Centerton’s Highway 102 expansion project delayed until May 2026
CENTERTON, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The city of Centerton’s plan to expand a 1.1-mile stretch of Highway 102-B, also known as Main Street, to Highway 279 South and add sidewalks was delayed.
According to Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards, the project was set to bid on April 10, but it was delayed until May 2026.
“We were really looking forward to this project happening,” Edwards said.
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He says he had to reach out to the Arkansas Department of Transportation after he realized he hadn’t heard from them in a while.
He was told the delay in the project was because of utility relocation and getting right-of-way.
“There are a number of steps a project goes through before construction can actually begin, and any one of those steps can bring unanticipated delays,” Ellen Coulter, media communications manager with ARDOT, said in a statement.
Edwards says there hasn’t been a major road project since 2012 when Highway 102 was widened from Greenhouse Road to Main Street.
Highway 102-B brings in a lot of traffic.
“All this is a major corridor to XNA,” Edwards said.
Centerton resident David Day uses the highway every day, and he says the traffic is horrible.
“I would like to see them go ahead and widen it like the rest of 102 to five lanes. So, ease up on the congestion some,” Day said.
Centerton resident Timothy Bouras says he hopes Highway 102-B will get widened as well.
“When it rains, it gets kind of slippery and dangerous. The town is growing in leaps and bounds,” Bouras said.
Edwards says the city’s population was 9,500 a few years ago, and it is now close to 25,000.
He says the growth will continue to increase.
“Our population has tripled, we’ve not seen any other road improvements to help accommodate this,” Edwards said.
He hopes ARDOT can move the schedule up and get started sometime this year.
“I really believe if they can get to right away and you tell the utility relocation is done sooner, then they’ll move the project up,” Edwards said.
He also hopes to get the Main Street and Highway 279 program in the next round of the state’s improvement plan starting in 2027.
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