Springdale bond would provide $135 million for street improvements

A new section of Gene George Boulevard is visible Tuesday, May 19, 2020, in Springdale. 
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
A new section of Gene George Boulevard is visible Tuesday, May 19, 2020, in Springdale. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)


Editor's Note: This is the second in a five-part series on the proposed Springdale bond issue.

SPRINGDALE -- The city is asking voters to approve a bond issue that could mean $135 million for work on streets and intersections.

Residents will vote May 9 whether to fund street and other city improvements by extending a 1% sales tax to support a bond issue. Early voting starts May 2.

Colby Fulfer, the mayor's chief of staff, noted how important good roads are for a city. He pointed out the Walmart Supercenter on Elm Springs Road was built shortly after the overpass was improved.

Mayor Doug Sprouse noted the construction of Gene George Boulevard provided access for Arkansas Children's Northwest, Sam's Club and a Chick-fil-A restaurant.

Dixieland Road and Kendrick Avenue are under construction to build infrastructure for industry, Sprouse said.

"When they built the Don Tyson Parkway, I knew it was a game changer," said Bill Rogers, president of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce. "It was a different vision to see how to get to the middle of town."

Rogers recalled cutting through Johnson and neighborhood streets -- anything to avoid the then-crowded Sunset Avenue, he said. Sunset was the only major thoroughfare east to west through the middle of the city before Don Tyson Parkway.

The parkway opened in 2009, and its interchange at Interstate 49 in 2016.

Rogers said he can't understate the impact of what the city has done with road work in the past 15 years.

"The improvements are why the city enjoys the economic prosperity it has today," he concluded.

Big ideas

The city has several road projects at the top of its 2023 bond to-do list, Sprouse said.

City leaders want to finish the extension and connection of West Emma and Har-Ber avenues, which it started with 2018 bond money. The project was to include an overpass over Interstate 49, but was put on hold because of labor and material shortages and inflation, Sprouse said.

Other projects on the list include extending Gene George Boulevard north to County Line Road and then County Line to the Shaw Family Park and improving 64th Street south to Don Tyson Parkway.

The city already has contracted with engineering firms for design of these projects, started utility relocation and obtained rights of way, so construction can begin soon after the bond money is deposited with the city, if voters approve, Sprouse said.

"The projects are shovel-ready," he said.

The City Council on Tuesday approved a contract of $258,600 with O.R. Colan Associates to obtain rights of way for extending Don Tyson Parkway west to Arkansas 112 and Gene George south to Reed Valley Road.

The city, with money from previous bonds, concentrated on building traffic ways, wider roads with fewer traffic lights that were designed to move drivers across the city quickly, Sprouse said.

The extension of Har-Ber Avenue and the bridge over the interstate is designed to divert traffic from both the Sunset intersection and the Elm Springs Road intersection with the interstate, Sprouse said.

More than 100,000 cars a day pass through each intersection, according to traffic counts by the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

Little help

Much of the money from the 2023 bond program would be spent to improve existing intersections, Sprouse said.

Fulfer explained little modifications can make a big difference -- like adding designated turn lanes at some intersections and reprogramming the timing of traffic lights.

The city commissioned the local office of Garver USA engineering firm to conduct a traffic study and recommend road improvements. The study examined 64 intersections with light signals, grading each on safety, congestion and traffic volume. The study also provides improvement recommendations and cost estimates.

The study does not rank the improvements in any order of importance, it notes. City Council members will decide which of the projects to undertake with 2023 bond money, if approved.

Recommended improvements to existing roads would cost $142.9 million, according to the study. Recommended new road construction would cost an estimated $99.2 million, the study says. Work to improve safety and traffic flow at intersections would cost an estimated $18.3 million. The study also identified another $2.3 million for projects to make streets safer for pedestrians and bike riders.

Suggested improvements to North 56th Street alone would cost $28.2 million, the study projects. Those improvements would run along 2.3 miles of the street from Elm Springs Road to Shaw Family Park. The proposal, if followed, would put a new roundabout at the street's intersection with West County Line Road and include a four-lane section with a raised center median.

"The project will extend the vital north-south 56th Street-Gene George Boulevard corridor and provide safe pedestrian access to Shaw Park," the study says.

The next most expensive proposal in the study is a $21 million improvement to and some rerouting of South Gene George Boulevard "from approximately 2,000-foot north of New Hope Road and continuing south to Johnson Mill Boulevard," the study says. Improvements would include a four-lane roadway section with a raised center median. These changes would allow extending New Hope Road east to intersect with South Gene George Boulevard, with a new roundabout at their intersection.

The intersections of North 40th Street and Elm Springs Road and Don Tyson Parkway and South Thompson Street are both listed in the report, Fulfer said.

It also listed upgrades for older streets, like McRay Avenue to 40th Street, he said.

Sprouse said improving existing intersections will be important as the city works to increase the density of development in the downtown district.

"The city still has a lot of undeveloped land or land for redevelopment," he said. "The city is working to increase density in the city core. I want to make sure the infrastructure like street signals and turn lanes can be there before build out."

The Garver study also considered routes for alternative forms of transportation.

For example, the wide traffic lanes on Don Tyson Parkway could be narrowed to allow for a painted bike path, Fulfer said.

Good problem

Floyd Watson spends roughly eight hours a day driving the city streets. He estimated 60 to 70 miles a day driving bus routes for the Springdale School District.

Watson described himself as a positive person. Rather than complain about sitting in a line of traffic trying to cross Interstate 49, he praised the work the city already has done.

"I don't know what we'd do if we didn't have this tax base," Watson said. "We wouldn't be able to get around. If you consider, that in the next three decades the population is going to more than double ... what kind of infrastructure are we needing to have to keep up? We've got to keep doing things."

The School District runs 89 routes, including transportation for students with special needs, said Kevin Conkin, the district's director of transportation.

Before the covid-19 pandemic closed schools, the district's buses recorded 1.3 million to 1.4 million miles a year, Conkin said. He stated the mileage has not been reassessed.

"Growth is a wonderful problem to have," he said. "We might get frustrated by work on the community roadways, but you know it will be good in the end."

More News

None

Special election

Springdale residents will vote on a $360 million bond issue May 9. The ballot contains six questions.

Estimated costs and projects are:

$135 million for street improvements.

$16.3 million for park improvements.

$16.3 million for a new Senior Center.

$7.8 million for a new fire station and other improvements.

$142 million to refinance debt on the 2018 bonds.

$44 million to refinance the 2020 bonds.

Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette

 


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