Twenty-eight years ago, the Metroplan Board of Directors set out on a mission to prioritize safety at railroad crossings across central Arkansas. Railroad crossings in Benton, Cabot, Conway, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Maumelle, Mayflower and North Little Rock were selected to upgrade at-grade crossings to grade separation crossings. The final railroad crossing of the 11 selected locations is set to open to traffic in July.
Originally 12 locations were selected, but due to changes in train traffic patterns, one was removed from the list.
The Metroplan Transportation Plan states: “During development of Metro 2020, residents in all parts of the region raised significant concern regarding at-grade railroad crossings. Their concerns included safety risks, noise impacts and delay for school buses, emergency vehicles and motorists due to the high frequency of trains per day.”
Grade separation railroad crossings provide safer roads for these services and the traveling public. These projects also include constructing sidewalks where appropriate for pedestrians to have safer access to the community.
The final project on this list of railroad crossings is on JP Wright Loop Road in Jacksonville. Weaver Bailey was awarded the project in November 2022 for $15 million and started construction in January of 2023. MCE has worked alongside Weaver Bailey to complete the project. MCE’s portion of the project included Title I services for the rail grade separation, survey, geotechnical investigations, roadway design, drainage design, FEMA coordination, bridge design, environmental documentation, lighting and limited Title II services.
The Union Pacific train tracks running through Jacksonville are one of the busiest train corridors in the state, requiring the contractor on the job to pause work several times while constructing the bridge over the railroad right-of-way. Communication between the contractor and the railroad was key to keep the project progressing smoothly. With the bridge’s completion, motorists in Jacksonville can finally say goodbye to delays—no more waiting for the multiple daily trains to pass.
Metroplan is a voluntary association of local governments that has operated by interlocal agreement since 1955. Metroplan now has members in five counties of the six-county metro area. Metroplan is the designated metropolitan planning organization under Title 23 of the United States Code.
Claire Schoppe, PE is a professional engineer working out of MCE’s Transportation Department in Little Rock. Contact Claire by email at [email protected].
