Fayetteville could turn 71B into less of a highway and more of a main street
71 Business, more commonly known as College Ave., will become a city street if the Fayetteville city council approves an agreement with the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
That stretch of state highway is about 6-and-a-half miles north and south through the city.
"It's an agreement with ARDOT for the city to take over the maintenance, reconstruction and care of the highway," Garner Stoll, director of development services said.
The city has wanted to do several projects in the past few years that it simply couldn't do since the stretch of road is technically still a state highway.
"Under highway standards, we couldn't do the median, plant the trees where we wanted to plant them, widen the sidewalks, bring the buildings up to the streets," Stoll said. "Many of the parts of the plan just don't fit on the state highway."
The city wants to beautify the street and make it more pedestrian friendly, which is something it can't do if the road is owned by the state.
ARDOT spokesperson Danny Straessle said the state is happy to turn over the ownership of the road.
"That’s six miles that we don’t have to take care of anymore. In a few years, we will recoup our money because we’re not having to spend time, effort and materials on that stretch of road," Straessle said.
Fayetteville city attorney Kit Williams said more maintenance means more money for the city.
"Initially, the highway is in pretty good shape. It's been paved recently. But, when maintenance is needed in the future, it will be the responsibility of the city of Fayetteville," Williams said.
In the long run, Stoll said the deal will bring more business to Fayetteville, and the improved road will make visitors and residents happier.
"There's nothing particularly wrong with the road. It's just commercial. It's not a community road. It's not memorable. It's not a place people write home about or return to to spend time, and we want to make it all of the above."