Van Buren officials push Rena Road widening, library opening

story by Marla Cantrell
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The Van Buren city council voted Monday night (Jan. 11) to take over the Rena Road right-of-way acquisition, which is the first move in the widening project planned for the heavily traveled road off Arkansas 59.

The project has been from delays by the Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department. Mayor Bob Freeman said the project was at the top of the state list until stimulus money came in. At that time, the department juggled its schedule to accommodate those projects.

Freeman said he found out just before the first of the year that the Rena Road project wasn’t scheduled to begin for six more months. The city then made the decision to ask Van Buren-based Hawkins-Weir Engineers to submit a proposal to provide the engineering services for the project.

There are approximately 50 parcels of land where the widening will take place. Those parcels will be appraised, reviewed and then each homeowner is contacted and a negotiation to buy the land begins.

Freeman said the city will be reimbursed through federal funding for the acquisition project. The project should take six to nine months to complete.

And possible good news was announced concerning the library, which has been sitting idle since a fire in September 2008 stopped construction on the 19,000-square-foot building. The facility was 85% complete.

Damage from the fire was recently repaired and the city has been waiting for Traveler’s Insurance, the bonding company for the project, to finish the remaining work. Freeman said representatives from Traveler’s have tentative plans to tour the library Thursday, and that could be the final step before the company finally agrees to resume construction.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get this done,” Freeman said.

If construction resumes, the $3.4 million library, which was originally scheduled to open in 2008, should be finished in four months.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Danalene Porter, director of the Van Buren Library, who was at the council meeting. “We’re also thankful for all the work the mayor and council have put into getting us to this point.”

The next council meeting is set for 7 p.m., Feb. 22 in the Municipal Complex.