BY MELANIE BUCK –
The Arkansas State Highway Commission has approved a bid for improvements to roadways in Polk County, according to Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) officials.
The purpose of the project is to resurface 17.1 miles of Polk County Roads 38, 39, 44 and 76 near Mena; County Roads 26 and 31 near Hatfield; County Roads 5 and 13 near Wickes; and County Road 18 near Vandervoort.
Salt Creek Paving & Construction Company, Inc. of Benton was awarded the contract at $694,095.27. Construction is scheduled to begin in two to four weeks, weather permitting. Completion is expected in late 2016.
More about road projects and travel information on Arkansas’ highways can be found at IDriveArkansas.com or ArkansasHighways.com.
Jason Hughey, District Construction Engineer, out of the Fort Smith office of AHTD explained why the state is responsible for resurfacing some county roads. In 1973, Act 445 established the state aid division of AHTD and a penny fuel tax was designated specifically for county roadwork. Over the years, the cap on funding has disappeared. All 75 counties in Arkansas get to split the one-cent fuel tax.
The formula used to distribute funding is: 50% of the tax is split equally between the 75 counties; 25% is distributed by population; and 25% based on land area of the county. Polk County usually gets around $190,000 per year, however, that money can be carried over up to three years. It does have to be spent in the fourth year.
In addition to the state funding, Polk County has a county-wide sales tax for road improvements, allowing the county to match state aid funding for larger projects. A portion of the upcoming projects comes from state aid and the rest comes from Polk County.
About Author
Jeri Pearson
Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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