Rep. Womack tours Van Buren port, makes calls on slackwater harbor project

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, on Tuesday (July 8) made a few calls in an effort to help ensure the slackwater harbor project in Van Buren remains on track for a first-quarter 2027 completion.

Womack was in Van Buren for an update on the estimated $18.16 million project and to tour the Five Rivers Distribution operation which will manage the harbor.

Construction on the slackwater harbor in Van Buren along the Arkansas River is set to begin in April 2026, with completion of the long-awaited regional infrastructure asset estimated to be in the first quarter of 2027, according to the the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District (WAPDD), which is a parent agency of the Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority (WAIA).

The U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced in November 2023 a $15.096 million grant to help fund construction of the harbor. The harbor will be off the main channel of the Arkansas River and will be 1,000 feet long and 200 feet wide and have the capacity to moor and offload up to eight barges at a time. The harbor will have roughly 2,000 feet of dock frontage with a 50-foot-wide concrete deck for mobile cranes.

Van Buren-based Five Rivers Distribution, which has port operations in Van Buren and operates the Port of Fort Smith, has committed to providing more than $3 million in matching funds for the project. According to Marty Shell, Five Rivers owner, the harbor’s concrete deck will be above the 100-year flood to ensure year-round operation. The new slip will have lighting for extended operating times and improved safety.

The new harbor is expected to better facilitate the movement of containers and bulk products such as steel coils, wire rod coils, bar stock, pig iron, bulk feed, chemical, and petroleum goods and all break bulk and finished goods products, according to WAIA. Based on anticipated demand growth, the harbor could handle almost 530,000 tons by 2050.

Ashley Garris, WAPDD assistant executive director, and Shell told Womack they are concerned that delays by MARAD to approve design, environmental and other agreements could delay project construction. Garris said without approval coming soon, project completion will likely be pushed further into 2027.

Shell said they are now working with the fourth different MARAD project manager in 2.5 years. He also said his business has spent $700,000 to keep the project on track, but needs the federal agency to soon ensure the project will move forward.

“The other issue is that with every delay it makes the cost of this go up,” Shell said.

Shell also said with the river at or near flood stage for the past three months, building a slackwater harbor is a safety issue for the region.

“I wouldn’t worry each night about barges breaking away like I am now,” he said.

Womack, a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, and chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Committee (THUD), made two calls to staff members with the THUD committee. Avery Pierson, a committee staffer, said she would make contacts at MARAD and report back to Womack.

“There will be an answer to this,” Womack told Garris and Shell, and added later in the meeting that he is optimistic he can “encourage” MARAD to move faster on approvals needed to keep the project on track.

Shell said he is confident Womack’s direct involvement will help.

“Womack is always looking out for us on this project. His connections should get us out of the queue and get things moving,” he said.