The Bella Vista Bypass grabbed the attention of the McDonald County Coalition during the June 17 meeting.
Tim Conklin, Transportation Programs Manager at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, addressed the coalition.
Conklin listed the Bella Vista Bypass, also known as Arkansas Highway 549, as one of the major transportation projects of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission along with the U.S. Highway 412 bypass of Springdale, the NWA Regional Airport access road, Interstate 49 improvements, and creation of an eastern north-south corridor as other top priorities.
Conklin noted that regional transportation goals are to "provide a comprehensive intermodal transportation system which most efficiently serves the human and economic needs of the metropolitan area and Northwest Arkansas region."
The Bella Vista Bypass is to start at the interchange with I-49 and U.S. Highway 71 in northern Bentonville. The bypass will run west to Hiwasse, then turn to the north at the interchange with Arkansas Highway 72 west of Hiwasse. Running along the western edge of Bella Vista, the bypass enters Missouri. After an interchange with Missouri Route 90, the bypass will rejoin U.S. 71 near Pineville.
It will be a 19-mile-long highway to connect Bentonville to Pineville. About five miles of the highway will be in Missouri.
Frank Miller, district planning manager for Southwest District of the Missouri Department of Transportation, attended the McDonald County Coalition meeting and provided the following information regarding the Bella Vista Bypass status:
• The land for the future roadway in Arkansas has been purchased.
• The required environmental studies are complete; however, these studies will have to be updated before construction can happen.
• Final design work has not happened.
• Missouri has $24.2 million in the draft Statewide Transportation Improvement Program for the Bella Vista Project in 2020. This includes $7.7 million left over from I-49 work north of Joplin. However, this falls short of the estimated $58 million needed for final design and to construct. We will keep delaying the $24.2 million beyond 2020 until the additional funds can be found to fill the $33.8 million funding gap.
• Missouri transportation revenues have not kept pace with project costs. Missouri's Amendment Three and the federal stimulus bill provided some big infusions, but those programs are over. The state and federal gas tax was last raised in the 1990s while inflation for concrete, oil, steel and asphalt has all gone up significantly during that time. Miller said, "as Tim Conklin explained in his presentation, we cannot afford to keep up with maintaining our system, let alone continue to build major projects like the Bella Vista Bypass. It will take some sort of new funding source to complete the Bella Vista Bypass because we will have to focus all of the funds we can on resurfacing and bridge work on Missouri's primary system."
Upon being asked for his input regarding the status of the Bella Vista Bypass, Danny Straessle, public information officer for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, said "the pendulum has swung both ways -- at times Missouri has had money for the funding of the bypass and at times Arkansas has had the funding. The economics and priorities of both states are different. It is a matter of time until both states have the funding needed to complete the bypass -- it is not a question of 'if' the bypass will be completed, but 'when' it will be completed."
Straessle said the total construction cost for the Bella Vista Bypass is estimated at $150.6 million.
"Arkansas is completing the bypass in phases as money becomes available," Straessle said. "The price of progress is a lot of patience. This project is taking a long time. We hope our friends to the north in Missouri will find a way to fund their section of the bypass; when they do, we'll meet them."
Community on 07/02/2015