the bridge is safe to drive on and they're aware of the bridge's rough spots.
"Over the years, that concrete median connection in the middle has given way," ARDOT Spokesperson Dave Parker said. "There are gaps in that. We try to come in with asphalt and periodically fill it in."
However, filling in the gaps with asphalt is only a temporary fix for the two separate bridges.
"Back when they expanded Cantrell many years ago, they added that second bridge," Parker said. "Widened it out because of the increased traffic."
Parker said about 70,000 people travel on the bridge daily.
"Cantrell itself is one of the most heavily traveled non-interstate roads in the state," Parker said
He said they've received a couple of calls about the gaps and are working on a plan to build a whole new bridge.
"It just reaches a point where we've got to go in and replace it," Parker said. "That's why money has been allotted."
That process could take a few years, but he is encouraging drivers to be patient.
"They're going to start it in early 2024," Parker said. "Then you could say, two to three years afterward for a completely new bridge here."
People can report incidents to ARDOT here.