|
Bryant water study complete |
|
|
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 |
A new study on the Forest Cove watershed project is complete and plans to reconstruct the Arkansas 5 bridge will go to bid by Monday, Bryant City Council members learned this week.
The city has been dealing with flooding issues for more than 10 years in certain areas of Bryant. In January 2007, the city hired FTN and Associates of Little Rock to find ways to alleviate or correct the problems.
FTN, an environmental consulting firm, specializes in solving problems related to the environment. It began a project designed to help identify problems and determine what should be done to improve stormwater drainage in Forest Cove, Sunset Meadows, West Pointe, Springhill Acres, Springhill Manor, Sherwood Estates and Northridge subdivisions. The objective was to identify specific items that can be addressed without causing additional harm to other points in the watershed.
The best way to control flooding is to replace the box culverts on the Arkansas 5 bridge near Larry’s Pizza, according to the study. Bryant Public Work Director Richard Penn said all the other projects in the plan are impacted by this bridge.
City officials were asked in May how replacing the culverts night impact the Hurricane Creek area downstream from the bridge. Penn told the council at that time that he talked to FTN representatives about extending the watershed study from Interstate 30 to Ashlea Place in Bryant.
“It is going to be the same amount of water and it is going to be the same flood area,” Penn said of the Arkansas 5 bridge project. “We are going to get the water there quicker, which could make an impact at any given point.”
Penn said at Monday night’s council meeting that FTN completed its second study and that replacing the culverts on the Arkansas 5 bridge should not cause flooding in the Hurricane Creek area.
“I received a written opinion from FTN,” Penn said. “The conclusion is that there is unlikely to have susceptible impact on flooding further downstream.
“The numbers, calculated for a 10-year and a 50-year event, was one-one hundredth of a foot, which is an eighth of a foot [of rising water]. This was an opinion from an engineer with a lot of years experience who had seen this before, but he put the numbers to it.”
McClelland Consulting Engineers Inc. of Little Rock was hired in April to prepare the plan to replace culverts on the bridge. Representatives said that once a redesign is completed, it would have to be approved by the Arkansas Highway and Transpor-tation Department. On Monday, Penn said that the highway department is reviewing the plans.
“We expect to have their comments this week,” Penn said. “Then we will advertise for bids for construction by ... June 30.”
Penn said he and McClelland representatives met with the utility companies about the bridge project. He said all the companies except AT&T could have utility lines moved easily.
“AT&T has a huge line, I think about 12 separate conduits,” Penn said. “It could be expensive. It is very significant and timely for us.”
However, Penn said he expects the plans to replace the culverts to continue as planned with construction planned to begin on July 19 through Sept. 13.
On May 30, the council also approved McClelland to design a temporary road that would route traffic around the bridge through city streets. The estimated cost for construction is $144,500. The original design plan figured the construction cost at $200,000.
Penn also said the plan calls for reimbursement for the redesign and/or the construction of the Arkansas 5 bridge from either Federal Emergency Management Agency or AHTD.
|
Razorbacks
