SPRINGDALE — A proposed road to Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport will have to be limited access, airport board members were told Wednesday.
“As long as we are building a long driveway to the airport, we can build that road with airport funds,” Scott Van Laningham, executive director, said. “We can’t build a state highway; we have to keep control.”
Van Laningham said the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has pledged to build phase one of the proposed U.S. 412 Bypass if a state sales tax for roads passes in November. That phase would get a road from Interstate 540 to Arkansas 112. Airport officials would be responsible for building about four miles of road from Arkansas 112 to the airport.
Highway officials have said their part would be done within five years. Airport board members want to find money to build their part and get the approval process moving, costs estimated, design work done and the right-of-way acquired so they’re ready when the time comes. Public hearings are being scheduled.
“We need to be moving on our road and moving forward,” Van Laningham said.
There’s not enough money on hand to build the road, but Van Laningham tossed out a couple of options for paying for the project, including tolls and airport access fees. Tolling would be a challenge and may not produce enough revenue to be feasible, he said. Access fees could be tied to parking.
“A lot of this is going to depend on the availability of funding,” Van Laningham said.
The access road came up as part of a discussion about the need for an airport master plan to set project and spending priorities for the next several years. Barnard Dunkelberg and Co. was hired to draft the document.
The plan will include information on projects such as the access road, a parking deck, a second runway, future concourse additions, ways to control development around the airport and the potential for developing an industrial and technical park west of the airport. Projects will be analyzed for need and demand, prioritized and vetted financially.
Stan Green, a treasurer of the board, said an updated plan must include a long-term financial plan that will allow the board to better understand what projects they can do and when.
“We don’t have any idea what these projects will cost yet,” Green said. “Once we have updated costs, we can make decisions on how to go forward.”
Green pointed out work on various projects can continue while the plan is being developed, particularly projects such as a new car wash for rental car companies.
“You can work on them simultaneously, but they’ve all got to be tied back together sometime,” Green said.
Airport officials expect a federal grant will pay for the master plan.
At A Glance
Backing Transportation
Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport directors resolved Wednesday to support a half-cent sales tax proposal for state highway improvement.
The region could see more than $400 million in highway construction and $60 million in turnback money for road projects if voters approve the sales tax in November, according to Craig Douglas, chairman of Move Arkansas Forward, the group formed to push the proposal.
Source: Staff Report