FAYETTEVILLE -- A dangerous intersection at Garland Avenue near an incoming University of Arkansas Department of Agriculture facility could have a roundabout in its place.
Fayetteville's Transportation Committee on Tuesday voted to send a letter to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department recommending the intersection at Garland Avenue and West Altheimer Drive/Cassatt Street have a roundabout installed. Aldermen Matthew Petty, Justin Tennant, Adella Gray and Alan Long make up the committee. Long was absent from Tuesday's meeting.
The roundabout would be part of the Highway Department's plan to widen Garland Avenue, which doubles as Arkansas 112, City Engineer Chris Brown said. Garland Avenue already is a four-lane road near the university's main campus.
Construction is underway on the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences, just to the south. The intersection of Garland Avenue with Altheimer Drive to the west and Cassatt Street to the east has been the scene of numerous traffic accidents, university and city officials have said.
The project will be entirely under the state's jurisdiction, Brown said. The highway department previously asked the university to work with the city and recommend a design to review.
"It's not a guarantee that they would design it that way," Brown said. "This is basically a design suggestion."
Although it's the state's plan to widen that stretch of Garland Avenue to four lanes, the city's recommendation is solely for a single-lane roundabout at that intersection. The specifications of the roundabout will evolve as the design on the widening project proceeds.
"Bottom line is we will let the department know what we support in concept and then work out the details," Brown said.
The widening project is part of the state's work plan for 2016-20. The design process should start later this year, with completion set sometime before 2020, Brown said.
The committee was split 2-2 in May when it took up the proposal on the roundabout.
Also Tuesday, the committee held off discussions about sharing part of the cost for bicycle and pedestrian accommodations at the Wedington Drive interchange.
The state requested $415,000 from the city in March to install a sidepath, which is shared between bicycles and pedestrians, as opposed to two defined bicycle lanes and a sidewalk. The Highway Department considers sidepaths to be recreational and won't pay for them per its policy. Sidepaths are part of the city's plan.
The Transportation Committee tabled the matter until its Sept. 13 meeting with the intention of consulting the Highway Commission on getting the department's policy on sidepaths changed.
NW News on 08/31/2016