County Studies Location

Traffic May Slow Plans For New Building

BENTONVILLE - Potential traffic jams might slow plans to build a new Benton County courts facility at county-owned property on Southwest 14th Street in Bentonville.

County Judge Bob Clinard has been exploring the prospects for a new building to house the county’s Circuit Court judges, the prosecuting attorney’s office and the public defender’s office, along with support staff from the circuit clerk’s office.

At A Glance

County Courts

Benton County Judge Bob Clinard is studying ways to provide modern, efficient space for the county’s Circuit Court judges, prosecuting attorney, public defender, circuit clerk and their staffs. The current county courthouse was built in 1928. Clinard said a preliminary concept is for a three-story courts building providing 50,000 to 60,000 square feet of space. He said an estimate put the cost of such a building at about $15 million.

Source: Staff Report

The Quorum Court authorized Clinard to hire a consultant to do some design work on a building, but nothing has been spent. Clinard said he needs to identify the proposed site and have more information about traffic issues and access to and from the proposed building before design work is done.

“I haven’t spent a dime of that money yet,” Clinard said.

Clinard met Monday with representatives of the state Highway and Transportation Department, Bentonville officials, Sheriff Kelley Cradduck, Maj. Rob Holly of the Sheriff’s Office, Scott Stober, who oversees the county Road Department, and John Sudduth, the county’s general services administrator.

“All I’m trying to do is check on the feasibility of putting our new courts facility here in front of the Sheriff’s Office, with the entrance here off 102,” Clinard told the group. Southwest 14th Street is also Arkansas 102 and Clinard’s plans for a traffic signal at the main public entrance to the site would require Highway Department approval.

Bobby Keeton, district permit officer for the Highway Department, said the state would need the actual traffic volume at the location before making a decision on a traffic signal. He said projected traffic figures for the courts building are unlikely to be accepted.

“The only time we use projected volume in deciding on signals is for a proven generator, like Walmart,” Keeton said. Keeton said he didn’t have information on the traffic volume the state would need, but he would provide that when he did. Clinard said the normal operations of the courts, the Road Department and the Sheriff’s Office would see “several hundred” vehicles in and out of the site daily, with more on peak court days.

Troy Galloway, Bentonville’s director of community development, suggested the plan for the site should try to consolidate driveways to increase the traffic volume and simplify the traffic flow. One possible location is the current driveway leading to the public parking lot on the west side of the Sheriff’s Office. Keeton said that driveway is 2,700 feet from the traffic signal at the I Street intersection and 2,900 feet from the next signal to the west on 14th Street.

Clinard said establishing traffic flow through the site is essential before the design of the building can proceed. Sheriff Kelley Cradduck said his concern with the design is to ensure his deputies can get onto 14th Street without delay in the event of an emergency call.

“That’s what gives me heartburn,” Cradduck said.

Cradduck said his primary concern is for deputies heading toward the west side of the county on urgent calls, but not yet to the level the deputies can use their lights and sirens to clear the way.

“There’s got to be a way for them to get out onto 102,” Cradduck said. “It’s a long way to Siloam Springs.”

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