LITTLE ROCK (AP) - The Big Dam Bridge is expected to be one big draw for Arkansas.
The bridge, set to open Saturday, spans the Arkansas River, linking Little Rock and North Little Rock. Officials also hope the bridge also will lead tourists and others into exploring - and spending - in the two cities.
The $12.8 million project connects Little Rock's Murray Park to North Little Rock's Cooks Landing, near Burns Park. Built over the Murray Lock and Dam, the bridge is 4,300-feet long, putting runners and bicyclists about 65 feet above the river.
The bridge is billed as the nation's longest built solely for foot and bicycle traffic.
Organizers expect more than 2,000 to crowd the North Little Rock side for opening-day celebrations. But in the days after, officials believe the bridge will continue to draw visitors.
"Arkansas is absolutely beautiful," said Jordan Johnson of Little Rock's Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, the marketing firm planning this weekend's events. "It's an easy sell once you get them here. You just have to get them here."
Getting them there may not be a problem now. Little Rock already draws visitors with the Clinton Library and new downtown developments.
But while those developments include culinary, cultural and shopping attractions, the bridge moves Little Rock into "health" tourism, said Laurie Green, director of tourism for the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. With the bridge connecting 17 miles of parks and trails between Little Rock and North Little Rock, it likely will attract more cyclists and joggers.
"I do know from past experience that this is just another fun, unusual thing we can use to promote our city with and we can draw more people in," Green said. "It makes them pay attention. It's something that captures their imagination."
The bridge already is proving to be a draw. About 1,100 people signed up for the Big Dam Bridge 100, a 100-mile bicycle tour this Sunday, which Johnson described as one of the largest cycling events in state history. More than 1,000 people signed up for Saturday's five-kilometer foot race.
Beyond tourism, Green said the bridge could attract new businesses to the area seeking amenities for their employees.
While the bridge will attract attention during the day, it also will be visible fixture on the darkened river at night. A computerized lighting system - scheduled to be completed in the next nine months - will toss a variety of colors underneath the bridge's expanse at night.
"It's a centerpiece, something that will draw people to the community," said Jim Pfeifer, the bridge's project manager from Little Rock's U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "It's a visible symbol."
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