Highfill : Airport road price set to drop
Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2007
The executive director of Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport believes a proposed airport access road will cost less than estimated because its construction schedule now matches that of the Springdale Northern Bypass.
Without the bypass, the access road would connect to Interstate 540, costing about $ 80 million, Scott Van Laningham said. Connecting farther northwest to the bypass would cut the cost to $ 40 million, he said.
The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department approved plans for the 20-mile northern bypass in March. Van Laningham feared a lack of money would delay design and construction of the bypass. But the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program includes $ 29 million for the project, said Glenn Bolick, spokesman for the Highway Department.
Garver Engineers in Little Rock is designing the bypass that would run from U. S. 412 west of Tontitown northeast across I-540 and back to U. S. 412 east of Springdale, said Bolick.
The 18-month design contract expires next year, and Bolick said the state will begin acquiring rights-of-way in early 2008, Bolick said.
“It could grow,” he said of the fund. “We won’t have to wait 18 months before we’re able to start on some right-of-way.”
The $ 350 million project includes an estimated $ 62 million in right-of-way acquisition costs, Bolick said. The first phase of construction would begin at I-540 and head west toward Tontitown, said Jonathan Barnett, chairman of the Arkansas Highway Commission and the commissioner for the 3 rd Congressional District.
The bypass could be completed by 2011, he said, provided sufficient state funds are available.
Van Laningham said the timing for the bypass coincides well with the access road project, which also is expected to be complete in 2011. The planned toll road will run southeast from the Highfill airport, cross Osage Creek and connect to the bypass.
Van Laningham said he wants the airport to purchase enough right-of-way for a four-lane road, but it would open only two lanes initially.
If the timing works out, the access road could be under construction next year, he said.
The shortest route to the airport for drivers coming from Fayetteville or Springdale is to go north on I-540 to Lowell, then drive 16 miles on Arkansas 264 to the airport. The new road would cover eight miles from the bypass.
“The big thing is you eliminate the two turns you have to make in Cave Springs and the chances of getting behind a school bus or a tractor,” Van Laningham said.
He said the airport is preparing its final environmental impact report to the state.
“We’re hopeful we could get an expedited review and environmental approval by the middle of this year,” Van Laningham said.
The airport’s board of directors would have to approve the work on the access road. Van Laningham said he plans to call the first board meeting of the year in February.
In the meantime, Van Laningham, working as vice chairman of the Northwest Arkansas Council, will lobby the state Legislature for a way to pay for the access road. The council is a group of regional leaders who promote economic development in Northwest Arkansas.
Van Laningham said the access road is an ideal candidate for a regional mobility authority project. The General Assembly passed Act 2275 in 2005 allowing for the creation of the authorities. It allows cities or counties to organize a regional mobility authority and issue bonds for projects including parking facilities, highways, bridges and public transit systems.
But the law needs revision, Van Laningham said, including allowing the authority to enforce toll fares. Northwest Arkansas Council Executive Director Mike Malone and Van Laningham said they have spoken to the Arkansas Trucking Association, the Highway Department, officials from Fort Smith and central Arkansas and state Rep. Keven Anderson, R-Rogers. Anderson and state Sen. Dave Bisbee, R-Rogers, are working on a draft of a bill, Anderson said. Van Laningham said he expects to have a sponsor for the legislation within two weeks. He envisions a Northwest Arkansas regional mobility authority composed of Benton and Washington officials selected by county judges and the mayors of each of the counties’ first class cities. “It’s a partnership with the airport and the state,” Van Laningham said. “This could fit in really well with a regional mobility authority.”
To contact this reporter: lboch@arkansasonline. com
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