Virtual meeting set for discussion of Bella Vista-Springdale highway

The Arkansas Department of Transportation is hosting an online public meeting to show off alternatives for a possible road to connect the Bella Vista Bypass and the Springdale Northern Bypass or U.S. 412 via the Northwest Arkansas National Airport.

The online public input session starts Sunday and will be online through Sept. 20, according to highway officials.

The Highway Department’s study started last summer. The purposes were to determine if a new highway is needed, to identify feasible alternatives and developing cost estimates.

“Connecting the Bella Vista Bypass to the 412 Bypass is the next logical route for future traffic relief in western Benton County and northern Washington County. We must plan now,” said Philip Taldo, a member of the Arkansas Highway Commission from Springdale.

The Highway Department came up with two alternatives they want to share with the public.

One passes near the Northwest Arkansas National Airport. The second takes off from the proposed future airport access road and run west of the airport, then north, connecting with the Bella Vista Bypass at Hiwasse or east of town.

Those two routes would provide greater benefit to the transportation system by providing connectivity and access, travel time savings, system redundancy and have the least impact on communities and the environment. Another alternative no longer being considered would have run almost directly north, passing west of the airport and connect with the Bella Vista Bypass at Hiwasse.

The study looked at an oval-shaped area west of Bentonville and Arkansas 112 and east of Springtown, Decatur and Gravette. It stretches from the Bella Vista Bypass on the north to U.S. 412 on the south. The airport sits roughly in the middle.

The 2040 Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Transportation Plan proposes north-south corridor improvements within the study area west of Interstate 49.

The main goal is to improve connectivity with secondary goals of improving mobility, relieving congestion, improving safety and reliability, and strengthening the region’s economic competitiveness.

Census data and estimates for small cities in or near the study area show five towns have had large population increases since 2010.

Centerton has grown 86.9% from 9,515 residents to 17,792. Tontitown has shown similar growth, going from 2,460 to 4,301, an 74.8% increase.

Elm Springs has increased from 1,535 residents to 2,361, up 53.8%. Gravette has grown from 2,325 to 3,547, up 52.5%.

Cave Springs has increased from 4,970 in 2010 to 5,495, an increase of 10.5%

“NWA continues to plan for significant population increases by 2045 and planning for and improving infrastructure to serve this population is critical for our region. Just in the past 10 years, Benton County grew by 62,994 people to 284,333, a 28.46% increase, and is the second largest county in Arkansas. Benton County is projected to have 545,893 people by 2045. The Western [North South] Connector Study is important for this region and the future NWA transportation network as we approach 1 million people,” said Tim Conklin of the Northwest Arkansas Planning Commission.

The study is related to another Transportation Department study looking at an access road to the airport. The department is doing an environmental assessment to evaluate possible routes. This new connector road study will incorporate the findings and recommendations of the access road study.

The Transportation Department offered last year to design the access road. Airport officials think the department’s offer will speed up the process of building a road, after some 20 years of frustration. An estimated cost for the project hasn’t been determined.

The original plan called for the airport authority to build and pay for a long driveway to the airport, from U.S. 612 at Elm Springs. That plan was shelved in favor of a road running near the airport, such as the proposed new western connector, that could end up being a highway passing next to the airport with an exit.

A study in 2011 found a western beltway from the Bella Vista Bypass to Interstate 49 in the Greenland area will be needed some day, but said there was no money identified to pay for the project. The new study looks at the northern part of that proposed corridor.