An unpaved road leading to a large poultry farm operation near Garvin, Oklahoma. (Photo by Juan Vassallo/Investigate Midwest)
Arkansas will spend around $735,000 to improve drainage and water quality along unpaved roads in 12 counties, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office announced Thursday.
“The vast majority of county roads in Arkansas are unpaved,” County Judges’ Association of Arkansas President Judge Rusty McMillon said in a press release. “This program provides much needed funding for improving sections of gravel roads that are sometimes left impassable due to significant erosion during rainfall and water runoff.”
Unpaved roads are a source of elevated sediment in ditches and streams as the roads erode and runoff from storms enters rivers and lakes. Too much sediment can harm wildlife and water quality, and can also increase costs for treating drinking water. The Arkansas Unpaved Roads Program, created in 2015, under the state Department of Agriculture was established to help address this.
The partnership with the state also helps make roads safer, McMillon said.
“Today’s announcement guarantees hardworking Arkansans in rural communities throughout the Natural State will have access to safe and reliable roads,” Sanders said in the release. She thanked the Arkansas Unpaved Roads Technical Committee and Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward for “spearheading this important effort to improve our state’s critical infrastructure.”
Many of the 12 projects will see the drainage and culverts along unpaved county roads improved or installed. The cost of the projects range from $37,352 to $75,000.
The funds come from the Arkansas Unpaved Roads Program, which is managed by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. Projects funded by the program are reviewed and recommended by the Arkansas Unpaved Roads Technical Committee.
List of counties and awarded funds:
-Benton County – $75,000
-Calhoun County – $75,000
-Dallas County – $54,198
-Fulton County – $37,352
-Hot Spring County – $60,000
-Independence County – $56,109
-Lawrence County – $45,680
-Lincoln County – $74,894
-Scott County – $57,446
-Sebastian County – $49,459
-Sevier County – $75,000
-Woodruff County – $74,867
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