Low bid for Arkansas 170 work comes in at $15 million

FARMINGTON — Brothers Construction of Van Buren and Emery Sapp & Sons of Springdale are the only two companies that submitted bids for the state and federal project to widen and improve 2 miles of Arkansas 170 in Farmington.

Jeff Webb, project manager with Garver of Fayetteville, opened the bids March 19 during a virtual bid opening through the Team app.

Emery Sapp & Sons submitted a bid of $15,047,314, and Brothers Construction’s bid was $17,195,899. Webb told those virtually attending the bid opening he would coordinate with the city of Farmington and the Arkansas Department of Transportation to review the two bids. As a reference, Webb said the engineer’s estimate for the construction was $16.5 million.

The next day, Webb said Garver is recommending that the Department of Transportation accept Emery Sapp’s low bid.

He said he has submitted a request for concurrence to the department.

If the department concurs and awards the bid, the next step will be a preconstruction meeting.

Work should probably begin around May 1 and take about one year to complete, contingent on weather, Garver said.

After the opening, Mayor Ernie Penn said he was surprised more companies did not bid on the project.

“You can thank [Washington Water Authority] for the delay and the increased cost of the project,” Penn said, referring to a lawsuit filed by the authority in September 2021 asking a judge to stop work on the widening project until an agreement was reached about compensation to move the authority’s water lines. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in March 2022.

Washington Water Authority is in the process of relocating its water lines.

When design work on the project started in 2016, representatives with Garver estimated construction costs at $7.5 million. In later years as the project dragged on, the cost of construction was estimated from around $12.5 million to $13 million.

Webb said the cost of the project has increased “considering the environment we’re in.”

The project to widen Arkansas 170 from Main Street in Farmington to Clyde Carnes Road is being funded through a federal highway program available to areas that have reached a threshold population of 200,000.

The city is responsible for 20% of the costs, including the contract with Garver to design the project, paying for rights of way and relocation of utilities.

The federal program is responsible for 80% of those costs. Construction costs will come from federal and state dollars.

“It’s another step,” Penn said. “We’re a lot closer to having a good road out there than we were last year and the year before. It’s been a long, grinding project and it could have been done three years ago. You can’t cry over spilled milk, just go forward and do the best we can.”

Penn said he is excited about an improved Arkansas 170 because it will be a “step for safety” for those people who travel on the road.

A traffic study by Garver for the 2 miles showed an average daily count of 2,515 vehicles in 2016. The study projected growth 20 years out in 2036 to an average of 4,629 vehicles on the road per day, which included a new high school that had not opened at the time. Now the new high school is open and the Farmington School District is planning to build a junior high school off Arkansas 170 and Clyde Carnes Road.

Currently the highway is 21 feet wide. Improvements call for three 12-foot-wide lanes, with a continuous left-hand turning lane throughout the 2 miles.

Both sides of the road will have 5-foot-wide sidewalks, along with curb and gutter and shoulders. A green space of 3 feet will be located between the highway and sidewalk.