With Green Bridge closed, HOA worries about emergency response times, home values

The recent closure of a century-old bridge in rural Christian County is causing concern among homeowners along Smyrna Road. They say the diagonal route, now severed, is a vital connection between the rural Rogersville and Ozark areas.

Green Bridge, which crosses the Finley River northeast of Ozark, was closed to traffic and pedestrians earlier this year. The 112-year-old bridge had previously been rated a 3 on the Missouri Department of Transportation’s 10-point bridge safety scale, but it closed after that rating was lowered to 2, indicating a risk for sudden failure.

The county is ready to build a new bridge — almost, that is. The old Green Bridge is adjacent to four private properties along the Finley River. Three of those property owners have signed off on right-of-way agreements for the new bridge. Christian County Highway Administrator Miranda Beadles said they’re still waiting on one property owner to sign off. The last property owner declined to comment for this article.

Another problem: there’s a deadline for the American Rescue Plan Act money that Christian County wants to use to replace Green Bridge. The money must be obligated to a contractor by the end of 2024, and the right-of-way issue has caused a holdup. In the meantime, the bridge closure has local homeowners anxious.

“We do have until the end of the year to sign that contract, but we can’t wait until the end of the year,” Christian County Presiding Commissioner Lynn Morris said.

Homeowners association concerned about drive times, home values

The homeowners’ association at the Bluffs at Riverside, a sprawling gated community along the Finley River, is worried. The HOA recently submitted a report to the Christian County Commission highlighting increased drive times for fire, ambulance, police, school buses, and shopping after the Green Bridge closure. The report was also shared with the News-Leader.

“One of the reasons we chose to build here was the ability to receive services in a timely fashion if there was an emergency. Living in a rural area can complicate needed care. The Green Bridge was the advantage that this location provided as we made our decision to relocate to Ozark,” said Cindy Beus, a homeowner in the Bluffs.

The HOA report mentions that eight minutes is the national average wait time for emergency services in the U.S. According to the report, it would take 14 minutes (traveling 7.7 miles) for the closest fire district, Logan-Rogersville, to arrive at the Bluffs. The closest ambulance and police, from Sparta, would take 14 minutes and 7.5 miles.

“On a temporary basis, this is livable. Permanently it is unacceptable,” the report says.

After submitting the report, homeowner Jeff McLearn described a "jaw drop moment" as some of their worries came true on March 13. That day, a power company worker cut his foot while trimming along power lines outside of the neighborhood. While the crew was loading the worker into a pickup truck to rush him to the emergency room, McLearn asked why they weren't waiting for an ambulance.

"A guy on the crew said they called 911 and they were told it would be faster just to take him in the pickup than wait on an ambulance," McLearn said. "This is exactly what everyone in the Bluffs neighborhood is worried about."

The Bluffs HOA is also concerned about fire insurance ratings and home values. Homeowner insurance companies use an ISO (Insurance Services Office) score, which determines how well the fire department can protect your community and home. The scale is 1-10, with 10 being the worst. With Green Bridge closed, all homes in the Bluffs will receive a score of 10. This is expected to raise insurance premiums by 25-50%, the report says.

The 37 homes in the Bluffs have a combined value of about $35.5 million, or an average of $879,891 per home. The report predicts a 10% decline in home values with a temporary closure of Green Bridge, and a 25% drop if Green Bridge were to close permanently.

Morris is confident that bridge construction will start by the end of the year. He says the county will not lose its ARPA funds because it simply can’t afford to. In a previous interview with the News-Leader, Morris added that it would take 90 years for the county to raise enough money to replace Green Bridge on its own.

More: Green Bridge in Christian County has closed after 112 years. Could it be preserved?

“It’s imperative that we get that bridge built,” said Morris. “And that way they’ll have all types of first responders that can get across that bridge. It’s going to be inconvenient now being closed, but our whole intention is to build that bridge.”

As for a drop in home values, the county isn’t sure whether there will be a decline for residents of the Bluffs. But Morris knows that once the bridge is built, insurance ratings will go down. He added that real estate values are going up every day in Christian County.

“There’s no way that we can know what the home values are going to be. I did mention that to our assessor, Danny Gray, and he can’t even predict that,” Morris said.

Old Green Bridge is available for reuse

One question still stands: what will happen to the old Green Bridge?

That’s still up in the air. But the deadline is quickly approaching for parties interested in deconstructing, storing, and relocating the historic structure. According to a marketing letter from Great River Engineering, letters of interest must be submitted by 12 p.m. Friday, March 15. According to Beadles, there are currently two interested parties.

Letters of interest must include:

• A statement of interest in reusing the existing Green Bridge structure;

• A brief description of the proposed reuse;

• A statement of intent to submit a full proposal by the Friday, April 19 deadline.

Proposals received for the reuse of Green Bridge will be evaluated by the Christian County Commission, Christian County Highway Department, and GRE based on how well they demonstrate applicant’s ability to preserve the features of the bridge that make it historically significant. Priority will be given to proposals that:

• Preserve the bridge near the point of origin;

• Preserve the bridge in the state of Missouri;

• Preserve the entire bridge; or

• Preserve the most spans.

Proposals will also be evaluated based on the financial resources of the applicant and their ability to provide long-term maintenance. Proposals that do not include provisions to assume future financial and legal responsibility for Green Bridge may be considered incomplete.

For additional information on preserving Green Bridge, contact John Cahill, GRE project manager, at (417) 886-7171 or jcahill@greatriv.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Ozark HOA fears declining home values following Green Bridge closure