Just Curious

[mohawklady]

Any of you who follow the news probably heard about the bank robber who jumped from the Main street river bridge a few days ago. I'll admit I know very little about the Arkansas river, and my question is how deep is the river through that area? I realize the impact is probably what killed him but I still would like to know. I know the river is used alot with barges and such. I just moved to Little Rock last September so tell me what you know...Pam

[Paddlegal]

Sorry to say, there are quite a few instances of folks jumping from those bridges for various reasons. Depending on the CFS the currents are tricky and mean, although I have paddled it upstream from the boat ramp.

I think the river is about 20 feet deep there, but I'm not sure.

I remember a couple after Katrina, jumped from the bridge, but they were both rescued.

[Gink]

The main channel is dredged to a depth of 9 feet (2.7 m) and the river in the vicinity of Little Rock can be less than a foot outside of the main channel -- I believe the greatest depth recorded on the river in the vicinity of Little Rock was 27 feet at normal pool depth.

Given that a safe jump/dive from one meter (3.3 feet) requires the water depth of 11.5 feet, from 3 meters 12.5 feet deep, and from 10 meters 16 feet deep -- it wasn't a smart move -- the odds are strongly in favor of a jumper hitting bottom.

Prior to McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System there were times in the summer you could actually walk across the river -- in fact one of the reasons why Little Rock is where it is was that it was considered the first location west of the Mississippi (and its mouth) where you could actually -- at the right time of the year -- cross on foot. Coupled with suitable landmarks, i.e. Little Rock, an ever-flowing spring (that once flowed where the Old State Capitol now stands), and a level plateau sitting above the flood plain -- its no wonder that several Indian trails and the famous Southwest Trail passed through what is now Little Rock.

[turboturtle]

The barge channel is now supposed to be Twelve foot deep, up from nine foot a couple of years ago. The river is not all that deep, but when a lot of current flows their are large whirlpools which look like they could suck a boat down. The whirlpools would have no trouble submerging a non PFD wearing human. I used to jump from Jeffery Stone quarries many moons ago. Some of the cliffs we jumped from were higher than the bridges spanning the Arkansas river. Their are trees which sometimes float their way down river. Some so large they float just below the surface where nobody could see them.
It is a very dangerous place for the uninitiated.

[Gink]

Not yet -- still at nine feet.

The bids to deepen this section of the river were due on July 7 of this year. To my knowledge the contract has not yet been awarded to a successful bidder -- any time now.