North Little Rock's City Council approved a road construction contract Monday aimed at alleviating traffic congestion on the city's western edge and for the benefit of residents of Maumelle, its western neighbor.
Council members voted 7-0 to award a $445,131 contract for the Counts Massie Road extension to the project's low bidder, Bobby Kennedy Construction of Quitman. Council member Charlie Hight was absent.
The road extension passes through North Little Rock and Maumelle. The extension is intended to lead to a new entrance/exit off Interstate 40 and provide a link to Arkansas 100 -- also called Maumelle Boulevard -- which traverses both cities.
The future interchange would be built by the Arkansas Department of Transportation, but funding hasn't yet been identified for its projected $12.2 million cost, Maumelle Mayor Mike Watson said last week. Without some state or federal assistance, the entire cost of the interchange could fall on Maumelle, Watson said.
North Little Rock's cost is part of a $1.04 million project, according to the resolution. Maumelle will pay $240,763 because part of the road's centerline will be the border between the two city limits, with each city responsible for paving one half of the road. The remaining $357,000 has been acquired from the Counts Massie/Collins Road Improvement District No. 1.
Maumelle voters approved extending a 6.6-mill property tax in October 2012 to support a bond package that included $9.8 million to resurface and widen Counts Massie inside Maumelle.
Maumelle is expected to complete asphalt paving on its portion by month's end, Watson said last week. North Little Rock's construction is estimated to take about six months.
"It completes the Counts Massie system all the way to the interstate, where the highway department is looking at putting in an interchange," North Little Rock's chief city engineer, Chris Wilbourn, said last week.
The planned interchange, dependent on completion of the Counts Massie extension, has been talked about among Maumelle civic leaders for 20 years or more as providing a "third entrance" to the city. The often-congested Maumelle Boulevard is the only way in and out of Maumelle, connecting with Arkansas 365 on one end and I-430 on the other.
The road extension serves North Little Rock's interest because a section of the boulevard closest to I-430, and areas around that part of the boulevard, lie within North Little Rock and feature large apartment complexes, housing, businesses and commercial properties.
Both cities expect business development to occur along the Counts Massie extension, especially once a connection with I-40 is completed.
"I think everybody is waiting on the road getting built," Watson said of potential development. "There's a lot of land for sale out there. There are a lot of [for sale] signs out there."
Metro on 08/15/2017