Let there be light

BERRYVILLE -- The end is in sight for the construction project to install a traffic light and widen U.S. Highway 62, said an official from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.

"They started [paving] this morning," said Stacy Burge, resident engineer for the AHTD, who is overseeing the project. "I don't know if they got rained out, but they should get done by the end of next week. So it will be about two weeks."

Once the paving is complete the highway department will stripe the road, or paint it, and then turn on the light, Burge explained.

"It has gone well, but like any project, there have been some bumps in the road," he continued. "We would have been able to finish last fall if it was not for the weather. It has been a really bad winter and last year in August we had some abnormal rain. We got several inches of rain that we don't normally get and that delayed us."

The project started more than two years ago by the AHTD, Burge estimated. But the city had to begin before the AHTD to lay the groundwork for the project, which included moving city utilities such as water and sewer lines, as well as running the utilities to the light, said Kirby Murray of Berryville Public Works.

Also, the city had to pay an approximate $8,000 to run the power lines under and along the highway because the AHTD had put the control panel on the opposite side of the road from the light, Murray said. The city also had to pay nearly $18,000 when the primary contractor for the project, Journagan Construction, broke a water line.

The construction crew that broke the line has claimed that they performed the necessary steps before digging by calling and confirming their plans with Arkansas One Call. AOC is an agency that notifies excavators of underground utilities before they begin working. Murray said that his crew had marked the line that was broken several times before the digging began, so AOC would have notified the construction company of the water line.

Journagan Construction was paid an approximate $9.4 million for their contract, according to AHTD records. They were asked to reimburse the city for the water line, but they have not indicated that they will to the council or mayor's office, said Mayor Tim McKinney.

"I am sure they will be just as happy to leave as everybody else will be to see them leave," McKinney said. "It has been a long project, but when it is all done, I think it will be an improvement."

McKinney will be addressing the issue of reimbursement at the next council meeting -- tonight -- to see if the aldermen are interested in taking the matter to court, he said.

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