BENTONVILLE -- A change to the Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard widening project will help traffic move smoothly at the intersection with Walton Boulevard.
That intersection is where South Walton Boulevard changes to Southeast Walton Boulevard as the road curves to the east. Arkansas 12, which is also Arkansas 12, jets west from the intersection and is the gateway in and out of the city's southwest corner.
Council action
Bentonville’s City Council met Tuesday and approved:
• Rezoning 1716 S.W. 2nd St. from residential estate to single family residential.
• Spending $35,083 for Justice Web, case management software.
• Spending $69,800 for two transformers.
• Spending $33,540 for a 3,400-pound diesel trench roller from Hugg & Hall for the Water Utilities Department.
• Adding $39,150 to a contract with Morrison Shipley Engineers to design a parallel taxiway at the municipal airport.
Source: Staff Report
A 2.7-mile stretch of Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard is being widened from two to five lanes from Walton Boulevard to Shell Road.
A second turn lane for motorists heading eastbound off Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard onto Southeast Walton Boulevard will be added in the plans.
Initially, it was going to be kept as is with one turn lane, Mike Churchwell, transportation director, said. That would mean the two lanes of traffic heading east would choke down to one lane and then merge onto Southeast Walton Boulevard.
"There are concerns about the traffic nightmare that was going to create," he said.
The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department agreed improvements were needed and asked the city to hire Garver Engineers to design the modifications, Churchwell said.
However, the city has nearly spent all the $10.4 million it agreed to spend in the partnership with the Highway Department in 2008, he added. So the Highway Department agreed to reimburse the city for the intersection improvement designs.
"We will write the check to Garver then we will send it to them (Highway Department) for reimbursement," Churchwell said.
City Council approved 8-0 to enter into a supplemental agreement with Garver for $27,500 for the intersection improvement design at its meeting Tuesday.
Octavio Sanchez, Ward 4 alderman, praised Churchwell for recognizing and addressing the issue.
"That is going to solve many, many problems that were not visible at the moment," he said.
APAC Central has started to widen the road's south side and will hopefully have it complete by the end of this year, David Bushey, Highway Department resident engineer, said.
Traffic will be moved to the south lanes once complete so the north side can be widened, he said. He said he hopes the road will be finished by the end of 2016.
The wet weather has made work slow early on, Bushey said.
"I wouldn't say we're behind schedule, but we haven't made a whole lot of progress," he said, adding it's too early in this construction season to say work is behind schedule.
The total project is estimated to cost $23 million, Steve Lawrence, Highway Department District 9 engineer, said last November.
NW News on 05/27/2015