SPRINGDALE -- Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state highway officials Friday officially opened an improved 4-mile section of Old Wire Road from Arkansas 264 north of Springdale to South First Street in Rogers.
The road is part of the Arkansas 265 corridor that runs from south Fayetteville to Rogers.
North-south corridors
The Arkansas 265 corridor is designated as a major artery in the region’s long-term highway plan. There are now three north-south corridors in the region: Interstate 49, U.S. 71B and Arkansas 265. Arkansas 112 is being designed as a fourth north-south corridor. A 2015 study of Arkansas 112 tentatively recommends four lanes from Fayetteville to Bentonville, widening and straightening several curves and bypassing at least one town at a cost of about $130 million.
Source: Staff report
"I'm here today because the Highway 265 expansion is an important new north-south corridor that is critical for the traffic flow here in Northwest Arkansas," Hutchinson said. "I live here. I understand this route. I understand the importance of it. This will give another avenue for that north-south travel that is so important to a growing area of our state."
An additional 1.9-mile project that starts near the Benton and Washington county line in Springdale and runs north to Arkansas 264 will move the highway alignment slightly to the west. That project is set to be completed in the spring.
"This project is the culmination of a lot of planning that began a long time ago," said Scott Bennett, director of the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
"Once this is all completed you'll have a really good connection for north-south traffic on the east side of the region that should take about 6,000 or 8,000 vehicles a day off Highway 71B and Interstate 49. This will be good for mobility, good for safety and good for economic development," Bennett said.
The section opened Friday goes four miles from Highway 264 to the intersection of South First Street and Pleasant Grove Road. It features a 70-foot-high, 700-foot-long bridge in the Cross Hollows area. Crews are putting finishing touches on the project at the intersection with Pleasant Grove Road. The project cost about $15 million and took three years to do. The work was done by Crossland Heavy Construction
A traffic corridor on the east side to ease congestion on U.S. 71B and provide another north-south route east of the metropolitan area has been on wish lists since at least 1973.
"The first Highway 265 corridor project was actually let to contract in 1978, so this has been a long, long time coming. At the end, we will have spent just over $105 million making this corridor what it is today, from Highway 16 in Fayetteville up to Pleasant Grove Road in Rogers," Bennett said.
"We've worked closely with all the cities involved. It does go through several cities and, in particular, I want to mention that Fayetteville and Springdale, combined, have contributed about $15 million in partnering for this corridor. We're appreciative of the strong partnership that we have with the local governments in Northwest Arkansas," Bennett said.
The projects are tying into an existing three-lane South First Street in Rogers. First Street is going to become Arkansas 265 up to its junction with Arkansas 94 upon completion. The distance from Arkansas 16 in Fayetteville to Arkansas 94 in Rogers is 18.24 miles.
Dick Trammel, who is wrapping up his 10-year term on the state Highway Commission, recalled looking at maps at the Rogers Chamber of Commerce years before he was appointed to the commission and charting a route for extending Arkansas 265.
"We looked at this and said wouldn't it be nice if you could drive three to five lanes from downtown Rogers to Highway 16 in Fayetteville," Trammel said.
"Well, that's happening thanks to you and I just want you to know we appreciate the taxpayers who voted for the half-cent sales tax to make projects we've seen happen in the last couple of years possible," he said.
Friday's ribbon cutting was moved indoors, to the Jones Center for Children and Families, because of wet ground after overnight rainfall.
NW News on 01/05/2019