Park Avenue widening project affects city utilities

The SentinelRecord/File photo
The SentinelRecord/File photo

The widening of Park Avenue from Gorge Road to the junction of highways 5 and 7 will cost the city's water and wastewater funds a combined $1,392,185, according to an agreement the Hot Springs Board of Directors approved earlier this week.

That's the city's share of the $3,630,689 cost to relocate water and sewer lines along the project area. The Arkansas Department of Transportation will be responsible for the $2,238,504 balance, per the agreement.

Sixty-three percent of the 16,259 feet of city utility lines affected by the project are outside of the Park Avenue right of way but within the expanded right of way the state needs to widen the road to two travel lanes and a shared left-turn lane. The state will reimburse the city for relocating lines in the expanded right of way. Relocation costs for the 6,000 feet of lines inside the current right of way are the city's responsibility.

The board awarded Garver LLC a $276,708 contract last year to design the relocation project and determine how much of the cost was eligible for reimbursement by the state. Most of the city's costs are related to the sewer main extending outside its corporate limits to Fountain Lake School. Much of it is in ArDOT's existing right of way, making the city responsible for $1,092,865 of the relocation expense. A pump station in the 4300 block of Park that pressurizes an 8-inch force main that pushes flow south will also be affected.

The city is only responsible for $109,983 of the cost to move the 12-inch water main that reaches north of Belvedere Nursing and Rehab.

ArDOT said earlier this year it expects to put the project out for bid next spring. In the interim, it will have to acquire more than 100 tracts to accommodate the expanded right of way.

According to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, an $11.8 million cost is estimated for the 4.17-mile project that includes a roundabout at the highways 5 and 7 junction. The traffic circle will tie into the extension of the King Expressway, serving as the northern end of the 5-mile, two-lane extension connecting the junction to the Highway 70 east interchange.

ArDOT expects to solicit bids for the estimated $60 million project by the end of the year.

Bonds secured by the 0.675 percent countywide sales tax Garland County voters approved in a June 2016 special election will contribute $30 million to the project.

Local on 07/19/2019

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