Gentry awarded street-aid funding
GENTRY — The city of Gentry received word last week that its request for a street paving project had been approved and the city would be receiving $250,00 in Arkansas Street Aid Funding.
The money is designated for an overlay project on Byers Street, S. Little Street, Crawford Street, Allen Avenue, Bloomfield Street, Crafton Place, Duckworth Street and Flint Place. Also included was a surface project on Fulton Street and Eastern Avenue.
According to a Jan. 18 letter from Mike Gaskill, chairman of the Arkansas Street Aid Committee, state law requires that the Arkansas Department of Transportation oversees the construction contracts. The city council will need to review construction plans and pass a resolution in support of the projects before ARDOT advertises for bids on the city street projects.
The money for the State Street Aid project is funded with 1 cent of the existing motor fuel tax, according to the Arkansas Street Aid Committee website.
Cities may apply for street aid once each calendar year but priority is given to those cities which have not previously received street aid. Cities with populations of 25,000 or greater must match street aid funds with 10 percent of project costs. No match is required of smaller cities like Gentry.
If the projects are designed by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, there is no cost to the cities. If cities do their own design work, they must pay 100 percent of the engineering and design costs.
“The city, in June of 2018, requested assistance from the Arkansas State Aid Street Committee to continue our efforts of maintaining and improving our streets,” wrote Gentry’s mayor, Kevin Johnston. “This nearly two and one half mile project will be the second project for our city as part of this State Aid Program. The first of which, in 2015, included approximately two and one-half miles of streets that included N. Robin Road, East Main Street (east of Highway 59), Shankles Road, and the newly constructed Crowder Avenue, to name a few.
“This project is just one of many that the city of Gentry is currently working on to improve and maintain the quality of life for our citizens and guests.
“I wish this great news included a momentous update on the Dawn Hill East Bridge replacement; however, I am confident we will continue to have positive movement on this project as well,” Johnston wrote.