BENTONVILLE -- Benton County will soon tackle projects accompanying building a new Spanker Creek bridge, a county official said.
Benton County Judge Barry Moehring said he hopes traffic will start to go over the bridge before the Memorial Day weekend.
The county will shift Plentywood Road slightly to the east so it aligns with Spanker Road after the bridge opens. Plentywood is south of West McNelly Road, and Spanker Road is north of McNelly. The county plans to add a left turn lane on Plentywood onto McNelly, county chief engineer Josh Beam said. That work is set to begin May 28 and continue through late summer, according to a county news release.
The county also will improve the sight line on West McNelly just east of its intersection with Spanker and Plentywood by removing some of the hillside next to Plentywood. West McNelly Road from Spanker Road to Spanker Creek Road will be closed from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from May 28 until June 14, according to the release. Rock will be trimmed from the hill, and the road will be closed because of possible flying rock debris in the area, Beam said.
The intersection of Spanker Road and Spanker Ridge Drive will be closed from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday for paving. Installing new pipes on East McNelly Road will close the road from West Ford Springs Road to Spanker Road from 7 p.m. to midnight May 6.
Spanker Creek bridge is more than 80 percent finished, Beam said Friday. The bridge, which is on Spanker Road north of West McNelly Road near Bella Vista, closed Dec. 3. The project will cost between $1.2 million and $1.3 million.
"The structure is pretty much complete," he said. "We are working on the approaches to the bridge now."
The new bridge will span 102 feet and raise the north and south approaches, according to the county. The old bridge was a 60-foot span on six box culverts.
Flooding damaged the bridge in April 2017 when the creek topped it and washed away asphalt, leaving the concrete structure exposed. The pavement was replaced as a temporary measure.
Bella Vista Mayor Peter Christie has said drivers use Spanker Road to avoid traffic congestion on Bella Vista Way through town. State and county traffic information Christie provided shows the daily count on U.S. 71 at the Arkansas-Missouri border was 23,000 in 2017. U.S. 71 is Bella Vista Way through Bella Vista. Just south of Mercy Way, near Sugar Creek soccer park, the count increased to 41,000. Spanker Road connects to West McNelly Road, which connects to Bella Vista Way.
NW News on 04/22/2019