East Central Present Almost Wrapped

Carlos Feliz with APAC works Friday in a manhole along East Central Avenue near the intersection with Northeast I Street along Southwest I Street in Bentonville.
Carlos Feliz with APAC works Friday in a manhole along East Central Avenue near the intersection with Northeast I Street along Southwest I Street in Bentonville.

— Bentonville plans to open an improved East Central Avenue between the downtown square and East J Street by Christmas, a city official said.

Work on Southwest I Street should be close behind, just into the new year, according to Mike Churchwell, director of the city’s Transportation Department.

At A Glance

On the Horizon

Once the East Central Avenue and Southwest I Street projects are complete, the city will look toward other projects. These projects include:

• Eighth Street and adding an interchange off Interstate 540

• South Main Street

• South A Street

• Water Tower Road

Source: City Of Bentonville

Work on East Central Avenue started in November 2011, but the first six months of the project were dedicated to reworking water and sewer lines. Even with the utility work, the project is five months ahead of schedule, Churchwell said. The original contract has an end date in May.

Workers for contractor APAC are finishing the project. The two-lane street was reworked as a gateway into downtown with decorative features and 8-foot sidewalks. The project includes a stone and ironwork bridge over Town Branch Creek and gateway markings with Bentonville’s signature “B” welcoming drivers to downtown.

The project included work at Dave Peel Park such as new parallel parking spots. The street will provide new left turn lanes at Central Avenue and J Street for access between the square and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

“The decorative aspects do take time,” Churchwell said.

He said the contractor has put in outstanding effort to get the project finished ahead of schedule. The contractor is eligible for incentive pay for up to 100 days of early completion.

The total contract awarded in August 2011 was $3.7 million. The contractor will be awarded $2,500 for each day it completes the project ahead of time up to $250,000, according to contract documents.

The street has been closed to through traffic throughout the project, though residents who lived on the street were allowed one-lane access. Bentonville School District buses traveled down side streets to get to students who live on the street, and drivers traveled on East Second and Third streets on routes.

Buses would get caught in a backlog of traffic at the four-way stop at Northwest Second and A streets on the way to R.E. Baker, Thomas Jefferson and Sugar Creek elementary schools.

Sonny Lee, assistant director of transportation for the school district, said opening East Central Avenue will expedite district routes.

The four-way stop sign at Northwest Second and A streets was added after work on East Central Avenue started. The intersection previously only included a stop sign for east and westbound traffic. Churchwell said it will be up to the Traffic and Signage Committee to determine whether the sign stays up after the street opens.

Churchwell said he believes the four-way stop has made it safer for pedestrians. Pedestrian traffic at the intersection has risen since the installation of the sign, he said. The intersection includes a waiting spot for Ozark Regional Transit and is a hub for the Midtown Shopping Center and businesses such as Flying Fish on West Second Street.

Work on Southeast I Street should be done in four to six weeks if the weather cooperates, Churchwell said. The project is more than nine months behind schedule, with an original completion date of March. Later estimates pushed the end date back to November, and now the final contract day is Jan. 5.

The City Council has added contract days numerous times during the project to account for bumps in the road, including issues with water and sewer lines and a bridge ordered by a subcontractor that didn’t fit.

Contractor Decco has until Jan. 5 to complete the project before it faces penalties. It started work in April 2010.

“I really hope that doesn’t happen,” Churchwell said.

Improvements in the project include widening the intersection at Southwest I Street and Arkansas 112 to five lanes and adding two lanes in each direction along Southwest I Street with a median in the center. The intersection has been open for months, but north and southbound traffic is forced along one side of the median.

The city’s Electric Department worked Friday on decorative lightposts along the street. The boulevard will tie in with the city’s planned community center set for construction just south on Arkansas 12.

“It will be a very attractive, functional road when it’s finished,” Churchwell said.

The $18 million project was paid for through a 2007 bond issue and is the largest street project undertaken by the city, Churchwell said. The city will get about $3 million of that money back from the state as a credit for improvements done to Arkansas 12.

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