Highway Department unveils plan to extend U.S. 412 Springdale Bypass

LOWELL — Plans to build a proposed new section of the U. S. 412 Springdale Northern Bypass had planners ecstatic and residents near what will be a major new interchange apprehensive Tuesday evening.

The bypass is also known as Arkansas 612 and will run between Interstate 49 and Arkansas 265, just north of Arkansas 264.

Les and Aleesa Rau live on Hickory Street in Springdale and have concerns about the potential traffic noise.

“The interchange will be coming through at the end of our street, and we’re concerned about the noise factor for our neighborhood and the lowered property values because of the noise factor,” Les Rau said. “The elevated highways and so forth out there will be very loud unless they put in noise barriers and do that correctly. And no one knows at this point if that’s going to be a part of it.”

Ruth Brown who lives off Apple Blossom Avenue in Lowell was happy to learn the road and interchanges will not be close to her home as she had feared.

“It’s going to be a little bit further south than what we thought it was and further from us,” Brown said. “It should be not quite as much noise.”

The purpose of the proposed project is to address existing and expected travel delays and vehicle congestion, and increase safety, resiliency and economic competitiveness of the region, according to the Highway Department.

Tim Conklin, interim director at the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, said the improvements should help move trucks through the region without going through the current bottleneck at U. S 412 and I-49.

“We’re really trying to address the freight movement and the traveling public along the 412 corridor,” Conklin said. “This additional phase, from I- 49 to Arkansas 265 will provide that mobility to 71B and Arkansas 265 on the east side of Springdale where you have a lot of industrial jobs and a lot of truck movement.”

The bypass is also intended to relieve congestion through Springdale on Sunset Boulevard, South Thompson Street and Robinson Avenue, the city’s main east-west route, which is also designated U.S. 412.

Patsy Christie, director of planning and community development in Springdale, said moving east and west across Springdale is always challenging.

“Highway 412 going through town is congested all the time; there’s not a lot we can do to improve that. So, being able to do this bypass, we’ve been talking about it for 20 years, it’s time to move it forward and get started with it,” Christie said. “So, I’m really glad to see this work going all the way to 265 because it’s important to us that it get to 265 at least.”

Christie said she also wants to make sure that the Razorback Greenway remains open during as much of the construction as possible.

The Highway Department proposes to build 3.3 miles of new location highway consisting of four 12-foot-wide travel lanes, 6-foot-wide inside shoulders, 10-foot-wide outside shoulders, and a 60-foot-wide divided median with full access control.

The full I- 49/Arkansas 612 interchange will be completed with the addition of access ramps to and from I-49 and Arkansas 612 east. The route will then continue southeast crossing U. S. 71B and then to its eastern terminus at Arkansas 265. Additional interchanges are proposed at U.S. 71B and Arkansas 265.

The region’s 2045 transportation plan and state highway plans envision completing both ends of the U.S. 412 Northern Bypass. A 4.5-mile portion of the road between Lowell and Arkansas 112, north of Elm Springs, is complete and open.

The next portion of the U.S. 412 Northern Bypass to be constructed is expected to be about 6 miles from Arkansas 112 to U.S. 412 in Tontitown. It’s estimated to cost about $200 million to complete.

The Highway Department initiated its original study of a Springdale bypass in 1996.

An environmental reevaluation for the section from I-49 to Arkansas 265 is being prepared at the direction of the Federal Highway Administration to examine any proposed changes to the project design and surrounding environment and ensure that the decisions made earlier in the process are still valid.

Highway Department staff will review the comments received from citizens, public officials and public agencies and include that information with an environmental reevaluation when it is submitted to the Federal Highway Administration for review. If approved, the project will proceed to right-of-way acquisition and final design, which could take a couple of years. The start of construction will then depend on available funding.