A project to widen a small section of Bowman Road in west Little Rock that looms large in costs is scheduled to begin before the end of the year.
The project to widen Bowman Road south from Kanis Road to Cherry Laurel Drive to five lanes is about one-third of a mile long, but the city has allocated $4 million for the project for construction, for engineering and for acquiring rights of way.
The work will augment ongoing projects on Kanis Road that total nearly $8.5 million, all part of an effort to ease traffic congestion at the intersection with Bowman Road, a choke point in that section of the city.
“It isn’t going to eliminate it, but it’s going to alleviate a lot of delays, traffic delays, in that intersection,” said Mike Hood, the civil engineering manager for the city Public Works Department.
The department has set a virtual public hearing for 5:30-6:30 p.m. June 1 to discuss the Bowman Road improvements, rather than having the traditional in-person hearings because of the pandemic.
People who are interested in viewing the presentation or want to ask questions or offer comments will have the ability to log in either with video or audio on the day of the meeting at the public notice website for the project, https://tinyurl.com/yat57em9, said L. Lamor Williams, the city’s communications and marketing manager.
City officials already have sent notices to property owners in the area and, according to Hood, are “willing to meet with them on-site, to have a personal on-site visit outdoors at the job site to answer any concerns they might have. Or they can call us or email us.”
The project has a $2 million grant from Metroplan, the long-range transportation planning agency for Central Arkansas. The city’s grant application said up to $1.8 million will be allocated to acquire rights of way, a reflection of the large amount of development on that small section of Bowman Road.
The east side of Bowman includes Bowman Road Beverage, a liquor store; Arkansas Central Mortuary Services; Arkansas Skatium, which has both roller and ice skating rinks; and Bowman Business Park, which is home to several businesses.
The west side includes a Goodwill donation center; Kris & Sam’s, a store that sells box lunches and cookies; Affordable Granite & More; and a small strip shopping center called Bowman Place that is home to Bowman Road Animal Clinic and Hounds Lounge Pet Resort & Spa.
At least two undeveloped properties are being marketed on the same side of Bowman.
About 13,000 vehicles a day travel on Bowman south of Kanis. The traffic is expected to increase to more than 16,000 vehicles daily “when all the currently zoned and approved multi-family developments are constructed,” according to the grant application.
“Land use on Bowman between Kanis Road and [Colonel Glenn Road] has seen significant growth in the past decade, especially with the development of thousands of new multi-family apartment units throughout the corridor,” the document said. “Improvements to Bowman are critical to the long-term growth of this area in a safe and efficient manner.”
Bowman Road between Kanis and Colonel Glenn long has been planned for improvement. Both are on Metroplan’s regional arterial network. Total project cost is $42 million, according to the application.
“Integral to regional transportation improvements, [the project] completes the Bowman/Kanis intersection to a full arterial standard with two thru travel lanes, dual left turn lanes and a right turn lane in each direction,” the city’s application said.
Kanis also is a busy east-west corridor on the west side of the city.
Near Shackleford Road, Kanis carries about 21,000 vehicles per day, according to city figures. Traffic estimates say that figure will grow to 31,000 by 2034.
Farther west, the count is smaller — 12,000 daily on Kanis at Kirby Road. But the intersection is the site of a planned apartment development, and its traffic count is expected to be close to what the easternmost section of the project is now — 18,000 — by 2034.
The other work in the vicinity of the intersection of Kanis and Bowman roads is proceeding, Hood said.
“They’re coming along satisfactorily,” he said, adding that a wet year has hampered peogress.
Burkhalter Technologies Inc. of North Little Rock is doing the work on a $4.2 million project to widen Kanis from South Shackleford Road to just west of Embassy Suites Drive. The city Board of Directors approved the contract in September 2018.
“It’s getting ready to pave its second half, what we are calling Phase 2 of that part of the contract,” Hood said. “ We are within just a few weeks of having that first phase done.”
Boyles Construction is working on the section of Kanis from just east of Autumn Road to Bowman Road under a $1.25 million contract.
The project could be completed by August, Hood said.
The third project — a $2.95 million contract also awarded to Burkhalter — will widen Kanis west from near Bowman Road to Gamble Road. The project is still in its early stages, Hood said.
“We’re still negotiating with some of the utility companies,” he said. “A lot of that work will be done before the end of this year.”
The Bowman Road project likely will take about a year, including relocating utilities, Hood said.
“We can’t predict the schedule of the utilities,” he said. “It’s got to all happen together. The pavement contract will take nine months. I’d say it’s going to take about a year.”
The project not only includes the widening, but also intersection improvements and modifications of the traffic signals.
“From a business perspective, once this is all done, you’re going to see a lot of interest in development,” he said. “There’s a lot of vacant properties still along the corridor.”