Video shows bridge dip sharply as overweight bus drives over

HOLIDAY ISLAND, Ark. — Arkansas highway officials are inspecting the historic Beaver Bridge after a bus weighing more than twice the structure's weight limit drove across it Saturday.

Video which shows the 35-ton bus cross the one-lane bridge on Arkansas 187 while other cars honk at the driver.

The bus made it across the bridge, causing the suspension to sag as it passed over. The bridge's maximum weight limit is 10 tons, according to KFSM.

Crews were already checking the bridge this week during regular maintenance, and they found no apparent signs of damage during a preliminary inspection, according to Danny Straessle, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

Crews were back out again Monday afternoon for a more thorough inspection, Straessle said.

Beaver Bridge, dubbed the Little Golden Gate Bridge of Arkansas, was built in 1949 in tandem with Table Rock Lake.

For years, the bridge served as a major transportation link for Beaver residents across the White River, according to the National Register Information System.

Beaver Bridge is the only suspension bridge open to traffic in Arkansas. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.