Construction of the four-mile section of the U.S.
This is one of the region’s highest priority projects as it will facilitate an easier drive to Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport from Interstate 49 and also provide another east-west corridor for traffic through north Springdale, according to the Northwest Arkansas Council.
The Phase I project is slated to begin early next year. The $100.62 million bid went to Eutaw Construction of Aberdeen, Miss., to build the four-mile, four-lane section of the highway that will make the drive to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport more accessible from I-49.
This project is part of the overall transportation infrastructure that has been made possible because statewide voters approved a half-cent sales tax in November 2012. That sales tax is supporting the Connecting Arkansas Program (CAP).
The CAP is paying for major projects across the state, including three key Northwest Arkansas projects. Widening sections of I-49 to six lanes, building a two-lane version of the Bella Vista Bypass and construction of the four-mile section of the U.S. 412 Bypass of Springdale are the largest CAP projects in Northwest Arkansas.
PRIORITY PROJECTS
The three Northwest Arkansas projects for more than a decade have been listed as top priorities for state and Northwest Arkansas leaders, according the Northwest Arkansas Council.
U.S. 412 Bypass construction crews will cut a path that heads west from I-49 near the Wagon Wheel Road exit. They’ll build bridges over creeks and secondary roads on their way to where the bypass will connect with Arkansas Highway 112. The work is scheduled to be complete in late 2018, according to the Northwest Arkansas Council.