Property owners along the projected route for the King Expressway extension will be receiving certified letters inviting them to a Feb. 27 open house at Fountain Lake School.
The forum is part of the environmental assessment for the more than 5-mile, two-lane extension that will connect the Highway 70 east interchange to the junction of highways 5 and 7. Arkansas Department of Transportation spokesman Danny Straessle said the open house will give the public an opportunity to weigh in on the project, part of which will be funded by $30 million from the $54.6 million bond issue Garland County voters approved during a June 2016 special election.
Collection of the five-eighths cent sales tax securing the bonds began July 1.
"Public input on what we do is required and certainly very important to us as we do these types of projects," he said. "We invite anyone interested in the project or anyone who lives along the proposed route to attend the meeting.
"Sometimes we get information that we've been unable to uncover, things like unmarked graves, Civil War artifacts. We have to consider all those things, so we hope some of the locals come out and give us some information about the proposed route."
Invitations for the 4 to 7 p.m. open house will be mailed by mid February, Straessle said, noting that receipt of a certified letter is not a guarantee the extension will traverse the recipient's property. Promise Land Drive and Mill Creek Road will intersect the proposed route, but a definite course has yet to be plotted.
"There are options and alternatives," he said. "Nothing is set in stone. Once we get more detail on where the two lanes, and eventually four lanes, will go, we can determine which properties will be impacted."
He said technical experts will be available to answer questions, and a large map showing the centerline of the proposed route, alternative routes and the property boundaries of affected property owners will be displayed.
The state has estimated a more than $60 million cost for the extension and has pledged that the county's obligation won't exceed $30 million. The county has already committed $2 million of its $5 million share for project development and expects to be invoiced for the balance next year.
Straessle said last month the state plans on letting bids for the construction phase during the 2019 State Transportation Improvement Program year, which begins in July.
Local on 01/11/2018