Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Tunnel to enhance trail safety
Pedestrians, cyclists can bypass traffic while using pathway
BENTONVILLE — South Bentonville Trail users soon will be able to bypass traffic on Southeast Walton Boulevard via a pedestrian tunnel being constructed.
The tunnel will pass under Southeast Walton Boulevard just east of Southeast Medical Center Parkway, allowing pedestrians to cross under the busy road rather than navigating the traffic lights across it.
The trail is part of the Razorback Greenway. The mile 28 marker is just south of Southeast Walton Boulevard.
“It’s huge,” said David Wright, Parks and Recreation director, of the project’s benefits.
It will provide a safer crossing for pedestrians and cyclists on the trail across a highly trafficked intersection, and it will provide convenience for trail users and motorists alike, he said.
“It’s more of a true trail experience,” he said.
The project also will include a bridge over the creek to the east Medical Center Parkway and north of Southeast Walton Boulevard. Then it will reconnect with the existing trail, Wright said.
The trail from Southeast Walton Boulevard to Southeast Riviera Road will be closed until around Dec. 1 for the tunnel’s construction, according to a news release. An alternative route with temporary signs will direct trail users to follow the sidewalk on Southeast Riviera Road and Southeast Walton Boulevard during the closure.
However, the alternate route also will be closed from midnight Friday until noon Tuesday. The section of sidewalk on Southeast Walton Boulevard from Southeast Medical Center Parkway to Southeast Riviera Road will be closed, too, according to the release.
The north half of the tunnel was constructed last weekend, and the south half will be constructed this
weekend, said Ben Peters, city engineer.
There will lane closures at the intersection of Southeast Walton Boulevard and Southeast Medical Center Parkway starting at 7 p.m. Friday and continuing through the weekend, Peters said.
“That should be the end of the road closures,” Peters said.
It will take until around the end of the year for the rest of the project to finish, Wright said. The existing route will remain where it is, and trail users will have the option to cross the street or
use the tunnel, he said.
The project is privately funded, but the city will maintain it once complete, officials said, without commenting on the dollar amount.
The city has a few other smaller tunnels. There’s a couple on A Street and another on Wishing Springs Trail that goes under Walton Boulevard turns and then goes under U.S. 71 toward Lake Bella Vista.
Those are about 10 to 15 feet long. The one being constructed is nearly 100 feet long, Wright said.
A similar project was constructed on Frisco Trail under Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fayetteville in 2012.
There were some initial
concerns about safety and it being used inappropriately, but the city has made sure that it stays well-lit and clean, said Matt Mihalevich, Fayetteville trails coordinator.
“We haven’t had any problems,” he said. “People have been loving it.”
The tunnel is near Wood Stone Craft Pizza. Frisco Trail ended there before it was built. The tunnel provided a way for pedestrians and cyclists to safely cross the road, and it enabled “an explosion” of trail growth and connectivity to the city’s south, Mihalevich said.