Little Rock city officials have compiled a list of the first run of proposed street and drainage projects to be funded by bond proceeds tied to last year’s successful referendum that extended three capital-improvement mills.
Following a series of public meetings on the subject, members of the Little Rock Board of Directors will be presented with a resolution laying out the expected street and drainage projects for consideration at their May 2 meeting.
The initial three-year cycle of street and drainage capital improvements from 2023 to 2025 is expected to cost nearly $33.4 million, according to the city.
Per their custom, city officials have divided up the proposed projects across Little Rock’s seven wards. The amount of street and drainage project funding allocated in the first cycle is the same for each ward, according to the resolution, which lists the amount at nearly $4.6 million.
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Some of the proposed ward-specific improvements include the reconstruction of West 13th Street from Fair Park Boulevard to South Fillmore Street (Ward 1), ununspecified work on the Rock Street crosswalks at East 6th Street and also at River Market Avenue (Ward 1), drainage improvements at Kavanaugh Boulevard and North University Avenue (Ward 3), the widening of Arthur Lane from Gamble Road to Atkins Road (Ward 6) and intersection improvements at South Shackleford Road and Colonel Glenn Road (Ward 7).
Street resurfacing work is expected to take place at prioritized locations throughout the wards, according to the resolution.
A 10% portion of the total bond proceeds for street and drainage work will fund citywide projects.
The resolution says the citywide category during the first round of construction work will target Kanis Road at a Panther Branch Drive intersection.
The other planned citywide project during the initial cycle will target Chenal Parkway at its Chenal Club Boulevard intersection, according to language in the resolution.
The improvements listed under the citywide category are expected to cost close to $1.3 million during the first round.
Last August, Little Rock voters authorized an extension on three mills for capital improvements — a mill is equivalent to one-tenth of a cent, and each works out to $1 in tax paid on every $1,000 of the tax-assessed value of a piece of property.
During the election, voters approved all six categories of proposed spending. They were streets, drainage, Fire Department apparatus, parks, construction of a new municipal court facility and expansion of the Little Rock Port’s industrial park.
Street and drainage improvements are the two most expensive categories, representing approximately half of the planned $154 million in total capital-improvement spending using the bond proceeds.
The capital-improvement millage was previously extended because of a September 2012 referendum in which voters authorized a reduction from 3.3 to 3.0 mills while spending proceeds on street and drainage work.