BENTONVILLE -- Work on West Central Avenue has finished, opening up a main street through downtown two weeks ahead of schedule.
The Water and Street departments closed West Central from Northwest A to Northwest F streets on Nov. 13 and the whole of West Central from Northwest A Street to North Walton Boulevard on Feb. 13 so decades-old water and sewer lines could be replaced.
Work was expected to take until March 31, but the road opened March 17.
"The guys worked really, really hard to get ahead of schedule," said Daniel Clardy, transportation foreman. "Things worked out."
Coordination between the Water and Street departments, good weather and extending work days all contributed to the project getting done earlier than expected, said Preston Newbill, Water Department manager.
Neither department assigned extra employees to the project, but work days were extended an hour to speed progress, officials said.
"The guys did a very good job," Newbill said. "We didn't anticipate Eighth Street being closed at the same time. That put some urgency on the project."
Southeast Eighth Street is closed from Walton Boulevard to Southeast E Street, which is in front of the Wal-Mart Home Office, to move utilities for the Eighth Street Improvement Project. That work will widen Eighth Street from Walton Boulevard to Interstate 49.
Nearly 12,000 cars traveled east and west on West Central daily in December 2014, according to the most recent city data available. Eighth Street saw about 7,500 motorists daily, according to data from September 2015.
Traffic was detoured to the more narrow Northwest and Southwest Second streets while West Central Avenue was closed.
Police officers patrolled the west end of West Central more heavily during the closing since motorists weren't allowed to turn left on to North Walton Boulevard from Second Street, said Gene Page, public information officer.
"They made quite a few traffic stops," he said, adding most were for improper left turns.
There was an increase in traffic congestion, but not in accidents, Page said. It's hard to anticipate how closing a major road for an extended period will affect the traffic safety of an area, he said.
The old 4-inch water lines likely were installed in the late 1800s to early 1900s, Newbill said. They needed replacing for the last three to four years, but the project's size and use of West Central was daunting.
The project was done now since West Central was scheduled to be overlaid this year, he said. The city will work with the state to overlay West Central from Northwest A Street to North Walton Boulevard. That should be done sometime this summer, Clardy said.
The new lines are 8 inches in diameter. Additional fire hydrants also were installed along the street to provide better fire protection, Newbill said.
NW News on 03/27/2017