Ground broken on Dixieland project to connect Rogers, Lowell, Springdale

City, state and county officials listen Monday, July 22, 2019 to Steve Lawrence, with the Arkansas Department of Transportation, during a ground breaking ceremony for the extension of Dixieland Road near J.B. Hunt Corporate Drive in Lowell. The extension will connect Rogers and Lowell with the city of Springdale.
City, state and county officials listen Monday, July 22, 2019 to Steve Lawrence, with the Arkansas Department of Transportation, during a ground breaking ceremony for the extension of Dixieland Road near J.B. Hunt Corporate Drive in Lowell. The extension will connect Rogers and Lowell with the city of Springdale.

LOWELL -- City, county and state officials broke ground Monday on a section of Dixieland Street. Regional planners expect the road to become part of a major traffic corridor through Northwest Arkansas.

The new, seven-tenths of a mile road will run south from where Dixieland dead ends in a corn field to West Apple Blossom Road. Springdale is expected to tie in to Lowell's construction at Apple Blossom and build 1 mile south to Wagon Wheel Road.

Springdale's City Council is expected to approve money for the design of its section during its meeting tonight.

The three-lane road project will create a significant north-south corridor through Northwest Arkansas, said Tim Conklin, assistant director of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission.

Dixieland Road already extends north through Rogers to Little Flock, he said. "This project with connect four cities together," he said of the 9.5-mile corridor. Lowell calls its portion Dixieland Street.

"The population is projected to be 800,000 by 2040, so we're going to have a lot of traffic we're trying to move," Conklin continued. "We have very few north-south corridors that we have the opportunity to do this with."

"Seven-tenths of a mile doesn't sound like much, but when they punch through, it will be pretty significant," said Raymond Burns, president of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce.

"That area's already rich with J.B. Hunt employees, but they are not able to move their folks about," Burns continued.

This new corridor should help the company with recruiting employees, which will drive businesses depending on traffic, Burns said. He envisions service stations, convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, depending on the zoning requirements of each city.

Also, Burns said U.S. 71B and Interstate 49, which both bisect the region, are very significant roads, connecting to the region's Fortune 500 companies. The Dixieland corridor will provide easier access to both.

"Moving more people north and south is really important to alleviate congestion on I-49," Burns said.

The regional planning commission allocated $7 million of federal money to Lowell's project.

Springdale will build its project with money from a 2018 bond program, said Brad Baldwin, director of that city's engineering and public works department.

In fact, Springdale is expected to vote tonight to approve a contract of $357,300 with Garver engineering firm to design the portion of the road through Springdale.

Garver also designed the Lowell stretch of road, Baldwin said.

"Springdale has gotten its share of money," said Mayor Doug Sprouse. While Lowell receives federal money for this project, Springdale takes advantage of federal money to extend Gene George Boulevard south to Johnson, he said.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation plans Lowell's portion of the road to be finished in mid-2020, said Steve Lawrence, the Department of Transportation's district engineer serving Northwest Arkansas.

Brad Baldwin, Springdale's director of engineering and public works, could give no timeline for completion, as the project hasn't been started. Springdale's project also will include improvements of Hiland Road from North Thompson Street to Dixieland.

Baldwin said along with the designs of the corridor, the state has set aside space to develop entrance and exit ramps for the U.S. 612 bypass as it continues to move eastward.

NW News on 07/23/2019

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