Residents Weigh In on Garland Construction

Lawns and driveways in Fayetteville are being torn up as crews relocate sewer, water, and gas lines on Garland Avenue, all in preparation to widen the busy street.

“If I had known it was going to be like this when I moved in I probably would have found somewhere else to live,” says resident Robert Bean who lives on Garland Avenue.

Wednesday, crews hit a gas line causing a leak. It was quickly repaired without a major problem, but as crews continue to work, it’s a headache for people who live on the street.

“For awhile, I wasn’t even able to pull into the parking lot,” resident Nancy Rapley says.

“We pull in if we can’t get turned around into the driveway, [and] we have to back out into Garland,” Bean says. “That’s fun, especially if you’re going south and have to back up across.”

Fayetteville City Engineer Chris Brown says the heavily traveled road will be expanded to four lanes.

“It does have bike lanes on either side, sidewalks on both sides as well, and at our major streets intersections, we’ll have turn lanes and also signals,” explains Brown.

Despite the hassle of the construction, people who live on this street say the widening will be worth it.

“I saw quite a few accidents before construction, and I think it’s because there’s just not enough space to get around,” Rapley says. “So I think it’s going to make things a lot easier.”

“This corner right here, since we moved in, I can’t even count how many accidents we’ve seen. Well, haven’t seen, but I come outside and I’m like oh look someone else wrecked,” Bean adds.

Brown says the project will take almost two years to complete.