HIGHFILL -- Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport officials hope to have a long-awaited access road built and open by spring or summer 2019.
The 4-mile-long restricted highway will connect where the U.S. 412 Northern Bypass intersects with Arkansas 112.
The airport has about $14 million in federal money for the estimated $30 million project and is working to find the rest.
Two routes have been identified, consultants Rick Dunkleburg and Jerry Farrar told airport board members Wednesday. Both routes are around the southwest side of Cave Springs and outside the Cave Springs Recharge Area.
A tiny fish could play a role in the expected schedule for building the road. In this case it's the snail darter. Habitat of the protected species was found in the area and is likely to result in one of the routes being abandoned.
"The darter will have a big impact on the route," said Farrar, a consultant from CH2M Hill. "Our biggest concern is dealing with [U.S.] Fish and Wildlife."
The proposed schedule for land acquisition, design and construction anticipates having final environmental approval by the end of May, which would allow land acquisition to begin thereafter. Acquiring the land is expected to take about a year.
Design could begin at the same time as right of way acquisition and be completed by May 2017.
Bidding and construction could begin after that, if the money is available, and is expected to take about two years to complete.
Officials hope to have environmental impact studies submitted to state and federal highway officials in December and to be in position to request public input hearings about the location of the road.
Farrar said consultants need to accelerate their efforts to update cost estimates for right of way acquisition and design for the project. No decisions have been made on whether to do the full four-lane project or to begin by grading for four lanes and build two.
Scott Van Laningham, executive director of the airport, said the Highway Department is considering doing about a mile of the road on the south end beginning at the Arkansas 112 interchange.
Metro on 10/02/2015