Interstate 540, Airport Lead Area Construction Projects

Several major construction projects are currently under way in Northwest Arkansas. Here, we sum up the three largest.

Interstate 540

The largest project in Northwest Arkansas — the $450 million construction of Interstate 540 from Alma to Fayetteville — is scheduled to be completed in January 1999, says Keith Stephens, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.

When completed, the four-lane, controlled-access 540 will will traverse the Ozark Mountains from Interstate 40 to the northern edge of Fayetteville, where it will connect with U.S. Highway 71. The southernmost 10-mile segment of the 42-mile roadway has already been completed (from Alma to Mountainburg) as the eight miles of highway around Fayetteville.

Arkansas 540 is expected to take traffic off busy U.S. 71, a primarily two-lane highway that runs parallel to 540.

A major construction project within the highway project is the creation of twin 1,600-foot tunnels through a mountain near Winslow, the only highway tunnels in Arkansas. Construction of the Bunyard Road tunnels will cost $37.1 million (which is included in the overall cost above). J.F. Shea Co. of Walnut, Calif., is expected to finish the tunnels this fall.

Two 40,000-gallon water tanks will be installed above the tunnels to provide water in case of an emergency, says Stephens. Five cross passages will be built for emergency access from one of the tunnels to the other. When completed, each tunnel will be 44 feet wide and about 27 feet high.

Northwest Arkansas

Regional Airport

Construction is expected to be completed this fall on the $107 million Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.

A groundbreaking at the airport site on a plateau near Highfill was held in August 1995. Dirt work began in the spring of 1996 at the 2,185-acre site. Paving of the 8,800-foot-long runway began in the spring of 1997. Construction began in September on the terminal building.

Workers at the site have moved 4 million cubic yards of dirt, the equivalent of 300,000 dump truck loads. They’ve installed 29,000 feet of drainage structures and built 5.4 miles of airfield perimeter road.

American Eagle was the first airline to announce it would move its area service from Fayetteville’s Drake Field to the new airport. American Eagle will have 10 roundtrip flights per day to Dallas and two or three roundtrip flights per day to Chicago, says Scott Van Laningham, a spokesman for the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority.

University of Arkansas

Several construction projects are currently underway on the University of Arkansas’ campus in Fayetteville.

The main UA projects include:

n The $15.6 million renovation of the 170,000-SF, six-story Arkansas Union building is the largest project currently underway on campus. The project was estimated last summer at $12 million but additional details have raised costs, says Tom Rufer, director of the Arkansas Union. The renovation of the main building is expected to be finished in November. An additional 40,000-SF building and walkway is scheduled to be finished in the spring of 1999. The walkway will include a 34,000-SF, two-story addition to the Union that will be built east of Garland Avenue.

The addition will include a coffee shop, a 90-station computer lab, student-life offices and a convenience store.

n A $8 million, 210,000-SF intermodal transit facility will be built next to the Arkansas Union. A bridge will connect the Union to the four-story parking garage. Construction of the parking garage and transit facility began Sept. 14. The garage will have three floors of parking (with spaces for 600 cars) and a top floor on the Garland Avenue level for transit buses. Construction is expected to be completed in March 1999.

n Construction of a $7.5 million, 43,200-SF, four-story Science Tower began in October 1997 and is scheduled to be completed by February 1999. The building will house research labs.

n The 41,200-SF, $8.9 million Don Reynolds Center, an addition to the UA’s College of Business, is expected to be finished by November 1998. Construction began on that building last July.

n A $3.7 million renovation and addition to the Engineering Research Center at Engineering South was completed in October 1997. The work included 30,000 SF of renovations and a new 20,000-SF addition.

n A potential $9 million renovation of 37,500 SF Carnall Hall is currently on hold. The campus has been considering whether to renovate Carnall Hall, the second oldest building on campus, or tear it down.