Widening project under way : Portion of Highway 102 to be five lanes by 2011
Posted on Thursday, November 13, 2008
Daily Record photograph by David Frank Dempsey Jimmy Jones Excavation employee John McCarthy used a track hoe Wednesday during the early stages of widening Arkansas Highway 102 from Walton Boulevard to Centerton.
BENTONVILLE — Out with utility crews, in with the heavy machinery.
People who drive the two-lane stretch of Arkansas Highway 102 from South Walton Boulevard to Greenhouse Road at the Bentonville-Centerton city limits likely have been cheering for the past week. Construction crews have finally started moving dirt in preparation for widening what has become one of the most congested roadways in the area.
While the thousands who commute that stretch of road to and from work each day finally have visual evidence that e congestion issue will some day be resolved, there’s also a bit of nervousness that all of the heavy machinery, digging and commotion will cause traffic to spiral even further out of control.
“ We’re going to have two lanes open at all times during the widening project, but I’d be lying if I tried to tell you delays aren’t a part of construction projects, ” said David Bushey, resident engineer with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. “ But with this road, you do have to remember how bad congestion is already. It may already be as bad as it can get. A lot of people are already used to sitting in line without moving. ”
There’s a bright light, so to speak, at the end of the road. When the project is complete — which Bushey estimates could be summer 2011 — Arkansas Highway 102 will be five lanes from South Walton Boulevard to Greenhouse Road. The project has been talked about for years. And for more than a year, utility crews have been relocating underground and aboveground lines. Now, as long as the weather cooperates, road crews are prepared to move full speed ahead.
According to Bushey, there have already been a few issues to over- come, although not entirely unanticipated.
“ We’re running into some bad material in those old drainage ditches — material that’s been in those ditches for years and is unsuitable, ” Bushey said. “ We’re doing some undercutting and replacing it with better material to create the kind of stable subgrade we need. ”
While progress on Arkansas 102 gets started, detailed plans for the widening of the stretch of nearby Southwest I Street between Arkansas highways 102 and 12 are nearing completion. According to Mike Churchwell, city of Bentonville transportation engineer, plans to widen I Street and align it with Arkansas 112 on the south end are 85 percent complete. He expects bidding on the project to take place in late winter or early spring, immediately followed by construction.
“ That’s a big project, ” Churchwell said. “ I expect that to be a 15- to 18-month deal. ”
And as crews get a handle on that project, Arkansas 12 will begin its own widening from South Walton Boulevard to Greenhouse Road. Arkansas 12 — currently just two lanes — will also be widened to five lanes, completing a transportation overhaul of the city’s southwest side. cost is $ 200 per team. Registration will be held on the morning of the games.
Proceeds will go to the Decatur PTO to help purchase needed items for students and teachers throughout the school year.
For more information, call Shawn Hemphill at 721-9357.
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