U.S. 62 to be moved away from park

6.5-mile expansion project gets reroute farther from Pea Ridge battle site

A 6.5-mile-long highwayexpansion project coming to Northwest Arkansas will reroute U.S. 62 away from the Pea Ridge National Military Park.

Although tree-removal and the rerouting of utilities is underway around the highway north of Avoca, the project, which will widen the highway to four lanes and extend to Garfield, will likely not be in full swing until mid-summer.

Mitchell Archer, district construction engineer for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department’s District 9, said the department is about 80 percent finished with right-of-way acquisition, which is the process of purchasing private property that lines the portion of the highway scheduled to be widened. Archer said the department is scheduled to solicit bids from construction contractors in April.

Randy Ort, spokesman for the department, which has its headquarters in Little Rock, said the project is estimated to cost $25 million to $30 million, and expected to take two construction seasons to complete. A construction season is considered to run from spring through December, although the number ofworking days depends on year-to-year weather fluctuations.

Ort said a public location hearing regarding the highway was held in June 2008, and a public design hearing was held in November 2010. Ort said state highway engineers and planners take numerous aspects into account when expanding or rerouting a roadway.

“You’re not just talking about trees and birds,” Ort said. “You’re talking about the social impact, the economic impact and the environment, and how it affects federal properties, for example the park.”

The park - Pea Ridge National Military Park - may expect to see about 10,000 fewer cars pass through the federal property each day once the project is completed, said Kevin Eads, chief of resource management at Pea Ridge. While Eads said he doesn’t expect the park to receive fewer actual visitors, the rerouting of the section of U.S. 62 which now covers about two miles along the southeastern border of the park will spare the federal property an enormous amount of thoroughfare.

“It’s a good deal for the park,” Eads said. “It better allows us to manage our resources and protect the park.”

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 01/08/2013

Upcoming Events