Bond funds tapped for county, city paving projects

The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen BRIDGE REPLACEMENT: The DeArmon Bridge over Mill Creek is the first bridge the county plans on replacing with its share of the proceeds from the $54.6 million bond issue voters approved last year for road improvements.
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen BRIDGE REPLACEMENT: The DeArmon Bridge over Mill Creek is the first bridge the county plans on replacing with its share of the proceeds from the $54.6 million bond issue voters approved last year for road improvements.

The county and city are dedicating the first disbursements from their per-capita shares of the $54,695,000 bond issue voters approved last year to overlay projects they hope to complete before the end of this year's paving season.

The Hot Springs Board of Directors adopted a resolution during a special-called meeting Tuesday to submit the annual paving list it approved earlier this year for reimbursement from the bond fund. The city has contracted Cranford Construction to overlay 5.5 miles of city streets for $993,000.

Per an interlocal agreement with Garland County, the city is entitled to $7.3 million in bond proceeds. It is also planning to tap the bond fund for the 35-percent match needed to secure a federal grant to expand the Exchange Street Parking Plaza and build five sidewalk bump-outs downtown. The city would have to contribute about $1 million to the $2.9 million project if it's awarded the grant.

Garland County controls all bond fund disbursals, but County Judge Rick Davis said Friday the incorporated areas will decide which projects they want funded from their respective shares. Interlocal agreements with the four cities give the county a $12.3 million population-based share. Mountain Pine has $160,000, Fountain Lake $104,000 and Lonsdale $20,000.

The interlocal agreements commit $30 million to partner with the state on the 5.16-mile extension of the King Expressway from the Highway 70 east interchange to the intersection of highways 5 and 7. Collection of the five-eighths-cent sales tax securing the bond debt began July 1 and is expected to retire the debt by 2023.

The county has contracted B & F Engineering Inc. to manage the local projects, paying the contract with interest income earned from investing the bond proceeds in U.S. Treasury bills and certificates of deposit. The cities and county will submit their projects for payment using the requisition process established by B & F and Jerry Pogue, Davis' administrative assistant.

Bid documents will be provided, Davis said, explaining that B & F will evaluate the submissions for compliance with proper bid procedures and the ballot language voters approved during the June 28, 2016, special election. The ballot said the capital improvement bonds would pay for road, street, bridge and sidewalk improvements.

"It has to meet the criteria of the referendum," Davis said. "(The county) is responsible for ensuring the money is spent in the way we told voters it would be spent."

Davis said B & F has approved Mountain Pine's proposal for new street signs on all its city streets.

Project invoices will be reviewed by B & F, Pogue, Davis and County Treasurer Tim Stockdale before they are submitted to Simmons Bank, the bond trustee, for payment. Pogue said the payment process will take about seven to 10 days.

County projects

The county is submitting four paving projects and one bridge project for payment from the bond fund, projects Davis said could be let for bids by next month.

The bid package will comprise paving Cedar Glades Road from Highway 227 to Wildcat Road, Turkey Trot Lane from Cedar Glades Road to Blacksnake Road, Blacksnake Road from Turkey Trot Lane to Highway 227 and the entire length of Trooper Lane in MidAmerica Industrial Park.

James Montgomery of B & F told the Garland County Quorum Court Monday night the paving projects cover about 7 miles. The bridge project included in the package will add guard rails and signage to the Cedar Glades Road bridge over Bull Bayou.

Davis said his office worked with B & F and the county road department to develop the county's project list. He said using the bond money for paving will allow the county to stretch its paving budget and overlay more miles of less trafficked roads.

The second bid package the county plans on submitting would pave Thornton Ferry Road from Albert Pike to Anderson Road and replace the DeArmon Bridge over Mill Creek. The bridge connects Ault Loop and Ault Trail to DeArmon Trail.

Davis said all of the bond-funded paving projects will have hot-mix overlays and include drainage, pipe replacement and widening the roads to 22 feet. He said most county roads are 18 to 19 feet wide and can be expanded by 2 feet on either side without going beyond the county's right of way.

Davis said there are 109 bridges 20 feet or longer on county roads, making their prioritization difficult.

"The DeArmon Bridge, even though it's on a local road and it only has about 30 houses behind it, a school bus crosses it at least four times a day," he said. "It's something we've got to take care of.

"We talked a lot about how to prioritize bridges. It's tough when you go out and look at them. There are so many that are bad. We're just going to have to pick some and get started."

Davis said the county plans to combine bond funds with federal-aid money to replace the Slaughter Bridge over Gulpha Creek, noting that it could cost as much as $2 million to replace the 300-foot bridge.

The third bid package would include widening the Danville Road bridge over Lockett Creek and replacing the road's bridge over the Lockett Creek tributary near Pitchercane Road.

Later bid packages will include replacing guard rails on the Amity Road bridge over the Little Mazarn Creek and widening both sides of the road's bridge over Rush Fork Creek. Bond funds could also be applied to replacing the Farr Shores Drive bridge over White Oak Creek and the Mill Creek Road bridge over Gulpha Creek.

Expressway update

The $2,135,851 provided to the state for project development on the expressway extension is the only money that's been committed from the bond fund.

Davis said the environmental assessment is ongoing, with the U.S. Geological Survey drilling and monitoring wells to determine if the proposed route would interfere with the recharge zone that replenishes the thermal springs on Hot Springs Mountain's western slope.

The county will have to commit another $3 million to complete its project development funding obligation. The state's 2016-2020 Transportation Improvement Program includes $10 million split by the county and state for project development on the extension.

Davis said he expects the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department to hold a public hearing later this year.

"They'll probably have the right of way tied down by then, and they'll have a conceptual drawing of the route," he said. "It will probably be this fall. Right after that I see them starting right-of-way acquisition and having a final design. That's when we're going to have to authorize the $3 million payment."

Pogue said the balance of the county's cost-sharing obligation, $25 million, will probably be committed by the summer of 2019, when the Highway Department has said construction is scheduled to begin.

The Highway Department has said the county's obligation won't exceed $30 million, and that the state would be responsible for any expense beyond the estimated $60 million cost.

The extension will initially have two travel lanes and no turn lane. An earlier project assessment estimated the extension would support an average daily traffic count of 10,000 vehicles by 2024. Highway Department data shows it will reduce daily average traffic counts at the intersection of Highway 7 and Whittington Avenue from 16,000 vehicles to 12,000 by 2034.

Local on 07/15/2017

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