Van Buren County's Quorum Court approved a resolution expressing willingness to use federal aid for a new two-lane bridge on River Road near Shirley (Structure No. 20045).

The resolution authorizes pursuit of federal funding and a feasibility study under the Federal Infrastructure Act. The presiding official described the project as a potential $3 million, two-lane bridge; the existing train bridge would remain in place and could be repurposed for pedestrian use. "It would be a very large, tall...2 lanes," the presiding official said while summarizing the estimate.

Court members discussed whether the structure number referred to repair or replacement and were told the resolution contemplates a new bridge. The stated funding split in the resolution is approximately 90% federal share and a 10% local share, with state funds covering the bulk of the local match (about 18% of the total local share) and county state-aid covering the remainder.

The court approved the resolution by voice vote to allow the state and federal process to proceed with project planning and engineers' determinations about site and design.