The City of Fairfield Bay is pleased to announce the completion of 36.4 miles of road resurfacing and over 60 miles of road striping over the last two years. The work, financed by a $2,500,000 bond package overwhelmingly approved by the voters (353-12), was originally planned to take care of around 25 miles of urgent road needs. Fairfield Bay has 76 miles of paved roads and another 110 miles of unpaved roads. The initial bond release was $1,980,000.
The road resurfacing consisted of 8.3 miles of 2 inch overlays done by Atlas Paving and 28.1 miles of chip and seal done by Van Buren County. This approach kept all the money and jobs associated for the chip and seal work in Van Buren.
We especially want to thank the County Intergovernmental Cooperative Council formed in accordance with Arkansas Code 14-27-101. This council, consisting of the County Judge and incorporated city mayors, is constantly looking for ways to make our county move forward and to optimize our organizational efficiencies. From the code: “It is expected that regular dialogue between executives of the various local governmental subdivisions within each county will encourage these governmental units to: 1) Share facilities, equipment, employees, and services to provide each with mutual benefit to the advantage of all governments within the county; 2) Explore the use of joint purchasing and buying agreements to purchase goods and services in an effort to achieve economies of scale that would not be possible without mutual cooperation.”
Paving consultant, Mr. Bobby Morris, who has overseen this effort reports- “I made a quick review of the chip and seal work we did last year and it appears that Fairfield Bay saved around $340,000 by allowing the county to do the chip and seal work as compared to an independent contractor doing the work. Also for 2016, I figured the city saved approximately $100,000 by allowing the county to do the work. We also received a good striping price of 9 cents per running foot compared to another bid price of 15 cents per running foot which saved the City money in regards to the pavement markings.
Additionally, the Fairfield Bay Community Club saved over $30,000 by cooperative culvert purchasing with the County.
Overall, well over $400,000 in real savings have been achieved and jobs have been kept in Van Buren County. This is the type of win/win scenario we all look for.
These savings allowed the city to address many roads that were in the next ranking category below “needs urgent repair.” We did many more miles than originally planned plus we still have funds left that can be used for matching State Aid road paving grants such as was won for the Castle Ridge Road project, support new developments like the Ozark Resort Homes project, and still be able to address road needs as they arise.
What a facelift the resurfacing and restriping has given to our city!
Fairfield Bay News
