At Last, U.S. 412 Northern Bypass Under Construction

The largest single road construction contract in Arkansas history, for a 4.2-mile leg of the U.S. 412 Northern Bypass, is underway at two locations in Benton County.

Scrapers and bulldozers are already clearing the path for the four-lane highway just west of Interstate 49 at South Zion Street, and just north of Carrie Smith Road on Arkansas Highway 112.

The $100.6 million contract, awarded to Eutaw Construction Co. of Aberdeen, Mississippi, will include 14 bridges, a large interchange at Interstate 49, and a smaller one at Highway 112. Construction is expected to take about four-and-half years, to mid-2019, and over 100 people, many of them local, will be working on the road during peak construction.

Bobby Elmore, president of Eutaw Construction, said his company was eager to land the prized contract.

“Eutaw was extremely pleased to have won this bid,” he said. “Over the last several years, Eutaw has constructed several projects for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, including a portion of I-49 in Miller County. We had been tracking this project for the last year and a half, anticipating the opportunity.” 

Eutaw beat out six contractors from five states to land the job. Another 13 companies had proposals but did not bid on the project.

The April 15 groundbreaking at Goad Springs Road — attended by A-list planners, city officials and civic leaders — went smoothly, but arriving at that point wasn’t easy.

On the priority list, or at least in the discussion, for about 20 years, the bypass seemed to teeter between myth and reality, like the Bella Vista Bypass.

But behind the scenes from 2009 to this January, the state spent $26.5 million to purchase 103 tracts of land to make way for the stretch between Highway 112 and I-49.

And in November 2012, Arkansas voters approved a temporary, half-cent sales tax to fund the construction of four-lane highways across the state. The result was the $1.8 billion Connecting Arkansas Program, or CAP, of which the 412 Bypass is a part.

The groundbreaking ceremony was important enough that Bobby Hopper, a former chairman of the Arkansas Highway Commission, and a man many consider the godfather of Northwest Arkansas highways, was on hand.

“It means a whole lot to me,” he said, shortly after a ceremonial shoveling of dirt.

 

Orange Barrels

The entire 20.6-mile project will loop north around Springdale from Tontitown on the west to near Sonora on the east. Meant to alleviate congestion and to provide enhanced access to Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, most of the construction will take place in undeveloped areas of Washington and Benton counties.

At this point, no other sections of the bypass are funded, according to the highway department.

Dick Trammel of Rogers, chairman of the highway commission, said he can remember a time when I-49 did not exist, when U.S. 71 was just two lanes, and when Bentonville had nothing but blinking lights. So to preside over a groundbreaking for a $100 million project was an honor, he said.

He also said the highway will benefit the entire population of Northwest Arkansas.

“Highways are for everyone — Republicans, Democrats, cities, churches, schools — everyone,” he said. “It’s a feather in the people’s cap. They helped make it happen.”

This is a turnkey project, meaning Eutaw is the general contractor from start to finish. However, local subcontractors for construction, signage, striping, guardrails, fencing, asphalt and concrete paving, erosion control and engineering, will be used.

“We anticipate that over 100 people will be working on this project during peak construction,” Elmore said. “We anticipate that a large portion of the project workforce will be from the NWA area.” 

In addition to the 412 Bypass and six-lane widening along I-49, the CAP program includes three portions of the Bella Vista Bypass: Construction from Arkansas Highway 72 to I-49, at about $52.6 million; and two projects with set asides — contingent on funding decisions by the state of Missouri — of as much as $70 million for an interchange in Bella Vista and construction from Benton County Road 34 to the Missouri Line.

With construction ongoing for the foreseeable future, Trammel said it would only be natural for motorists to become frustrated.

“When you see orange barrels, just have patience because it will get better,” he said.

 

Good Relationships

The boom in Northwest Arkansas construction comes as dollars from the Federal Highway Trust Fund become an increasingly uncertain source of support for state highways.

In March, Arkansas announced that, year to date, it had withdrawn a total of 61 projects totaling $162 million due to federal shortages. Pulled projects in this region included two each in Benton and Carroll counties, and one each in Washington and Madison counties.

The Arkansas situation reflects a greater national trend and the debate over whether the 18.4-cent gas tax should be raised. In an era of falling fuel consumption, the gas tax, last raised in 1993, is no longer adequate for the nation’s highway needs.

Trammel was succinct in his assessment of the situation.

“We’ve got to have more funding,” he said.

While the federal question remains unanswered, at least for the next few years, the future in Northwest Arkansas is assured. With widening projects, interchange improvements across Washington and Benton counties, and headliners like the Prairie Grove Bypass, a lot of roads are going to be built.

Mike Malone, president and chief executive officer of the Northwest Arkansas Council, said projects like the bypass bring short- and long-term benefits.

“Highway construction means job creation,” Malone said. “But the access this provides is what’s really going to make the difference in the economic development of the area.”

Property values near the bypass are expected to rise as the new road will open up new investment opportunities, Malone said. More important, however, is the statement the bypass makes as Northwest Arkansas continues to compete with places like Tulsa and Kansas City, and as it looks to emulate places like Austin, Texas, and Portland, Oregon.

“It’s going to send a message to companies wanting to relocate here,” Malone said. “This is a community that believes in infrastructure.”

One of Eutaw’s construction managers has already moved to Northwest Arkansas and rents a property in the Elm Springs area. Another manager, Keith Clark, who presides over Eutaw’s transportation division, will be in and out of the region for the next several years. Eutaw is also bringing in grading and bridge superintendents. 

Elmore said his boots on the ground will be able to get the job done.

“All of these individuals are extremely experienced and capable to handle a project of this magnitude and provide the high-level service that is typical of Eutaw Construction,” he said.

Eutaw has worked in Arkansas before, with projects including the Mississippi River bridge approach in Chicot County, a highway connector in Lincoln County, and the I-49 link in Miller County. Eutaw is also currently building site pads at Big River Steel’s new $1.3 billion mill in Mississippi County, north of Memphis, Tennessee.

Important as the other projects are, it is the bypass that will keep Eutaw up in this corner of the state for over four years. 

“We are looking forward to building this project as well as building several good relationships in the Northwestern Arkansas area,” Elmore said. “We intend to be very involved in the community and supportive of local business.”