Tourist Bus Twice its Size Crosses Suspension Bridge, causing it to sag
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS (USA)- The Beaver Bridge, built in 1949 and spanning the White River at Table Rock Reservoir in Caroll County, is considered the little Golden Gate Bridge in the eyes of many locals. The bridge is a textbook style suspension; yellow in color, tower, cables and roadway, all 554 feet of it, making the place a tourist attraction.
Yet the bridge almost because a memory and a theater stage for a tragedy caused by stupidity recently. Two tourist busses crossed the bridge as recently as Saturday and in a video produced by Barb Hartman Maher, the second bus trying to cross the structure caused the decking of the suspension bridge to sag by up to three feet. Onlookers tried honking the horn at the bus driver, yet to no avail. One driver even had to turn around after watching the action, fearing that the bus had caused anough damage to keep him off the bridge.
The video of the bus crossing the bridge can be found here:
While the bus made it, it is unknown how many passengers were in the bus at that time. The suspension bridge has a weight limit of 10 tons yet the weight of the bus was at least three times as much as what the bridge allowed for weight.
After posting this facebook post, as many as 590,000 people viewed the post with the majority of those who commented on this having been completely angry and demanded that the bus driver take accountability for his actions. As of right now, there has been no information as to what the bus looked like, let alone the license plate number on there. Since the bridge has a weight limit and the driver went well over the limit, it is obvious that the driver had broken theb law and at the same time, put the lives of the passengers at risk. Had the suspension bridge failed, chances are very likely that many people would have lost their lives.
Therefore, we need your help. Any information that could lead to the arrest of the bus driver responsible for violating regulations involving the weight restrictions, reckless driving and negligence of passengers should be forwarded to the local law enforcement authorities as soon as possible. We the people have the right to put a person under arrest for his crimes. Seeing this is definitely a crime that must not slide under any circumstances.
It is unknown if and what kind of repairs may be needed on the bridge, but as a person crossing the bridge, it would be best to find a detour until the bridge is checked over. Thank you for your help in this matter.
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