FAYETTEVILLE — Regional planners Wednesday approved trail projects in Fayetteville and Rogers and money for a study of the Cave Springs recharge area.
Planners approved $350,000 for Fayetteville and $120,000 for Rogers for trails. Both projects are ready for construction and to become part of the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Greenway.
The greenway is a 36-mile trail system stretching from Bentonville to south Fayetteville.
The money is from the 2013 Transportation Alternatives Program. The money for 2013 had to be obligated by August to meet federal requirements.
Fayetteville will build one-half mile of the Town Branch Trail from South School Avenue to Greathouse Park. It is part of a 2.8-mile trail that connects to the Razorback Greenway. Fayetteville will pay $87,500 of the trail cost.
The Rogers project will add restrooms, benches and other amenities at the Mercy Medical Trailhead, off Promenade Boulevard. Rogers will pay $30,000 of the cost.
At A Glance
Sensitive Area
The Cave Springs recharge area in Benton County hosts the largest known population of the rare Ozark cavefish. The federally protected cavefish only live in streams that are constantly 55 to 60 degrees and in permanent dark, underground passages. The recharge area and cavefish caused Interstate 540 to be rerouted when it was being planned and built.
Source: Staff Reports
Planners also said they’re still looking at having all the Greenway work under construction or done by the end of the year. Three remaining sections are expected to go out for bids in April, including one in Springdale and one in Rogers. Work is under way on a section along Clear Creek in Johnson and pending is an extension of the Frisco Trail connecting Martin Luther King Boulevard and Walker Park in Fayetteville.
Planners also authorized the Regional Planning Commission to participate in a study of the Cave Springs recharge area and to use federal money to pay for it.
Planners previously approved $500,000 to study the area. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has agreed to pay matching funds of at least $125,000 and more if needed to complete the study.
The work program will have regional planning staff initiate and oversee the study and develop it in conjunction with the Highway Department. Federal Fish & Wildlife officials and other state and federal agencies are expected to participate.
The recharge area became an issue after federal wildlife officials became concerned about the effect a proposed access road to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport and improvement to Arkansas 264, west of Lowell, could have on the area. The recharge area is home to the endangered Ozark cavefish and other species that call the underground water collection area home.
The route of the proposed airport access road is outside the recharge area but the Arkansas 264 project is partly within the area.
The Arkansas 264 project has been put on hold. Other projects that could be affected by the study and resulting conclusion are improvements to the Arkansas 112 corridor, the U.S. 412 northern bypass around Springdale and widening and interchange improvements to Interstate 540.
The recharge area and cavefish caused I-540 to be rerouted when it was being planned and built.