FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan and other city leaders attended a groudbreaking ceremony Wednesday (Sept. 2) to kick off the start of construction on the extension of Rupple Road.
The extension project is part of a major infrastructure project called the "Mayor's Box." The Mayor's Box is a master plan to create an integrated network of east/west and north/south roadways around the perimeter of Fayetteville that will be connected with miles of trails and sidewalks.
The extension of Rupple Road will provide drivers with an alternate way to get from W. Mount Comfort Road to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Mayor Jordan said it is part of his vision of making Fayetteville a place that will add years to residents' lives.
"By 2016 our goal is to make the city a walkable community," Jordan said. "Of course alternative bikes and transportation fit into that and that is why we have doubled our sidewalks all over the city in the last year."
The Rupple Road improvements project is broken up into three segments:
W. Persimmon Street to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard
This segment will extend Rupple Road south from Owl Creek School (just south of W. Persimmon Street) to connect with Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard at the intersection with Smokehouse Trail. Construction on this segment will begin in September and will take approximately 12 months to complete. The $7.3 million project is being constructed for the City by Sweetser Construction, Inc.
This segment will include:
- Four lanes divided by a grass median with trees
- Grass median designed to accommodate the storm water runoff from the street
- 5-foot wide sidewalk along the east side of the roadway
- 12-foot wide shared-use paved trail along the west side of the roadway
- Signalization of the intersection with Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (upon approval of AHTD)
- Street connections to W. Alberta Street and Catalpa Drive with a four-way roundabout
- Two additional roundabouts for future collector streets
W. Persimmon Street to W. Wedington Drive
This segment of the project will widen the existing section of N. Rupple Road from W. Persimmon Street to Congressional Street, just north of W. Wedington Drive. This segment is currently being designed by the City’s Engineering Division; design is expected to be complete in late 2015. Construction will begin in early 2016 and be complete by the end of 2016.
This segment will include:
- Four lanes divided by a grass center median with trees
- 8-foot wide sidewalk along the east side of the roadway from W. Persimmon Street to W. Wedington Drive
- 12-foot wide shared-use paved trail along the west side of the roadway. The trail will also be extended south of W. Persimmon Street to connect with the trail completed in the first phase of construction
- Addition of a dedicated right turn lane at the intersection with W. Wedington Drive
- Extension of the turn lane for westbound W. Wedington Drive, to provide more stacking for drivers turning south on N. Rupple Road
- Signalization of the intersection with W. Persimmon Street
W. Starry Night View to W. Mt. Comfort Road
The third segment of the project will relocate an existing portion of N. Rupple Road to align with the existing signalized intersection on W. Mt. Comfort Road. This relocation will alleviate the current undesirable offset intersection with W. Mt. Comfort Road and will make it much more efficient and safe for motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, etc. This project is currently being designed by Garver Engineers and is expected to be complete in 2016. Construction is scheduled for 2017 and construction should take approximately 12 months to complete.
This segment will include:
- Four lanes divided by a grass center median with trees
- 6-foot wide sidewalk along the east side of the roadway
- 12-foot wide shared-use paved trail along the west side of the roadway
- New four-lane bridge over Hamestring Creek
- Dedicated right turn lane at the intersection with W. Mt. Comfort Road
- Creation of a four-way signaled intersection with W. Mt. Comfort Road