SPRINGDALE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Don Tyson Parkway is set to be extended west from the roundabout at Gene George Boulevard to Highway 112.
This comes after the city council approved a construction contract with APAC Central, Inc. at its Aug. 12 meeting for $6,964,142.45, which will be paid for through the 2023 street bond and an STBGP-A grant. Mayor Doug Sprouse said this extension coincides with the city’s plan to provide a grid of east-to-west connections from one end of the city to another.
“The way our population’s grown, I think, relatively speaking, you still get around Springdale very well both east to west and north to south,” Sprouse said.
City engineering director Ben Peters said it acquired a home located at 5957 Dearing Road, which will be the starting point of the 0.8-mile extension. After weaving through wooded areas and fields, the road will reconnect with a roundabout at the intersection of Highway 112 and Kissinger Avenue.
There will be a 12-foot sidewalk alongside the extension that will connect to the path that the Arkansas Department of Transportation is including next to Highway 112, Sprouse said.
If it is needed, while the roundabout construction is being completed on Highway 112, Sprouse said temporary traffic signals will be installed.
Richard Keen, a Springdale resident, said the roundabout installations will be a learning curve for some drivers, but he’s excited for them because they will keep traffic flowing and not be stopped at a light.
Keen said it takes him about five minutes to get to Interstate 49 as is, but thinks the new Don Tyson Parkway extension will cut that time down.
“I realize that we need infrastructure here in here in Springdale,” Keen said. “We’re not the best-kept secret any longer.”
Sprouse thinks the extension will open up more business and development opportunities, as well.
“That’s always a plus because that’s what helps drive commerce and our economy and our sales tax and our ability to address growth,” Sprouse said.
Peters said that the goal is to start construction in September with an 18-month construction period, hoping to complete it around December 2026.
During the time construction is ongoing, Sprouse urges drivers to remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings when around road crews.
“Construction is never painless,” Sprouse said. “I just always ask for patience and know that you’re going to like it a whole lot better when it’s finished.”
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