BENTONVILLE – Damage to the Wishing Springs Trail from recent flooding will cost the city almost $70,000 to repair, Parks and Recreation staff said last week.
The Parks and Recreation Department is requesting the City Council approve the money for repairs at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Five inches of rain drenched the northern part of the city April 18, with four falling in just one hour, said David Wright, parks director. The flooding closed several parks and trails, including the dam at Lake Bella Vista that remains closed.
Fast-flowing water ripped through a retailing wall on the trail that leads pedestrians into a tunnel underneath North Walton Boulevard, Wright said. The $68,955 project would fix the retailing wall and handrails, as well as replace storm drains at the wall.
Wright said the damage has been reported to the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, and he expects 35 percent of the cost will be reimbursed.
The Parks Department is requesting the council award the repair project to Boulder Construction without a bid process. Boulder Construction and the Trailblazers built the trail.
Wright said bidding the project would add a minimum of 45 days to the repair process.
“Waiting any longer puts us at risk of additional damage to the trails,” Wright said.
The department has also asking a contract be awarded to Crossland Construction to create shop drawings for the steel component of the Community Center. Crossland offered to complete the drawings for $62,779, according to a memo from the company .
Wright said he anticipates construction will begin on the center later this year.
The city could save $840,000 on the contract to improve Southwest I Street if the council approves a change order Tuesday.
The Transportation Department is requesting the change an evaluation of charges and penalties for the project.
The original contract cost was $15,566,000. The final charges requested are $14,725,000, according to agenda documents.
Council members are also set to consider an amendment to the design contract to improve Tributary 2 of the Little Osage Creek between Featherston Road and I Street. FTN & Associates is studying drainage and channel improvement to the tributary, said Ben Peters, city engineer.
The company told the city the design flows published in a flood insurance study aren't consistent throughout the stream. Peters said it's imperative accurate storm flows be development so the project can be completed.
FTN proposed the city add a hydrology study to the contract to determine the correct flow. The additional study would cost about $10,000.