Federal Funds Suggested For Highway Work

SPRINGDALE —A regional planning committee forwarded recommendations last week for distributing federal money for transportation and trail projects next year, including money for Highway 170 improvements in Farmington.

Cities and counties in Northwest Arkansas applied for a share of about $ 8.5 million in federal money the region typically receives each year for local projects. The money, based on the area’s population, is administered by Regional Planning.

Tim Conklin, assistant director of the commission, cautioned the money hasn’t yet been allocated by the federal government.

“This is all subject to Congress acting and funding levels,” Conklin said. “There’s a significant reduction in vehicle miles traveled and fuel taxes; I have no idea what amount of money will be coming to our region. We’re basing it on past years.”

An additional $3.1 million from a federal highway infrastructure program fund is available to the region and was added to the recommendations, bringing the anticipated total amount of money available to $11.6 million.

There were more than $18 million in requests for money to be distributed in 2021, and the list was pared by a Technical Advisory Committee subcommittee. Should more money become available, it would be applied to projects either passed over for money or given only a portion of the money requested.

“It’s kind of a guess right now,” Conklin said. “Either we might have significantly less or we could have significantly more money.”

The recommendations, approved by the full Technical Advisory Committee on Thursday, will be forwarded to the Policy Committee of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission for final approval.

The committee recommended approving $ 1.9 million for construction to improve two miles of Arkansas Highway 170 from Main Street in Farmington to Clyde Carnes Road.

The Farmington project calls for widening the two miles to three 12-footwide lanes with a continuous left-hand turning lane. Both sides of the road will have five- foot-wide sidewalks, along with curb and gutter. The section has three 90-degree curves and these will be flattened slightly.

Garver Engineering designed the project for Farmington.