The Arkansas Department of Transportation was awarded a federal competitive grant totaling $16.1 million to replace 14 bridges in Mississippi County that agency officials say will improve farmers' access to market.
It was among 20 projects in 18 states awarded grants totaling $225 million focusing on work that can demonstrate cost savings by bundling at least two highway projects into a single contract.
By law, the funds also were restricted to states with population densities of less than 100 people per square mile based on census data, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which announced the grant awards Thursday. Twenty-five states met program qualifications.
The bridges on Arkansas 77, Arkansas 140, Arkansas 158 and Arkansas 181 near Osceola all have components that are in poor condition. Six of the bridges have posted weight limits. All are within 10 miles of Interstate 55, which ties the northeast Arkansas region to Memphis and St. Louis.
Northeast Arkansas has the higher concentration of bridges that are in poor condition or weight-limited than any other part of the state, according to the department.
"These highway bridges provide access to vast acres of agricultural land and provide connectivity to the regional and Interstate highways that are used to convey those agricultural goods to market," state highway officials said in the application. "Several of these bridges are at a critical stage of structural degradation and must be replaced urgently to maintain the economic vitality of this region of the Arkansas Delta."
Under the application the state Transportation Department submitted, the agency said it hasn't selected the innovative project delivery method it will employ, but it likely will use design-build and accelerated bridge construction.
Typically, construction contracts are awarded by securing the lowest bid to build a fully designed project.
Under the design-build method, the department identifies how much money it can spend on a project, has some preliminary design work done and then works with contractors who can complete the design and do the work at the same time to save time and wring out other efficiencies.
The department said those efficiencies include grouping the bridges by similarities to provide a "consistent means and method of construction for the contractor," working with suppliers and fabricators to determine the most efficient designs in precast components, coordination between designer and contractor to begin work on simpler structures while the more complicated structures are designed and scheduling crews to ensure the most efficient mobilization and maintenance of traffic.
Accelerated bridge construction employs, among other techniques, prefabricated components that are built off-site. Contractors then remove the existing bridge and slide the new one into place, saving time and limiting traffic delays.
"The projects funded under the program will serve as models for similar bridge improvement projects throughout the nation," said Nicole Nason, the top official at the Federal Highway Administration. "They are examples of how to achieve time and cost savings through innovation."
The state department had sought $22.2 million in its application and had committed $5.5 million in state money toward the project for a total of $27.7 million. A spokesman said Thursday that the project will be fully funded, which will require the department to contribute an additional $6 million.
"We're going to do the whole program as outlined in that application," department spokesman Danny Straessle said. "We will make up the difference."
The department anticipates awarding a contract by the end of 2021, he said.
Metro on 08/30/2019