Bids opened on road, bridge project on U.S. 167 in Calhoun County.

Construction list includes $27.9M job on Calhoun County stretch of U.S. 167

A $27.9 million bid on a project to widen a 5.7-mile section of U.S. 167 in Calhoun County was among the low bids totaling $147.9 million on 56 road and bridge projects the Arkansas Department of Transportation opened Wednesday.

Low bids also were opened on an $11 million project to improve a 6.8-mile section of Interstate 40 in Johnson County and projects exceeding $10 million on a section of Arkansas 7 in Ouachita County and Arkansas 5 in Baxter County.

The U.S. 167 project — from U.S. 79 south — is the second project on the major south Arkansas artery in two months on which the department has opened bids and the fourth since 2017. Once finished, the project will provide a four-lane route between El Dorado in Union County and Interstate 530 in Saline County, a distance of more than 100 miles.

In February, the agency awarded a $12.5 million contract to widen a 1.8-mile section through the city of Hampton.

A $21.8 million project that widened a 4.5-mile section from Hampton north to Arkansas 274 was completed last year. A $29 million project to widen a 7-mile section north from Arkansas 274 is under construction and is almost complete, according to the latest project update from the department.

McGeorge Contracting Co. Inc. of Pine Bluff submitted the lowest bid on the latest project. The company won’t be awarded the contract until the bid documents undergo a department review.

The I-40 project will mill out the old pavement and replace it on a section between Arkansas 164 and Arkansas 352 west of Clarksville. The lowest bidder was listed as Blackstone Construction LLC of Russellville.

The Arkansas 7 project in Ouachita County will replace the pavement on a 14.8-mile section from Camden south to Louann. Jet Asphalt & Rock Co. Inc. of El Dorado, the only contractor to submit a bid, said it could do the work for $10.7 million.

The Arkansas 5 project in Baxter County will overlay new asphalt on a 19.4-mile section from Mountain Home southeast to the Izard County line. Dilbeck Excavation

Inc. of Mountain Home also was the sole bidder and said it could do the work for $10.4 million.

The Transportation Department also opened bids on two Pulaski County projects.

Cranford Construction Co. of North Little Rock submitted a low bid of $2.7 million to mill out and replace the pavement on a 4.3-mile section of U.S. 70B in Little Rock, which is part of South University Avenue north from Interstate 30 and Asher Avenue between University and Roosevelt Road.

Weaver-Bailey Contractors Inc. of El Paso submitted a low bid of $1.2 million to replace a small bridge with a reinforced concrete box culvert over Shilcutt Bayou on Camp Robinson Road, also called Arkansas 176, in North Little Rock.