Vehicles travel north near the site of a flyover bridge that will soon connect College Avenue traffic to the Fulbright Expressway and the Mall Avenue and Shiloh Drive area.
Todd Gill, Flyer Staff
City officials expect work to soon begin on the highly anticipated flyover bridge that will connect northbound College Avenue traffic to the Fulbright Expressway and shopping areas near the Northwest Arkansas Mall.
Instead of making a U-turn at Joyce Boulevard, drivers will be able to take a left-lane bridge that extends over southbound College Avenue traffic. Drivers can then head west on the Fulbright Expressway or exit into the Mall Avenue and Shiloh Drive area between Logan’s Roadhouse and Olive Garden.
A conceptual drawing shows how the flyover bridge will connect northbound College Avenue traffic to the Fulbright Expressway and the Mall Avenue area.
Staff-modified graphic
Pre-construction work could start as early as Monday, Jan. 28, including installation of signage, mobilization of equipment, and placement of silt fencing and other erosion and sediment control devices.
No lane closures are planned as part of the pre-construction process.
Emery Sapp & Sons of Columbia, Mo. was the low bidder on the project and has been awarded the $6.3 million construction contract. The contract allots 17 months for the company to complete and open the bridge to traffic.
The flyover project is 80 percent funded by a 2006 federal earmark appropriation for the Fayetteville Expressway Economic Development Corridor. The city’s portion, which will be paid from the Transportation Bond Fund, is expected to cost about $1.47 million.
The project is scheduled to be complete by mid-2014.
