Fifth Street closing briefly for upgrades

Area residents who routinely travel along Fifth Street may soon have to find an alternate route, at least temporarily.

El Dorado City Council member Paul Choate recently announced plans to begin the bidding process for a project to upgrade Fifth Street between North West and North College avenues to improve safety and help expedite traffic flow.

Earlier this year, El Dorado city officials agreed to temporarily freeze spending on non-essential services, joining other cities across the nation who began tightening their budgets amid economic uncertainties and challenges that were posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Some city projects for which funding had already been allocated were also put on hold but the El Dorado City Council, while continuing to be fiscally cautious, has since loosened the spending moratorium on some of the more extensive projects, including the 2020 street repair program.

Work has recently begun month on annual street overlay and drainage improvements.

Each year, a tentative list of streets to be repaired is compiled with input from the Department of Public Works and city council members who prioritize streets that need the most attention in their respective wards.

Complaints and suggestions from local residents are also figured into the list, said Robert Edmonds, director of public works.

Choate — who represents Ward 4, along with Council Member Dianne Hammond — said Fifth Street has long been at the top of the list he submitted for street repairs in his ward.

Discussions about much-needed improvements to Fifth Street have been ongoing for nearly two years.

In the fall of 2019, the Medical Center of South Arkansas reopened the Lester Street entrance on the east side of hospital grounds.

MCSA had erected a fence more than two decades ago to seal off the Lester Street access point onto its campus, citing security reasons at the time.

Fifth Street runs along the north entrances to MCSA.

“… Fifth Street is difficult to navigate from an ambulance standpoint. You know that intersection there and if you’re coming north to south, as I would say, to kind of enter the intersection, to turn right is kind of hard for ambulances and it’s becoming more difficult,” Scott Street, chief executive officer of MCSA, told city council members in May of 2019.

Street was referring to the turn off North West Avenue onto Fifth.

Choate made similar statements Sept. 24, noting that space is tight along West Fifth between MCSA and North West Avenue.

A retaining wall on the north side of West Fifth at the North West Avenue intersection makes for an even tighter turn off the avenue onto Fifth, city officials have said.

Choate also said a lack of sidewalks and adequate lighting in the area heightens safety risks, 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.

A volunteer for the South Arkansas Arts Center, which is located on East Fifth Street, Choate said he frequently drives through the intersection of North West and West Fifth while on his way home from the arts center after dark.

Sidewalks line segments of Fifth — on the north side between Columbia and Flenniken avenues and on the south side and between Columbia and Ouachita avenues.

Choate noted that Fifth Street is one of few east-west, crosstown arteries in El Dorado — which primarily accounts for heavy traffic flow.

“Fifth Street is probably the most underappreciated street in town,” he said.

An average of 4,200 vehicles travel Fifth daily, according to a traffic count that was conducted along Fifth.

“That was really surprising. Every five days on that strip, there are more cars passing by there every five days than there are people in this community and … there are more cars in a 10-day period than we have residents in (Union County),” Choate said.

“People look at Fifth Street as a way to get to get to the ER (at MCSA),” he added.

Choate said he has been working with Edmonds and engineers from A.L. Franks Engineering, Inc., to develop an improvement plan for Fifth Street and Franks has prepared a bid package that includes widening Fifth Street at North West and College avenues, adding a new turn lane at College and installing sidewalks and lighting.

Referring to the new turn lane that has been proposed for College, Choate said, “That’s so ambulances won’t have to swing out so wide to turn. The fire chief (Chad Mosby) can attest to what happens when an ambulance gets hit while dodging traffic (at that intersection).”

Choate said the public should be put on notice that access to a large segment of Fifth Street may soon be closed.

He said work should take about 90 days and barring any major delays, the project could be completed by next spring, explaining that bids could be let within 10 days and work could start 30 days later.

“It’s going to be an inconvenience for a lot of people but ultimately, it’ll be a benefit,” Choate said.

The project will be covered by a $3.8 million street repair budget for this year.

With $5 million that was approved from El Dorado Works sales tax for street improvements, the city will be able to cover more streets in two years.

The $5 million will be divided evenly for 2020 and 2021 and among the city’s four wards, lining out to $1.5 million per ward.

The city council previously directed Edmonds to start with the $2.5 million allotment from the El Dorado Works tax before dipping into the street budget, which comes to about $1.3 million.

Neighborhood Watch

Choate also issued a reminder about a Neighborhood Watch meeting for the Country Club Terrace/Morning Star communities at 6 p.m. today at Morning Star Baptist Church, 2506 N. College.

He urged neighborhood residents to attend, saying that he, Hammond and other city officials have been invited to the meeting.