PRAIRIE GROVE -- The Prairie Grove City Council has formally expressed its willingness to accept ownership of U.S. 62B going through the middle of town and now awaits final action from the state.
By all accounts, city officials expect the Arkansas Highway Commission to approve the transfer of U.S. 62B (from west of Battlefield Park Road) to the city of Prairie Grove.
As part of the deal, the council also has agreed that the city will take possession of Arkansas 170 within the city limits.
Mayor Sonny Hudson said the exchange with the highway department will be good for the city of Prairie Grove.
"There are activities we will be able to do for the community if 62B is a city street," Hudson said, noting now, the city has to get permits and permission before it can do anything along the state highway.
"We will be able to have control over the speed limit and have control over what we want to do along that road," Hudson said.
Larry Oelrich, city administrative assistant, said the city has had discussions about its proposal for U.S. 62B to become a city-owned and city-maintained street for more than a year.
Hudson sent a letter proposing the partnership to Lori Tudor, director of the Arkansas Department of Transportation Department, in August 2020. In exchange for taking ownership of the highway, Hudson asked the highway department to provide about $3.3 million to address street and drainage improvements needed in the downtown area.
Tudor responded in an Oct. 12, 2020, letter that department staff would review the proposal.
Then, last month, Tudor sent Hudson another letter with a counter offer.
"The removal of Highway 62B in Prairie Grove from the state Highway System, while beneficial to the Department long-term, is not sufficient by itself to justify a commitment of over $3 million," Tudor said in the Sept. 14 letter.
In addition, she pointed out that the state was required to keep a portion of U.S. 62B because it provided a connection to Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.
Tudor proposed along with transferring ownership of U.S. 62B, west of Battlefield Park Road, the city also agree to accept ownership and responsibility for the section of Arkansas 170 that lies within the Prairie Grove city limits, about 1.5 miles.
If the city accepted the counter offer and agreed to accept both highways, the state would agree to provide $3.2 million in federal-aid funding to be matched with $800,000 by the city for improvements to U.S. 62B and Arkansas 170, Tudor said.
Her letter said the federal money can be used for project development, right-of-way acquisitions, utility locations, construction and/or construction inspection.
She provided a sample resolution for the City Council to consider, if it was agreeable to the terms in the letter.
The council, at a special meeting Sept. 27, unanimously approved a resolution expressing its willingness to partner with the department of transportation on the two projects and agreeing to Tudor's terms.
According to the resolution, the city agrees to accept ownership of Arkanss 170 and U.S. 62B, west of Battlefield Park Road, and in exchange, the transportation department agrees to make available $3.2 million in federal-aid funding for improvements to U.S. 62B and to overlay Arkansas 170 within the Prairie Grove city limits, with a $800,000 match from the city.
Once the resolution is signed, sealed and returned to the highway department, the next step will be to submit a Minute Order authorizing the partnership for consideration by the highway commission.
When the Minute Order is adopted, that section of U.S. 62B will officially become a city street, Oelrich said. The section of Arkansas 170 within the city limits will not be transferred to Prairie Grove until the road overlay is complete, according to the resolution.
Oelrich said his "rough guess" is that about three miles of U.S. 62B will become part of the city's street system.
The city will use the federal aid from the highway department, along with improvement bond funds, for street and drainage improvements in and around the downtown area.
"This will allow us to expand on the project and do it all," Oelrich said.
Voters in February supported Prairie Grove's proposal to replace two existing local sales taxes -- a 1% sales tax and a 0.75% sales tax -- with two new sales tax rates of the same amount to pay for bonds to finance capital improvements with a total estimated cost of $15 million.
The election results authorized up to $2.95 million for drainage improvement bonds and up to about $3.5 million in street improvement bonds.
The city has contracted with Burns and McDonnell engineering firm to draw up the design plans for the street and drainage improvements. Oelrich said he hopes the city will be able to advertise for bids in early 2022.
When the improvements are finished, Oelrich said Buchanan Street through downtown will have a new grade and a consistent curb height all along the street. Plans also call for landscaped islands.
"I think it will really change the way downtown looks," Oelrich said.