Plans for the tunnel
Connection to the west
A portion of Garland Avenue closed on Monday morning to allow for the construction of a 270-foot pedestrian trail tunnel near the corner of Knapp Street.
The tunnel will begin at Agriculture Park, run beneath Garland Avenue, and end just to the north of the University of Arkansas’ Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Arena.
Once complete, officials say the tunnel will serve as a major component of the plan to provide a link between the city’s Scull Creek Trail and neighborhoods to the west of Interstate 540.
During the construction process, Garland Avenue traffic will be re-routed through Agri Park.
Construction of the tunnel will require extensive excavation and installation, and motorists are urged to consider alternate routes to avoid delays over the estimated two-week long project.
I hope they design this one better than the other tunnel. Drainage is so bad!!
Agreed! I was running through the other tunnel one time and a drop of water from above dripped directly into my eyeball. All I could think of was that scene from 28 Days Later.
pretty ambitious tunnel. sweet!
Awesome. They can find the money to build a 270″ tunnel under a major thoroughfare but they cann’t find the money to give city employees a pay raise for the last 4 years. Awesome.
@Dave
Correct me if I am wrong but funding for the transportation system (trail system included) was approved by the voters. We are always welcome to have one of our representatives sponsor legislation that changes current tax laws or even introduces new ones.
So yes, we can find the money because the voters said that’s what they wanted.
@Steve – I hope the same. All of the tunnels in the trail system so far were never designed for that use; they were designed for stormwater management. With this tunnel being the first in the city specifically designed for trail use, I hope they are able to prevent the accumulation of water and grime we see in the other tunnels.
is this not the second tunnel designed for trail use…not 100% sure of the name of the road, but the trail (skull creek trail) from wilson park to the washington regional hospital has a tunnel that goes under 4 lanes of roadway above…
richy, my understanding is that all tunnels on current “trails” were existing road overpasses that were designed for limited obstruction of natural stream flows. So they are correct when saying the Agri Park tunnel is the first designed for the alternative transportation system. As such, yes, we would hope it could be designed for a more specific use.
I still say we can’t complain about the current tunnels. It was a great use of existing infrastructure to get the system up and going quickly and cheaply. Does alternative transportation deserve funding on par with motorized vehicular transportation? My opinion is yes, but I am glad they designed the initial trails to use existing infrastructure even if it didn’t ensure trails that would always be dry, clean, and accessible even during periodic high water events.
Heck, it’s Fayetteville…..some of our normal roads are nearly useless several times a year (think near campus on game days!). As someone who really got into the trails this year for exercise AND alternative transportation to a few places, a little water and grime in a few tunnels is not high on a list of complaints. The highest complaint seemed to be lighting and security….the city has continued to respond to this. Connectivity (read EAST-WEST) seemed to be another concern which they are addressing now in the current stage of the plan.
My one thing to add would be signage in Spanish, especially around Lake Fayetteville. My completely anecdotal experience tells me that Hispanic families make up a growing number of the people walking around the Lake, especially on weekends. And the lake is where I have the hardest time passing people because they take up the entire trail. Spanish signage might help folks understand that cyclists need room to pass and when they announce that they are passing the kind thing to do is to not block the entire lane and to steer children or dogs back towards the right.
This tunnel is going to have a sump pump. Sump pump is even more fun to read and write than it is to say. The sump pump should keep it dry down there. I’m glad it will have a sump pump.
so pumped to hear about the sump pump!
Excellent observation. Sump pump is great to read, write and say.
“Sump pump” may be up there with “heebie jeebie” for pleasure o’ pronouncement but is, sadly, no drainage panacea. The beasts need regular maintenance (exercising) and inevitably fail at the most inopportune times.
Let us hope the pumps in question will be duplexed for redundancy. As an expert said of elevators: two or more is a system; one is a toy.
I didn’t know that heebie jeebies came in single units. I always got them by the case. I too hope there are two sump pumps instead of just one sump pump. I get a bad case of the heebie jeebies riding a bike on wet, slippery concrete.