SPRINGDALE -- An erosion problem and deep ditches on Cambridge Street have led to a safety issue the city is trying to fix.
Springdale had two public hearings Thursday to discuss improvements to Cambridge Street. At least four people, including a Tyson Foods employee, attended the 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. hearing and spoke with officials. A second hearing was planned for later in the day.
WHAT IT MEANS
Erosion
The wearing away of a surface of earth is called erosion. Water, ice, wind and waves can make this happen. Erosion occurs in a downhill direction and moves dirt and rocks to other locations.
Culverts
Culverts are hollow concrete blocks used to move water from one place to another. These can help reduce erosion and street flooding. Culverts can be made of concrete or metal.
Source: Staff Report
The street has erosion issues related to a ditch along one side of the street between Tyson headquarters and Tyson Elementary School, said Sam Goade, director of the city's public works department, in an interview before the hearing. The ditch is eroding near the edge of the roadway.
City officials have kept an eye on the issue, Goade said. They began to look at it more closely in the past six months because the problem has gotten worse.
"It's been a progressive issue for quite a number of years," Goade said.
The ditch runs along the east side of the pavement on the south side of Cambridge Street and on the west side of the pavement near Tyson Elementary. It changes sides in a spot where a culvert passes under the road.
The reddish-brown dirt of the ditches drops off at the edge of the pavement in some places. Trees cling to the sides, their roots revealed. Blocks of stones wrapped in wire reinforce the ditches in areas, while poles with yellow reflectors stand at the west edge of the road.
Cars drove up and down the street Thursday afternoon, many of them pulling into the Tyson Headquarters parking lot.
More than 400 surrounding acres drain water to the ditches, which drains to a nearby creek, said Charles Nickle, chief executive officer of USI Consulting Engineers Inc. The company is doing design work for the improvements.
The depth of the ditches ranges from 6 feet to 10 feet, Nickle said. The street could fall apart if it's not fixed, Nickle said.
Conceptual plans sat on a table in the City Council chambers at Thursday's meeting. Nickle explained the designs show single and double culverts, which are enclosed hollow concrete blocks, where the ditches are now. The southern portion, which drains toward a creek, would be an open concrete ditch with surrounding fences.
Concrete lining helps avoid erosion, Nickle said. The plans also show sidewalks on both sides of the street and inlets to lead water to the culverts.
Jacob Sherwood, principal at Tyson Elementary School, said he drives on Cambridge Street to and from work. He said there's a dip in the road that's been growing between the school and Arapaho Avenue.
The dip in the road is also due to erosion, Nickle said. The road will need to be built up to fix the issue.
The ditch on the west side of the street fills completely with water when there's rain, Sherwood said.
"It's very hard to tell where the road stops and where the ditch starts," Sherwood said about the ditch when it's filled with water.
Sherwood also mentioned at least one school bus uses Cambridge Street.
The preliminary estimate for the improvements is more than $3 million excluding utility relocations, Nickle said. That amount, however, probably will change.
The project is now only being designed, said Brad Baldwin, city engineering director. There are multiple projects being designed in the city that aldermen will need to prioritize.
NW News on 03/13/2015