Bypass spurs infrastructure growth on Springdale's west side

SPRINGDALE -- Extensive sewer development happening in the city's west end is laying the groundwork toward the future, city officials said.

"A lot of these projects are being done, but the average person is not going to be aware they're even being done," said Heath A. Ward, executive director of Springdale Water Utilities.

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The developments are pre-emptive measures to sustain Springdale as it continues to develop, Ward said.

"We know based on our master plan studies there are parts of the system that even though they are functioning today, they're not going to be large enough for what's coming tomorrow," he said

Mayor Doug Sprouse, in a statement, stressed the importance of these types of projects.

"Infrastructure development is crucial in a growing city," Sprouse said. "As more homes and businesses are built in west Springdale, having a solid infrastructure in place will ensure this growth continues."

Of the $54 million being spent on infrastructure improvements, approximately $13 million will be spent on water infrastructure development with the rest dedicated to sewer and waste water infrastructure. Approximately 25 percent of the infrastructure projects are happening on the west side of the city; chiefly sewer development near the interchanges of the U.S. 412 bypass, which has yet to be completed, Ward said.

"We recognize that getting the infrastructure before the (commercial) development comes was extremely important to Springdale's growth and prosperity," Ward said

Areas along the bypass near the interchanges are ripe for service, Ward said.

"All this is countryside," he said. "When you get the bypass in there someone's going to want to put in a truck stop, someone's going to want to put in a Cracker Barrel, someone's going to want to put in a subdivision. There's going to be a major interchange in Springdale, and we have to be ready for it."

The bypass interchanges Ward is referring to are at the points where the bypass connects to Interstate 49 and Arkansas 112. The Arkansas 112 interchange will be especially busy, he said.

"That's going to be a high traffic area," he said. "That's where most of the infrastructure's going to be."

The Water Commission is ensuring the city's readiness by installing sewage lines along U.S. 412, Ward said.

Phase 1 of the bypass, which began in May 2015 and is scheduled to be completed in summer 2019, extends 4.5 miles west from the interstate to Arkansas 112, said Kip Guthrie, resident engineer with Brown and Gay Engineers, which is under contract to represent the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for construction, engineering and inspection.

"This is the only phase that's funded for construction," Guthrie said.

Infrastructure work along the bypass has begun, Ward said.

"Water and sewer lines have both been laid down," he said. "Water is a little less complicated, but with sewer you're dealing with gravity and you're dealing with hills, so you got to figure out how to get the sewage moved around."

The city hired USI Consulting Engineers of Springdale to design parts of the new sewage system.

Charles Nickle, chief executive officer of USI, said his firm will design gravity sewer lines that serve the yet-to-be-built Spring Creek lift station as well as the pressure lines that go from the Spring Creek lift station to the Benton Farm lift station. Another firm, McGoodwin, Williams and Yates, Inc., of Fayetteville, has been hired to design the Spring Creek station.

Lift stations keep sewage moving by receiving sewage by gravity flow and then pumping the sewage to other lift stations until the sewage finally reaches the city's sewage treatment plant, Nickle said.

USI will have an inspector on site to observe construction to ensure the sewage system is built according to plans and specifications, Nickle said.

Building a sewage system along the bypass is a big undertaking, Nickle said.

"This is creating an infrastructure to allow development to occur," he said. "It's a pretty large project."

Marchant, Wagon Wheel and Robins roads are some of the areas located near the planned bypass. Part of the bypass will go through a Wagon Wheel Road subdivision. Willis D. Shaw Elementary, at 4337 Grimsley Road, is located near the bypass, Ward said.

"This 412 bypass is just the beginning of more major projects down the road," he said. "We have a children's hospital on the west side of town that's coming in."

The hospital, which was announced in August 2015 and is scheduled to be completed in early 2018, is a 225,000-square-foot Arkansas Children's Hospital that will sit on a 37-acre campus on Interstate 49 between Don Tyson Parkway and U.S. 412, bordered by South 56th Street and Watkins Avenue across from Arvest Ballpark.

Infrastructure development along the bypass should be completed in a little less than a year, Ward said.

Between 30 and 50 people will work on infrastructure construction at any given time, laying pipe at different locations and building the Spring Creek lift station, Nickle said.

Because sewage infrastructure will run across fields and some driveways, construction likely will not interfere with street traffic, Nickle said.

A smoothly functioning sewage system is essential to city growth and community health, Ward said.

"You can have all the water in the world, but if you don't treat you waste water it will inhibit your growth as a community and as a civilization," Ward said. "Historically, societies that don't take care of their waste property suffer ills."

NW News on 07/04/2016

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