Finally, most of 62B belongs to the city

Map courtesy city of Prairie Grove
This portion of U.S. Highway 62B in the red has been removed from the state highway system and now is a city of Prairie Grove street to be maintained by the city.
Map courtesy city of Prairie Grove This portion of U.S. Highway 62B in the red has been removed from the state highway system and now is a city of Prairie Grove street to be maintained by the city.

PRAIRIE GROVE -- It took a while for city officials to finally receive written confirmation from the state but a segment of U.S. Highway 62B is now a city-owned street.

The Arkansas Highway Commission approved a Minute Order on Feb. 22, 2022, for the state to hand over the highway west of Battlefield Park Road to the west end of town.

As part of the Minute Order, the state has agreed to provide $3.2 million in federal aid to overlay Highway 62B and improve drainage between Pittman and Baggett streets in exchange for the city accepting ownership of about 3 miles of U.S. Highway 62B. The city will match the state funds with $800,000 in local funds.

The city had been waiting months to receive the Minute Order and it finally was emailed to former Mayor Sonny Hudson on Dec. 14, 2022.

Rex Vines, deputy director with the Arkansas Department of Transportation, told Hudson in a letter accompanying a copy of the Minute Order: "I am writing to inform you that this portion of Highway 62B has been officially removed from the State Highway System."

Larry Oelrich, city administrative assistant, said the highway department likes giving away part of the highway, "obviously," because it takes a section of road away from the state's maintenance inventory.

"We like it because they are turning over money they wouldn't spend otherwise on road improvements," Oelrich said.

Oelrich said the $3.2 million has to be spent along the highway corridor that was given to Prairie Grove. It cannot be used for side streets. Most likely, all the money will be spent on overlay and drainage work from Mock Street through Pittman, Oelrich said.

Without the $3.2 million, a lot of work in the downtown area could not be done, Oelrich said.

"This drainage work has been needed since the highway was built. This gives us the money to fix some of these problems," Oelrich said.

The agreement with the state includes another provision. The state plans to overlay Highway 170 and when this project is completed the city of Prairie Grove has agreed to accept ownership and responsibility for the section of Highway 170 within the Prairie Grove city limits.

The city started the process to get Highway 62B back in 2020, when Hudson proposed the idea to Lori Tudor, transportation director.

Tudor responded that the department staff would review the proposal. About a year later, Tudor sent Hudson another letter with a counter offer to add Highway 170 as part of the agreement. In addition, she pointed out the state was required to keep a portion of Highway 62B that provided a connection to Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.

Tudor proposed along with transferring ownership of Highway 62B, west of Battlefield Park Road, the city also agree to accept ownership and responsibility for the section of Highway 170 that lies within the Prairie Grove city limits, about 1.5 miles.

If the city accepted the counter offer and agreed to accept both highways, the state would provide $3.2 million in federal-aid funding to be matched with $800,000 by the city, Tudor said.

Her letter said the federal money can be used for project development, right of way acquisitions, utility locations, construction and construction inspection.

According to Holly Butler with the department's public affairs office, the portion of Highway 62B referenced in the Minute Order was adopted as part of the original state highway in 1929. This section was built as part of the state highway system in October 1944.

  photo  Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader The Arkansas Transportation Department has installed this sign along Highway 62B in Prairie Grove to show where state maintenance ends. From the sign near the tennis courts, the remainder of 62B is now a city-owned and city-maintained street through downtown to the intersection of Buchanan and U.S. Highway 62 or Heritage Parkway.