Natural State News

Supporting Mayflower and the now under-construction Highway 89 overpass is a matter of pride, South Arkansas' member of Congress said in a recent Facebook post.

"I am proud to support the economic growth of the community of Mayflower," Rep. French Hill (R-Arkansas) said in his May 26 Facebook post. The post referred to Hill's participation at the groundbreaking the day before for the Highway 89 overpass as "an achievement I was honored to witness."

"With the continued growth of central Arkansas, I advocated for development and economic opportunity in the Mayflower area," Hill said. "This new overpass is exact type of growth I have been pushing for and will mark the beginning of further expansion of Mayflower. I was joined by the residents of Mayflower, Mayor Randy Holland and Judge Jim Baker and other community leaders to celebrate this achievement."

The overpass project was almost four decades in the making. 

"This is a good day for Mayflower," Holland told the Log Cabin Democrat.

The overpass, which will cross the Union Pacific railroad tracks and allow for quicker, safer access to west Mayflower and the rest of Faulkner County, is expected to be completed in Fall 2022. Once completed, Highway 89 will become a corridor for traffic flow, help first responders better respond in emergencies that currently difficult to access, and help boost central Arkansas' economy.

Planning for the $26.3 million project began in 1983, Faulkner County Judge Jim Baker told the assembled crowd.

Public input and comments were accepted during hearings that ended in early May 2017. The following April, the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department conducted a public hearing to consider three options for the project. 

Three months later, Faulkner County Quorum Court passed a resolution to appropriate funds to begin construction. Days later, Mayflower City Council passed a resolution that granted the city a partnership with Metroplan, the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT), and Faulkner County to finance the project.

This past November, ArDOT opened bids for the project.

"This project has been in the works for many years and I am so excited that it is now becoming a reality," Holland said in a joint statement with Hill in November, shortly after the bids were opened. "The overpass will provide much needed public safety and will boost economic development growth for the community. It will change Mayflower for the better, forever."