SPRINGDALE — Moving water and sewer lines along Jackson Avenue should begin soon.
The Springdale Water and Sewer Commission approved Wednesday a construction contract with Seven Valley’s Construction Company for moving utility lines between Thompson Street and Old Wire Road.
In some places, the highway is the border between Springdale and Bethel Heights.
Jackson Avenue, also known as Arkansas 264 is being widened to match up with Wagon Wheel Road, between Interstate 540 and Thompson Street. Jackson connects to Thompson directly across from Wagon Wheel Road.
The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department project would create a five-lane highway between I-540 and Old Wire Road. The Highway Department has plans to improve Old Wire and extend it to create an eastern north-south connection from Fayetteville to Rogers, said Randy Ort, Highway Department spokesman.
By The Numbers
Springdale Water Utilities
Portions of some Springdale Water Utilities projects were paid by local, state or federal organizations. The completed capital improvement projects include:
2009: $18.28 million
2010: $1.68 million
2011: $11.25 million
2012: $9.70 million
2013: $1,349 million
Projects under construction include: $14.59 million
Projects under design: $8.16 million
Source: Springdale Water Utilities
Plans call for a construction bid to be awarded next summer, Ort said.
The low bid on the contract was $1.74 million, said Rick Pulvirenti, utility director of engineering. The engineering cost estimate was $1.84 million, he said. Six other bids ranged up to $2.11 million, according to the bid tabulation sheet.
Utility representatives couldn't reach an agreement on buying right of way for two parcels, Pulvirenti said. The utility will have to file a condemnation lawsuit against the owners of those parcels, said Charles Harwell, utility attorney.
The construction contract will have to be approved by Highway Department officials since the widening is a state project, Pulvirenti said. Moving utilities should begin within a month, he said.
Moving utilities will include some improvement on the system for which the department will pay, Pulvirenti said. The Highway Department will pay about 55 percent of the cost, he said, or about $960,000.
Other utility construction projects under way include moving lines on Johnson Road and the U.S. 412 northern bypass, improvement on the wastewater treatment plant and extending water and sewer lines to the Don Tyson Parkway Interchange on I-540 and along the parkway between Hylton and Habberton roads.