Alexander Mayor sends grant request for paving streets to ArDOT

Alexander Mayor Paul Mitchell told council members he has submitted the grant application to have most of the remaining city streets repaved. The announcement was made during the council’s May 16 meeting.

If approved, this will be the third grant received by the city from the Arkansas State Aid Committee (ASAC), which operates as part of the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT). The first two were in 2015 and 2019 for $250,000.00 each. The value of the grant has been increased to $300,000.00.

Mitchell noted cities are available for the grant every three years. A response to the submitted request isn't expected until early 2023.

The streets on this year’s grant request are Main Street; A.C. Wallace, to include widening from E. 1^st Street to 4^th Street; Kent Circle; Valley Cove; Spruce Drive; Holley Drive; Mountain Cove; Iris Cove; Violet Cove; Tulip Cove; Dahlia Cove; Daisy Cove; Cactus Cove; Sunflower Cove; Shirley Drive; and Ashlee Cove. If approved by the ASAC the council will have to pass a resolution giving ArDOT the authority to let out bids in the city’s name. If the low bid is over the allotted $300,000.00 the city will have to make up the difference.

Mountain Drive is also on the list, but in a conversation after the council meeting Mitchell said he has since learned that because the request is only for the damaged portion of Mountain Drive it probably won’t be approved. Under grant rules only whole streets qualify for over-lay. If the remainder of the list is approved Mountain Drive will be the only street not to be re-paved either under the grant program or by the city itself. In that case Mitchell said the city will have to contract the re-paving of Mountain Drive at another time.

The grant is part of the State Aid City Streets program. Cities are allowed access to this program as part of a gasoline tax approved by voters. Revenue from the tax is being used to upgrade interstate and state highways along with city and county streets and roads.

During the same meeting the Alexander City Council approved appropriating $48,000.00 to pave three city streets. The low-bid of $47,514.40 was submitted by Cranford Construction Company of Little Rock. The streets to be paved are the section of Brookwood Rd. between the rail road tracks and Shobe Rd., Alexander Rd. between Third St. and Fourth St. and sections of Cornerstone Road. This project is not part of the State Aid City Streets program and will be funded by transferring revenue from the general fund to the street fund.