Project Description

In an effort to ease traffic congestion along Arkansas State Highway 45, the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department and the City of Fort Smith, Arkansas conducted a joint street widening and bridge replacement project. Located in south Fort Smith between Phoenix Avenue and Zero Street (State Highway 255), the project included the widening of approximately a 0.9 mile section of State Highway 45 and replacement of a bridge over Interstate Highway 540. In preparation for the widening project, the City of Fort Smith selected Hawkins-Weir to design municipal utility relocations to accommodate major improvements and lane realignments at the State Highway 45 and Zero Street intersection along with some minor utility relocations at the Phoenix Avenue intersection. Work included relocation of 10, 12, 16 and 20-inch water mains and 8 and 15-inch sanitary sewer lines. The majority of these relocated utilities required installation of steel encasement pipes by boring to lessen traffic disruptions during construction. The project also included rehabilitation of an existing 18-inch sanitary sewer line with a cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) liner.