Board to review $116 million five-year streets, drainage budget

The Fort Smith board of directors will on Tuesday (Sept. 28) review a $116 million five-year capital improvement program for streets, bridges and drainage, with a little more than $36 million for neighborhood road overlay and reconstruction.

Stan Snodgrass, the city’s director of engineering, said the five-year plans are presented each year and focus primarily on ongoing projects and projects likely to begin within the next two calendar years. Anything beyond two years “is often a best guess” as to costs and revenues available.

He said the city is usually able to get at least 75% of the planned work completed each year. For example, of the $7 million in planned street overlays in 2010, all but about $1.2 million was completed. finished. The $8.08 million in neighborhood overlays in 2011 includes the $1.2 million carry over from 2010. Also, the $2 million in drainage in 2011 includes $1.8 million in ongoing construction projects.

More than 80% of money for projects in the five-year plan comes from the 1% street tax, with the rest coming from state and federal grants, building permit assessment fees and matches from private developers.

In 2011, the plans calls for 11.8 miles of overlays, with the longest section on 23rd Street between Sixth Street and Spradling Ave.

The 2011 plan also calls for moving forward on drainage projects designed to alleviate the persistent storm-related flooding in several areas of downtown and north Fort Smith. The $850,000 for the Town Branch-Carnall drainage will be added to the $559,000 spent in 2010 to clean about 1500 feet of storm sewer drains and relocate a sanitary sewer line.

A new Arkansas 45/Old Greenwood Road bridge over Interstate 540 and widening of 45 to Zero Street carries over into 2011 from the 2010 plan. The city allocated $5.8 million for the project in 2010.

“The design and construction are by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD). The estimated project cost is $13.4 million with the City’s share at $7.6 million. The AHTD estimates the construction contract will be let in November. The construction is estimated to last 18-24 months,” Snodgrass noted in his memo.

The 2011 plan would also complete the Garrison Avenue Streetscape program, with $1.95 million in federal grants helping pay to push work from Ninth Avenue to Rogers Avenue.

Road work at Chaffee Crossing is estimated at $7 million between 2011-2015, with $3 million budgeted for 2011. Much of the 2011 work is to build road and drainage for the planned Mitsubishi plant.

Link here for the complete agenda of the board’s Sept. 28 study session.