Road plans up for feedback

Springdale mayor, city staff prioritized 12 projects

SPRINGDALE — The city has scheduled a public meeting Thursday to receive feedback from residents on potential street improvement projects totaling up to $85 million.

The city plans to pay for the projects from the sale of bonds, approved by voters in February. The city expected $71 million of a $200 million bond issue for streets at the time of the election, but it

should receive $80 million to $85 million in construction money because of increased sales tax revenue related to growth in Springdale, said Mayor Doug Sprouse.

The mayor and city staff prioritized 12 projects from about 40 staff previously identified, Sprouse said.

“The estimate here is about $104 million,” he said of the 40 projects, “but we want to prioritize the money as far as it will go.”

One of the projects the mayor sees as priority is the expansion of Gene George Boulevard north from Bleaux Avenue to County Line Road. The improved Gene George

would develop another northsouth corridor for drivers in the western part of the city, relieving traffic on Interstate 49 and maybe Arkansas 112, he said.

Perry Webb, president of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, said creating the corridor will keep local traffic off Interstate 49 and open the northwest quadrant of the city for residential expansion.

Sprouse said he expects more commercial development opportunity in the Arvest Ballpark overlay district or along Elm Springs Road.

Another project the city sees as vital is a connection of Ford and Turnbow avenues in the city’s east side industrial park and an outlet to Butterfield Coach Road. The industrial park shares its only entrance with Northwest Technical Institute at the intersection of Ford and South Old Missouri Road.

“There’s a lot of industry there now, but we’ve got the opportunity for a lot more,” Sprouse said. “To have another way in and out of the industrial area would be a big plus. And if you develop the road to Butterfield Coach, you could extend the industrial district and have more land for development.”

Another access point would add to the marketability of land in the industrial district, which the city owns and sells, Webb said.

“When they go and look at how hard a time they’re going to have getting their employees in and out of there at quitting time, they go elsewhere,” he said.

City and Arkansas Department of Transportation officials have discussed partnering to install a left-turn lane at Ford and Old Missouri, Sprouse said.

Sprouse also mentioned some of the projects on the list that must be completed. One is rebuilding parts of Huntsville Avenue from Thompson Street to Gutensohn Road because the road is failing structurally. Plans also call for addling a turn lane.

Sprouse said the projects might not be completed as they are presented. For example, the widening of Gene George might stop at Elm Springs Road. Or improvements to the length of 40th Street to accommodate visitors to the Game and Fish Commission’s Nature Center might be pared back. Or an extension of Don Tyson Parkway east to U.S. 412 might just be two lanes for now.“There are a lot of ways to adjust the prices without throwing the projects completely out,” Sprouse said.

“Some could wait for another bond issue down the road.”

Another way of thinking might find Gene George extended farther north than anticipated to the eventual connection with U.S. 612, the bypass around the city currently under construction.

“Anything past Elm Springs Road is gravy,” Sprouse said. “But going to Elm Springs Road is critical.”

“We’re listening to the public,” Sprouse continued. “It’s inevitable that we always hear things and ideas that we haven’t thought of before. That’s the value of these meetings.”

Thursday’s public meeting will be an open house with no formal presentation, said Melissa Reeves, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office. The public is invited to visit anytime during the scheduled hours to view exhibits, ask questions and offer comments.

In addition, plans and documents related to the construction projects and forms for comment are available on the city’s website, in the mayor’s office or at the public meeting. Deadline for comment is 5 p.m. April 19.

“There’s a lot of industry there now, but we’ve got the opportunity for a lot more.”

— Doug Sprouse, Springdale mayor