A ceremonial closure of the Broadway Bridge this morning begins a six-month period for construction of a replacement span over the Arkansas River. Will road rage result? Odds are good at rush hours.

Highway commissioners arrived for the ceremony in fancy convertibles. A more appropriate conveyance for this highway commission would have been some rumbling semis, which tear up the road without paying sufficiently to rebuild them, or maybe a phalanx of SUVs from Bryant and Cabot, higher on the commission’s quality of life scale than residents of Little Rock.

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Cross-river commuting will shift mostly to the Main Street and Interstate 30 bridges. Scott Street outside my window? Going to be a mess. Third Street at rush hour, when eStem lets out? Best avoided.

Best strategy: Change commute times, earlier or later.

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