SPRINGDALE -- The final contract will soon be let to build the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Greenway, and other parts of the trail are under construction or about to open.
"This is going to be the year for massive construction on the greenway," John McLarty, senior planner at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, told a committee Thursday.
Meeting Information
Bike, Walking Session Set
The group working on the state’s bike and pedestrian transportation plan will host a public input session April 3 at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale and will meet with regional planners April 4 at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission offices in Springdale. The state’s present plan dates from 1998.
Source: Staff Report
The state Highway Department approved Wednesday advertising for bids for a portion of the trail in Lowell. The section is from Goad Springs Road to Garrett Road, McLarty told Technical Advisory Committee members. Bids are expected to be opened about April 15.
A contract for a part in Springdale, from Meadow Street to Lake Springdale, has been let and notice to proceed is expected by the end of the month, McLarty said.
Work continues on a section near Lake Fayetteville in north Fayetteville. A ribbon cutting is set for April 3, according to McLarty. The extension of the Frisco Trail in south Fayetteville is progressing as expected with bridges installed and lighting and street crossing signals going up.
The greenway is a 36-mile trail from Fayetteville to Bentonville. A $15 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant is helping pay for the greenway. Matching money is coming from $15 million pledged by the Walton Family Foundation.
McLarty said a group working to make it safer to walk and bike in Arkansas will be in town in early April to talk about the status of updating the state's bike and pedestrian plan.
The idea is to make Arkansas more bike and pedestrian friendly. The plan calls for lots of education, including putting bike-related questions on the state driver's test, education about the health benefits of biking, training police officers about how laws apply to bicyclists, new brochures about biking opportunities and keeping bikes in mind when designing transportation infrastructure. It also includes working closely with private biking groups and schools.
The advisory group includes the Highway Department, Parks and Tourism, State Police, the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and the state health department.
A local group is working on a regional bike and pedestrian plan.
A two-year study of the Cave Springs recharge area is awaiting Highway Department approval. The $625,000 study will test water quality in the recharge area and do a census of Ozark cavefish and any other threatened species found.
The study area has been increased to include a large indirect recharge area east of Interstate 540. The highway ended up being built with a large bow to the east to avoid the primary recharge area.
The study was ordered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because of concerns planned road improvement in the area could adversely impact the recharge area and its blind, underwater residents. The issue arose because of planned improvement to Arkansas 264 between Lowell and Cave Springs. Arkansas 112 also runs through the area and is being considered as a north-south corridor west of Interstate 540. The planned airport access road is near the recharge area but shouldn't be in it.
"It's important for the region; there's a lot going on in that area," said Patsy Christie, committee chairwoman and head of Springdale's Planning Department.
Four or five other indirect recharge areas aren't part of the study but could be added if more cavefish are found.
"If they find the fish in any other cave, it could affect the whole region," said Nathan Becknell with Rogers' Planning Department.
NW News on 03/22/2014