Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Highway Department calls meeting

Those interested in gaining information about the widening of Highway 24 in Prescott will have their opportunity. The Arkansas Highway Department has announced a public meeting for Thursday, April 26, at Prescott City Hall. The meeting is slated to begin at 6 p.m.

The meeting apparently came in response to questions and concerns voiced by two Prescott residents at the April 16 meeting of the Prescott City Council.

Gayle Young and Meredith DeWoody addressed the council, each expressing their concerns about the project.

Young then presented the council with a petition calling for the project to be put aside. The petition had 96 names and while Young said it was not a binding document, she said it was an indication that there is opposition.

Young cited the cutting of many trees along the highway and aesthetics among her objections.

When you look at Main Street - my street - there are a lot of older homes, Young said. Those old tree-lined streets say something about the community.

She said the location of the flags mean the utilities will be very close to some of the homes.

Its going to put the power poles nearly at the front doors, Young said.

When DeWoody took the floor, she asked several questions, including how the widening will help with safety concerns.

When you widen that road, you are going to have more rapid traffic than you have now, she said.

The question of how children walking to and from school will safely cross three lanes of traffic was also asked.

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor said there are a couple of major points the project will address. One of those is the intersection of Highway 24 and Cale Road. Two streets converge onto the highway at the same point. While Taylor didnt have a drawing of what changes the highway department have planned, he said it will be very different from the current configuration.

The inclusion of a turning lane is designed to handle the flow of traffic as motorists are making turns both to the Prescott High School and to McRae Middle School.

Another point is that the city will be reimbursed for the placement of new city utilities, including water, sewer and electric lines. The city has reportedly produced documentation that the utilities were in place before the road was designated a state highway, meaning the state will pay for the relocation of those utilities.

According to Don Donaldson, a highway department engineer stationed at Hope, the normal procedure is for the city to pay for the project up front with reimbursement from the state.

Taylor said the city will do some of the work but will bid out the water and sewer lines.

City Manager Billy House, speaking to a group of council members and citizens following the April city council meeting, said the utilities are old and in need of replacement. He said the city will be facing an expensive project without the states assistance.

Both Young and DeWoody said they had attempted to gain answers to their questions, but had not considered that the city council was where theyd get those answers.

I was remiss in not contacting the city because I thought it was an Arkansas Highway Department project, DeWoody said.

She then read from a letter written by Arkansas Highway Commissioner Dan Flowers. The letter stated that the project had received city approval and would move forward without objection from the city.

Councilman Howard Austin said the highway department had presented the project to the council as a done deal.

I dont feel comfortable with this project because the buck is being passed, Austin said. The bottom line is the highway department needs to make it clear who made this choice.

At one point, Taylor said, I have, on behalf of the council, voiced our approval.

Councilman James Cornelius asked Taylor if Prescott City Attorney Glenn Vasser could contact the highway department and call for another meeting.

Taylors first response was that he didnt believe the department could let bids by the date theyd indicated - May 1. When Cornelius repeated the request, Taylor agreed.

Personally, Id like to see the street widened, Cornelius said. But I can live with it either way.

During a phone interview last week, Donaldson said the state had not acquired all the rights-of-way necessary and that the project would likely not begin until 2008. During that conversation, he said the department has more projects than funding.

Donaldson said its possible that the project will be put aside if the citys not behind it.