Arkadelphia, Ark. –
Because the City of Arkadelphia saved money by paving 26th Street and parts of Country Club Road and Village Drive with microseal instead of slurry seal, the street department next week will launch a series of repairs on other city streets using hot mix asphalt.
Beginning Monday, the department will seal off Feaster Trail between Baptist Health Medical Center-Arkadelphia and Cypress Road in preparation for paving the section of the trail that City Manager Jimmy Bolt said has the most need.
Until the project is complete, walkers and joggers who use that portion of the trail will have to take a different route.
The next repairs the street department will make will be on North 15th Street from the Mill Creek bridge to Wilson Street, and then on North 14th Street between Evans and Wilson streets.
All roads will be shut off to traffic until the asphalt is paved.
Unlike the microseal project that was recently finished, hot mix does not require six hours to dry.
It is ready for traffic as soon as a steam roller smooths the surface.
After that work is complete, street department supervisor Kenny Myers said department employees will be busy filling in various other patch jobs throughout the city.
Myers said the department intends to be complete with all street repairs before school starts at the end of August.
Among those repairs are remarking the streets that were recently paved with microseal, adding a bicycle trail that will at least 8 feet wide.
There will also be signage placed for motorists in Arkadelphia to use caution and to share the road with bicyclists.
Bolt said he plans to connect Feaster Trail to the Youth Sports Complex, and eventually linking the current trail system to downtown.
The improvements to the trail system are part of the Clark County Strategic Plan.
For more information on bicycle trails, improvements in the county or the Strategic Plan, visit its Web site at www.clarkcountyplan.org.