A community’s livability depends on more than just scenery, schools, or job opportunities. It also relies on the strength of its infrastructure. Without reliable roads and connections, growth in the area may be limited.
In northwest Arkansas, the Springdale Bypass (Highway 612) is under construction to attract new residents and support the growing population. The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) and general contractor Emery Sapp & Sons (ESS) are leading the charge to get this critical piece of infrastructure up and running.
In June 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the population of northwest Arkansas (comprising Benton, Madison, and Washington counties) exceeded 575,000, making it the 100th largest metropolitan area in the country.
The census also reported that the area is adding an average of 36 people per day. The growth is expected to continue, with the Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Transportation Plan projecting a population of nearly a million by 2045. The area has been featured on multiple lists ranking the best places to live in the U.S.
One of the draws to the area is that it serves as the headquarters for several companies listed on the Fortune 500. These include:
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- Walmart
- Tyson Foods
- J.B. Hunt Transport Services
- Dillard's Department Stores
- Murphy USA
Besides bringing jobs to the area, the businesses also attract large amounts of traffic.
The construction of the east-west Springdale Bypass is taking place in four phases. Upon completion, the four-lane, divided highway will span over 21 miles through Benton and Washington counties. The current project, which is the second of four phases, covers a distance of 7 miles. It ties into the first phase.
According to ARDOT’s website, the “selected alignment alternative begins at an interchange with existing Highway 412 west of Tontitown, where the highway presently changes from four to five lanes, and will end with an interchange on existing Highway 412 just west of Beaver Lake."
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Area planners view the bypass as critical to maintain travel conditions in the area. The Northwest Arkansas Council’s website said that the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission considers the bypass to be its No. 1 priority.
Currently, drivers pass through a city with stop lights to connect between major routes, I-49 and Highway 412. There is a significant amount of truck traffic on both roads.
"The bypass will connect to the XNA [Northwest Arkansas National Airport], which is seeing tremendous growth," said Dave Parker, Communications Division Head for ARDOT.
On this greenfield project, the team is grading and excavating more than 3 million cubic yards of earthwork.
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“We're seeing a lot of red cherty material," said Caleb Biancarelli, a Project Manager with Emery Sapp & Sons. "There have been a few locations that have required blasting due to solid rock as well."
The team is installing 15 bridges as part of the bypass, including two 968-foot bridges that span the Brush Creek. Most of the bridges are over country roads.
According to Emery Sapp & Sons’ website, each of the bridges is made of “locally sourced materials, such as quarry rock, steel, ready mix concrete, rebar, and reinforced concrete pipe.”
The team has run into a challenge related to utility work. Much of the 7-mile stretch that the bypass will cover was pasture ground and cattle grounds. Therefore, the as-built records were lacking.
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"Utilities are always a challenge, particularly on a greenfield project," Parker said.
Once the team was in the field, they discovered that utility lines crossed the project in three different places.
"We knew this to some extent, but it's more complex than we expected," Parker said. "You can never be certain what's beneath the ground until crews start moving dirt."
The discovery of more utilities (and related complexities) than expected adds to the workload in several ways, including increased dealings with utility companies.
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When the crew’s safety was threatened by the discovery of nearby utility lines, the Emery Sapp & Sons website said that “leaders from ESS and ARDOT immediately began working together to find a solution, ultimately coordinating with eight local utility subcontractors to safely relocate each line over the course of the next year."
"Some of the utility relocations ran longer than we expected," Biancarelli said, "and some are still lingering. ... But by partnering with ARDOT, we're able to work around the utility relocation and move the project forward.”
To maintain the schedule and costs, the team has taken steps to keep the project progressing while the utility work is ongoing.
"Whenever you plan to move 3 million cubic yards of earthworks, you bring in a lot of yellow iron, so it gets expensive very quickly," Biancarelli said.
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Ultimately, the extra utility work has not been difficult to handle, but it has required the team to put more focus on communicating with the utility companies and to be patient and flexible.
Because of the extra utility work, Emery Sapp & Sons changed the way it planned on moving the dirt.
"We knew where our cut and our fills were, but had to reconsider the way to attack them," Biancarelli said. "At least twice a week, we’re planning our next step to determine what made the most sense."
The team used a small robotic surveyor on the project. The TinySurveyor robot automates the task of marking dowel basket placements. This is a job traditionally handled by a stringless tech walking both sides of the pavement, dropping a mark every 15 feet. The robot provides greater precision, reduced manual labor, and improved safety.
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Emery Sapp & Sons has its headquarters in Columbia, Missouri. However, the company has offices throughout the Midwest, including one 10 minutes away from the project.
"Whenever you have a job that is right outside one of your back doors for one of your offices, it's of interest as we want to give back to the community," Biancarelli said.
The local community has taken notice of and appreciated the work.
"I've never been on a project where random people stop into the job trailer and thank us for knocking the job out as fast as possible," Biancarelli said.
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The contractor's ability to self-perform gave it a leg up in the bidding process.
"We [ARDOT] have a long history with them and were confident in having them take on this project," Parker said.
The $180 million project is currently on budget. The project is funded by a mix of regular federal formula funds and state funds.
Construction on the project began in spring 2024. The team is striving to make the scheduled completion date, which is the end of 2026.
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"Now that the utility issues have been discovered and handled, the project is progressing well," Parker said. "The contractor has done a good job of working with us to mitigate utility issues and keep [the] project moving forward."
"For a job this size to be going this smoothly, it's a testament to everyone involved, from our employee-owners in the field to ARDOT and Emery Sapp & Sons office personnel," Biancarelli said.
When the Springdale Bypass is complete, traveling around northern Arkansas will be a smoother and faster experience. By providing a safer and more direct connection to the airport, the new route will also relieve pressure on the busy two-lane highway currently serving travelers.
- Owner/Engineer: Arkansas Department of Transportation
- General Contractor: Emery Sapp & Sons, Columbia, Missouri
- Designer: Garver, North Little Rock, Arkansas
