BENTONVILLE — The glow of brake lights danced down Southwest I Street as the line of motorists heading south stacked up nearly a half-mile long.
It’s a common situation, said Sheena Arnold, who was picking up her son Wednesday evening from Bright Harbor School at 1002 S.W. I St.
“It’s a time crunch,” she said. “It’s always backed up to where we turn out of here. Always.”
It was 5:36 p.m., and Arnold needed to get her other two children at Osage Creek Elementary School by 6 p.m. The normal commute for the almost three-mile trip that time of day is about 20 minutes.
“I’ll get there right at six,” she said. “I’m pushing it.”
An upcoming project should help get Arnold and those traveling south through the intersection of Southwest I and Southwest 14th streets a bit quicker.
Traffic backs up consistently from the intersection about a quarter-mile to Melissa Drive and at times can be stacked a half-mile to Southwest Eighth Street, said Dennis Birge, city transportation engineer.
The project will add a 1,300-foot southbound lane on Southwest I from Southwest 14th north to Melissa Drive. It will allow motorists to move through the intersection and continue on Southwest I or turn right to head west on Southwest 14th.
“By adding the additional lane, we should move twice the traffic in the same amount of time and improve the right turn movements,” Birge said.
There’s already a designated turn lane for those turning left to head east on Southwest 14th. Southwest I has two northbound and two southbound lanes on the south end of Southwest 14th.
A 24-hour traffic count in April 2017 showed 12,300 vehicles traveled north and south through the intersection and another 35,900 vehicles went east and west.
The project is expected to start in late February or early March and take nine months to complete, Birge said.
The City Council approved a $1.2 million construction contract with APAC Central at its Jan. 8 meeting.
A federal Surface Transportation Block Grant will pay for 80 percent of the project, and the city will use bond money to pay the remaining 20 percent.
There’s congestion at peak travel times in all directions at the intersection, but many drivers coming from the north are leaving Walmart headquarters and other offices in that area, said Bill Burckart, council member.
“Everyone is trying to turn east or west if you’re heading south,” he said.
The intersection is a busy one and will only see more activity as the city continues to grow, Burckart said.
The intersection’s southeast corner is developing. Climb Bentonville opened in December, and Bentonville Brewing Company broke ground in December and is expected to open late this year. Aldi recently opened on the northwest corner.
“It’s not been optimal for our current needs for quite a while,” Burckart said of the intersection. “Having an additional turning lane is of utmost importance.”
Southwest I connects Southwest 14th, which is a major east-west arterial road, to Southwest Eighth Street, which will become a major arterial road, Birge said about how the project fits into the city’s larger transportation plan.
The city looks at the master street plan, traffic studies, budget and accident reports when considering which intersection improvement projects to move forward with, he said.
Construction pattern
The north and southbound through lanes will remain open during the project’s implementation. The center turn lane will be closed and used as traffic is shifted to different lanes throughout the construction period. Traffic control devices may include a temporary barrier wall, traffic drums and signs. There are no plans to close the road.
Source: Staff report
Melissa Gute can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAMelissa.
