Because of delays in utility relocations, the widening work on Sheridan Road to five lanes has been delayed until near the end of this year or later.
That’s the latest word from Deric Wyatt, Arkansas Department of Transportation District 2 engineer, who is overseeing the project.
Delays have been caused by weather as well as crews dealing with covid-19, Wyatt said.
Before the end of 2020, Wyatt reported that the utility relocation was about 35% complete.
However, he said, “The letting date has been postponed until November 2021 due to delays with utility relocations.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
It was expected to start this month.
A letting date is the official receipt and opening of bid proposals for highway construction and maintenance projects.
That means construction could be pushed back to possibly later this year or early 2022, Wyatt said.
The widening will extend about two miles on either side of Interstate 530, from the intersection of U.S. 270 and Arkansas 365-S to Arkansas 104 to Arkansas 365. The work is expected to cost about $20 million.
“This project will widen the existing roadway to four lanes with a center left turn lane and include the addition of curb and gutter with storm drains and sidewalks along both sides of the highway,” Wyatt said.
Once started, the widening will take about two to three years to complete, Wyatt said.
This area is one of the most congested in the city, White Hall Mayor Noel Foster said.
The widening project will alleviate that problem, he said.
According to traffic counts, there are about 8,900 vehicles traveling on the three-lane road on the west side of I-530 each day, with about 13,000 traveling on the east side during the same period.
Foster said the highway department is working hard to make it happen.
“It is reassuring to me. … They are doing the best they can. I just have to be patient,” he said.