Bryant Parkway behind schedule, deadline approaching

Construction of Bryant Parkway has been on hold for months as city officials await approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Richard Corbyn with Garver, the engineering firm that has been designing the road, spoke with the Bryant City Council during a recent meeting about the project’s current status.

Because of the road’s length, the project was split into pieces. The portion of the road from Shobe Road to Interstate 30 is open to traffic. A crew is working to install pipe bollards along the multiuse path to discourage drivers from using it.

The second piece of the project will begin at Shobe

Road go over a Union Pacific Railroad and continue near the Saline County Regional Airport and the newly construction Bryant Junior High School. For this portion of the project, city officials and the design team have to work with several agencies.

FEMA and the Union Pacific Railroad have given approval for the project, but the project is currently on hold as city officials have not received approval from the FAA.

Airport Manager Dane Pruitt has been told the FAA is within weeks of approval, he said during the meeting.

Mayor Allen Scott also told the council he has reached out to U.S. Rep. French Hill and U.S. Sen. John Boozman.

Because project is bond funded, the city has specific timelines and regulations for when the road should be completed.

“We’re supposed to have spent the money (85 percent) by Dec. 1, so obviously, we’re not going to make that,” said Finance Director Joy Black.

City Attorney Josh Farmer, along with Black, have been meeting with the city’s bond counsel involving this issue.

“He did not seem concerned about missing that payment obligation… because there are things that are out of our control,” Farmer said.

Alderman Carlton Billingsley requested the city’s bond counsel attend the November meeting to discuss more how the city could be impacted by the project’s delay.