Arkansas Department of Transportation officials says a long-awaited street project in Harrison is expected to get underway in the next few months, and another is on the books with bidding expected to begin next year.
According to the Harrison Daily Times, ArDOT District 9 construction engineer Mitchell Archer says the first project will see improvements to the intersection of Main and Spruce Streets. He adds Ewing Signal Construction, LLC, of Nixa, Missouri, is the main contractor after a winning bid of $153,591.60. Construction work is expected to begin in the spring after potential winter weather breaks.
The second project will be the intersection at U.S. Highway 65 North with Rock Springs Road and Arkansas Highway 43 North. When ArDOT announced earlier this year it was considering improvements to Highway 65 to handle traffic flow, three alternatives were offered for consideration. Two alternatives proposed a bypass around the city on either the north and east or south and west. The third alternative is a six-lane divided highway following the existing roadway from the north interchange to near the Aldi grocery store.
The city of Harrison had lobbied ArDOT for improvements at the Highway 65 intersection with Rock Springs Road and Highway 43, but the agency would not consider it until there was a decision about other improvements. If the third alternative is to be chosen, the potential work at the intersection would be a waste of time and money. While no formal dicision has been announced, the intersection improvement project is on the books, and ArDOT expects to open it up for bidding in September.
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