State, Planners OK New Northwest Arkansas Highway Projects, Others Finishing Up

SPRINGDALE -- More transportation projects are in the queue while seven major highway projects throughout the region are wrapping up, officials said Thursday.

The Technical Advisory Committee of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission recommended a list of nine projects for 2015 that will be paid for with federal highway money the region expects to receive if the federal highway bill is extended past May 2015.

At A Glance

Bids Let

State highway officials let bids Wednesday for four projects in Washington and Benton counties.

• Widening 2.1 miles of Interstate 49 in Rogers between New Hope Road and Southwest 14th Street in Bentonville to six lanes with a median barrier. APAC-Central of Fayetteville was the apparent low bidder at $10 million.

• Installing a wire safety barrier on 2.7 miles of I-49 between the Crawford County line and Fayetteville. Time Striping of Van Buren was the apparent low bidder at $826,715.

• Widening Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard in Bentonville to five lanes from Walton Boulevard to Shell Road. The project will include grading, base, box culverts, paving and signals at two intersections. APAC-Central of Fayetteville was the apparent low bidder at $8.9 million.

• Widening 1.3 miles of Arkansas 264 in north Springdale between Thompson and South Old Wire Road. The project will include grading, base, box culverts and paving. APAC-Central of Fayetteville was the apparent low bidder at $5.9 million.

Source: Staff Report

At A Glance

Our Own Piece Of The Pie

The Northwest Arkansas metro area became eligible July 18, 2012, for a share of federal Surface Transportation Program money after the urban population surpassed 200,000. The money is administered by the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, serving as the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which is made of representatives from Benton and Washington counties and each city in the counties. The region has received about $6.5 million annually from the program.

Source: Staff Report

"We're going to assume that Congress is going to act, that the money will be available and the projects will move forward," said Tim Conklin, a regional planner.

Cities and counties submitted 11 projects adding up to about $7 million. The region gets federal Surface Transportation Program money to spend on regionally significant projects.

Bentonville will get the biggest chunk, $3 million, to continue buying rights of way, moving utilities and widening Eighth Street between Interstate 49 and Walton Boulevard.

Ozark Regional Transit and University of Arkansas Razorback Transit were approved for $696,000 to buy vehicles. Both systems have a number of buses that have passed their service life. The money will be split.

Rogers was approved for three projects. The city wants $40,000 to study intersections along Hudson Road with North Eighth Street and North Second Street. The other projects involve adding railroad gates and safety improvements at two crossings, one on Dixieland Road and the other at Easy Street. The city is asking for $420,000 for the Dixieland crossing and $700,000 for the Easy Street crossing.

Fayetteville was approved for $320,000 to do design work and an environmental study to extend Sain Street on the north side of town to connect with Joyce Boulevard. The project aims to relieve congestion at the Joyce Boulevard and College Avenue intersection.

Fayetteville also was approved for $320,000 for right of way and moving utilities in anticipation of extending Rupple Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Farmington was approved for $520,000 for design work and an environmental study for improvements to a portion of South Hunt Street. The area, where a new high school is being built, has seen a number of large subdivisions developed in recent years along with a regional park. The road from Main Street south to Clyde Carnes Road is narrow, has no shoulders or sidewalks and has several 90-degree turns.

Bella Vista was approved for $256,000 for design work and an environmental study for a bridge and improvement to Mercy Way. The project is expected to make the road four lanes and improve intersections. The road is often congested because of an elementary school and a medical clinic in the area.

Regional planning will get $200,000 for planning work related to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Transportation Study, which produces the region's long-range transportation plan.

A local match is required on each project to get federal money.

The list will go to the full regional planning commission next week for final approval.

Two Benton County bridge projects didn't make the list.

The county had asked for $240,000 to repair War Eagle Bridge. The bridge at War Eagle Mill was built in 1907.

The county also had asked for $332,000 for design and environmental work on the Osage Creek Bridge on Old Arkansas 68. The bridge was built in 1935 and is slated for replacement because it's structurally unsound.

Seven projects in the area are at least 90 percent complete, according to Paul Simms, metropolitan planning coordinator for the state highway department. They include:

• Widening Garland Avenue in Fayetteville

• Widening Crossover Road in Springdale from the southern city limits to East Robinson Avenue

• Widening Crossover Road in Fayetteville from Mission Boulevard to Joyce Boulevard

• Building the Prairie Grove Bypass

• Widening Centerton Boulevard in Centerton from Main Street to Greenhouse Road

• Replacing a bridge on Arkansas 170 south of Farmington

• Building a section of the Bella Vista Bypass near Hiwasse

NW News on 09/19/2014

Upcoming Events