Newport bridge bid 1 of 13 awarded for state roadways

The Arkansas Highway Commission on Wednesday opened bids on 13 projects worth $109.8 million, including a new bridge over the White River at Newport.

The projects, for which contracts were tentatively awarded, also include two widening efforts in Northwest Arkansas - on sections of U.S. 62 and Interstate 540 - and a project in Conway to build a new interchange and connection to Arkansas 365 as part of a future bypass for the Faulkner County county seat.

The $31.36 million bridge on Arkansas 367 at Newport will replace an 83-year-old crossing that state highway officials have deemed structurally deficient.

The old bridge will remain in service while the new bridge, a 2,600-foot-long structure, is built, which will take about three years, said Randy Ort, a spokesman for the Highway Department.

Known locally as the “Blue Bridge” because of its paint scheme, some in Newport have begun an effort to preserve the old crossing for pedestrians as part of a downtown-revitalization program.

The low bidder on the project was Tanner Construction Co. Inc. of Laurel, Miss.

Nabholz Construction Corp. of Conway was the low bidder on a $23.27 million project to widen to five lanes a section of U.S. 62 between Avoca and North Garfield in Benton County.

The project is a part of a long-term effort to widen the highway from Rogers to Gateway, which is on the Missouri border. U.S. 62 already has been widened between Rogers and Avoca. The project is expected to take about two years to complete, Ort said.

The project to widen I-540 from six lanes to eight lanes between Wagon Wheel Road and Arkansas 264 at Lowell was awarded a $14.5 million contract. APAC-Central Inc. of Tulsa was the low bidder. The project is expected to take about a year, Ort said.

The commission also awarded a $13.2 million contract for the first phase of constructing a south interchange on Interstate 40 as part of a future Conway bypass. Mobley Contractors Inc. of Morrilton was the low bidder.

The initial project includes grading and structures for the interchange and a connection to Arkansas 365. A second contract to add the base and surface will be awarded about the time the first project is winding down, Ort said. He said the initial project will take about two years.

The department is shouldering the cost of the initial projects, but Conway will fund the actual bypass, Ort said.