Although this unlikely route was financially very successful during World War II, traffic gradually declined in the 1950s and passenger service was cut back on October 27, 1954 to include only a McGehee-Watson-Yancopin-Helena schedule.

[7] In April 1980, the Missouri Pacific began a major upgrading of their railroad line between McGehee and Paragould, in order to divert chemical trains from a route passing through highly populated areas of Little Rock.

After installation of 127 miles of welded rail, trackside signals, centralized traffic control and numerous bridge repair projects, chemical trains from the Texas and Louisiana Gulf coasts began using this new line in early 1981.

Chemical traffic was again returned to the traditional Missouri Pacific route through the center of Little Rock, and parts of the railroad north of McGehee were embargoed and later abandoned.

[9] The bridge is maintained by the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, and the swing span is manually spun open and closed for logging traffic on the river for several months every year.