ArDOT wants feedback on Highway 112 widening project in Washington County
by November 16, 2022 12:50 pm 2,452 views
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) is seeking comments on a $65.5 million project to widen Arkansas Highway 112 from Fayetteville to Tontitown. The proposed 4.07-mile project will include a raised median and seven roundabouts.
A design public hearing is set from 4 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 1 at Mount Comfort Church of Christ at 3249 W. Mount Comfort Road in Fayetteville. Attendees can view project materials, speak to project staff and submit comments. According to the comment form, respondents can choose whether to take no action on the project or build it. ArDOT also will accept comments online through Dec. 30.
The project is expected to widen the highway from north of Howard Nickell Road to south of U.S. Highway 412. Highway 112 will be widened from two to four lanes, divided by a 15-foot raised median with turnaround locations every one-quarter mile. One side of the road will include a 12-foot-wide sidepath, and the other will have a five-foot-wide sidewalk.
The seven roundabouts will be at Hidden Acres Road, Clear Creek Boulevard, Greathouse Springs Road/Reed Valley Road, Steele and New Hope roads, Don Tyson Parkway extension/Kissinger Avenue, Apple Blossom Lane and Fletcher Avenue. Steele and New Hope roads will be realigned to allow them to intersect at a single roundabout.
Plans show the project will require the relocation of three residential owners, three residential tenants, two businesses and one farm. The Clear Creek bridge will be replaced as part of the project.
Within the project area, ArDOT traffic data shows that an average of 7,800 to 9,800 vehicles per day use the highway.
According to ArDOT documents, if no significant impacts are found with the project, it will be submitted for federal approval.
Dave Parker, public information officer for ArDOT, said construction on the project is expected to start in June 2024. The project will be completed in three phases, starting in 2024 and 2025. Construction is expected to take 18 to 21 months to complete, meaning the project could be completed by 2027 if all phases of work started by 2025.
In a separate Highway 112 project, construction to widen a nearly 12-mile segment of the highway between Tontitown and Bentonville was slated to start in 2023, with completion in 2025 or 2026. In 2021, it was estimated to be an $87.9 million project.