Fifth Street widening project underway
By late spring or early summer, residents could have a new and improved east-west artery on which to travel in El Dorado.
Work began several weeks ago on a project to improve safety and expedite traffic flow on Fifth Street between North West and North College avenues.
Diversified Construction and Design, Inc., was awarded an $850,000 bid for the project, the scope of which includes the addition of a northbound turn lane from College onto Fifth; street widening; new curbs and gutters; the addition of sidewalks to run the length of Fifth between the North West and North College, the city’s primary northsouth arteries; lighting; and replacement of the retaining wall on the north side of Fifth at the intersection of North West Avenue.
Robert Edmonds, director of public works for the city of El Dorado, said the project, which is contracted for 150 days, has faced delays because of inclement weather, including winter storms that left several inches of snow and ice on the ground for just over a
week in mid-February.
The project has been delayed further because of rain this week and a portion of last week.
Barring any other major bouts of inclement weather, Edmonds said the job could be completed by late spring or early summer.
El Dorado Council Member Paul Choate — who, along with Council Member Dianne Hammond, represents Ward 4, where Fifth Street is located — worked with Edmonds to get the ball rolling on the Fifth Street project last fall.
In late September 2020, council members agreed to firm up specifications in order to start the bid process.
Choate has said that segment of Fifth Street was the top priority on the list of recommended street improvements that he had submitted to the Department of Public Works for Ward 4.
Last September, Choate noted that space is particularly tight along West Fifth between the Medical Center of South Arkansas, which is just west of Union Avenue, and North West Avenue.
MCSA’s north entrances and exits are off Fifth Street.
The Emergency Room is also on the north side of the hospital’s campus.
Hospital officials initially addressed the matter with council members in 2018, saying then that it was difficult for emergency vehicles to navigate Fifth Street, particularly while turning onto Fifth from North West and North College.
In 2019, MCSA reopened the Lester Street access point on the east side of its campus to add
another, smoother entrance for ambulances.
MCSA had closed off the Lester Street nearly three decades earlier, citing security reasons at the time.
A retaining wall on the north side of West Fifth at the North West Avenue intersection makes for an even tighter squeeze for vehicles turning off and onto both streets, Choate said.
Additionally, he said a lack of sidewalks and adequate lighting in the area heightens safety risks, previously telling fellow council members that he has “run up on” and nearly struck pedestrians in dark-colored clothing while driving through the area at night.
Edmonds said the retaining will be removed as part of efforts to improve Fifth Street and another wall will built in a fashion that will improve safety at the intersection.
He said improvements will also be made on the south side of the intersection.
“It’ll make the radius at that intersection a lot better and it’ll put a new radius on the southeast corner,” he said. “It’ll all be the same width that it is off College. It will be uniform throughout that entire corridor.”
“There’s already a lot of traffic on that street now and that project should improve it enough to where people will want to take Fifth Street,” Edmonds added.
The work is being covered by a portion of $5 million that was added to the city’s street budget for 2020 and 2021.
Last year, the city council and El Dorado Works Board approved the $5 million, which is being split evenly among the city’s four wards to help bolster the existing $1.3 million Street Department budget and cover more street repairs.
The EWB administers the city’s onecent, sales tax that is designated for economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.
The EWB vets projects that are presented for funding and if approved, the proposals are then forwarded to the council for consideration.
Bob Watson Drive
The city is also preparing to bid another street project that is intended to complete work on Bob Watson Drive, which extends from the north side of El Dorado High School to West Hillsboro/U.S. 82B.
The road was built in 2018 to help alleviate traffic congestion that clogs up the intersection of Hillsboro and Timberlane immediately before and after school during the week.
Edmonds said the Arkansas Department of Transportation has approved a request to shift a $500,000 Transportation Alternatives Program, a federal grant program, toward the Bob Watson Drive job, which includes curbs, gutters, sidewalks and lighting.
The grant was initially awarded to extend the recreational trail that encircles Lions Club Municipal Golf Course, the Union County Fairgrounds and the El Dorado School District Soccer fields on the north side of town.
Edmonds said the city was not able to acquire the additional rights-of-way that were needed to lengthen the 2.25mile trail further east, taking it along 19th Street to Champagnolle Road, looping it around to the west side of U.S. 167 and tying it back to the existing trail.
ARDoT then agreed to transfer the funds to a proposed project to build a recreational trail along the Ouachita River wastewater discharge line near El Dorado High School, Robert E. Lee/ Arkansas 15 and U.S. 82.
“We sent letters out to those property owners and we were unsuccessful in getting those (rights-of-way) as well,” Edmonds explained.
Now the TAP grant will be directed toward the Bob Watson Drive project.
“We’re real close to where we’re able to bid it and close to knowing what that’s going to come in at,” Edmonds said.