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WM A&P agrees to fund engineer’s position for river park

WM A&P agrees to fund engineer’s position for river park

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WM A&P agrees to fund engineer’s position for river park

Job will ensure construction meets design specifications for new tourist destination

news@theeveningtimes.com

West Memphis City Planner Paul Luker came to the Advertising and Promotion Commission during the board’s September meeting to provide an update about the planned trail through the new Delta River Regional Park. Contractors were recently awarded a 100-day construction bid.

The A& P funded a portion of the park development.

Luker also asked commissioners for additional funds for a vital part of the process. The City planner said he needed to hire a watchdog engineer to ensure construction meets design specifications.

“Our office simply does not have the resources to oversee it,” said Luker.

The typical cost, he said, for a construction engineer normally runs 10 percent of the project. But paying for the oversight had not been addressed, even as the $1.5 million construction project was awarded. Luker provided an up-to-date status to commissioners.

“We started calling it the Eco-Park,” said Luker, “now we call it the Delta River Regional Park. We had hoped to put the project to bid back in the spring, it took a lot longer to get through the highway department for review. They gave us authority to bid.

We opened bids two weeks ago and one came in slightly under estimate. The $1.5 million counts on the grant money and the match money, a lot of which was coming from the A& P Commission.”

Hopes had included the loop between the Hernando DeSoto Bridge and the Harahan Bridge along the west bank of the river being completed and ready by the Big River Crossing grand opening later this month, but the award for the river park trail had just been made. While the City of Memphis owns the bike and pedestrian path over the river, West Memphis is developing a 6-mile-long loop of the trail on the Arkansas side of the river by paving parts of Dacus Road and Robinson Road and a new 10-foot-wide bike path with milled as- phalt. The river park trail gives Big River Crossing tourists a big city vista and a Natural State experience. The huge potential for the overall project was expressed across the water.

Doug Carpenter, Principal of the DCA advertising firm touted the tourism potential of the overall project. The Big River Crossing and the eco-park path make the fist link for what is hoped to be a trail network along the Mississippi River tapping the Eco-tourism market.

“The Big River Crossing itself is a cultural asset,” said Carpenter in a separate announcement. “It could be similar to the Eiffel Tower.” The levee-top trail is open from the Harahan landing all the way to Marianna.

“Right now some one could start at the trail head across from Pancho’s and ride the levee all the way to Marianna,” said Tourism Director Jim Jackson. “It will be a big tourism asset to our area.”

But the West Memphis river trail won’t be ready for the BRC grand opening set for Saturday Oct. 22 grand opening. The “Bridging the Blues”-themed event features both Governors for the ribbon cutting, live blues musicians, evening fireworks followed by the first look at the colorful LED lighting display on the Harahan.

“This trail will tie into the Harahan Bridge and Main to Main Project,” said Luker.

The funding for the project blended private and public sources. Luker reported that State Senator Keith Ingram paved the way with a $30,000 General Improvement Fund Community Enhancement Grant toward paying the oversight engineer. Memphian and Big River Strategic Initiative backer Dow McVean went to work privately, negotiating the oversight cost down. McVean also paid about $100,000 for the design engineering, committed to a $50,000 grant match and involved the BRSI in project management, fundraising and working with stakeholders.

Luker told Commissioners the typical fee was about 10 percent of the project and the original asking price for the construction engineer came in at $160,000. The City Planner said he shopped all around for help to cover the cost, and a $50,000 un-funded match remained.

City Engineer Phillip Sorrell explained the need for the position.

“Someone has to be on site doing inspections everyday,” said Sorrell. “Collecting tickets for materials for one thing. Daily work performance sheets must be completed. There is a testing component for roadway construction, and compactment of materials has to be supervised by an engineer.

Paul Luker has done a good job of compressing those costs to meet the federal funding requirements.”

Commissioner weighed the decision.

“Where would these funds go?” asked Chairman Frank Waggener.

“These funds would cover the match,” Luker explained.

“It’s something that needs to be done,” said Commissioner Troy Keeping. “I just want to be sure you’ve tapped every well before we do this.”

With assurances restated, the A& P authorized the remaining $50,000 for construction oversight engineering.

Luker said construction would begin within 45 days.

By John Rech

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