The Conway Transportation Department is set to begin reconstruction of Nutters Chapel Road off of Dave Ward after its plans were approved by the city council on March 11. 

While no official dates have been set, department  Engineer director Kurt Jones said the project will not begin until after the city has finished the Tucker Creek bridge on Salem Road. 

“The plan is to go in there, curb and gutter the roadway and close the storm drains,” Jones said to the city council on March 11. “It will be a 36-foot wide street section with two lanes of traffic and then bike lanes.” 

The project will also include 5-foot sidewalks with grass barriers for better pedestrian travel. 

“Typically, from the time that we issue the notice of award until we actually get the contracts executed vary from two to four weeks,” Jones said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get started in four to six weeks.”

Many elements of the project came from recommendations discussed by Nutters Chapel Road residents during a public involvement meeting in Dec. of 2024. 

About 60-70 Nutters Chapel Road residents attended the event, where they added streetlights as another element to go into the project. 

“The plan is we are going to close, not the entire section, we’re going to do half at a time,” Jones said. “Through traffic will be closed on one side or the other of this project.” 

Overall, the project’s emphasis will be to create a safer and more modern design to Nutters Chapel Road. 

Kelly said as south Conway continues to grow, the necessity for better infrastructure becomes more pertinent. 

“A lot of development pressure is going to into the southwest part of it, and its not going to stop,” Kelly said.

“It’s one of those roads so bad that when you start talking about [rebuilding] it, people say ‘It’s about time,’” Bobby Kelly, Conway spokesman said. 

Kelly said along with the sidewalks and streetlight additions, the project will also create more visibility for drivers turning onto Nutters Chapel from their residences. 

“There’s this very slight hill which makes it tough for people to see,” Kelly said. “We’re going to take that hill down a little bit so the lines of sight will be a lot better.”

The Conway-based company A&B Dirt Movers was contracted for the project, with the cost being $1,510,029.

While both Jones and Kelly acknowledged Conway residents’ frustration with having this project come directly after the Salem Road project, they emphasized how repairs are necessary despite any inconveniences. 

“The plan is to not have a whole lot of overlap between this project starting and traffic actually getting significantly affected on Nutters Chapel while Salem is still shut down,” Jones said. 

Kelly said Nutters Chapel Road residents will be receiving notifications over mail about the project, when it is supposed to start and end and what changes are being made. 

“It’s a small piece of road that is going to a heck of a lot to a lot of people,” Kelly said. 

Kelly said the project will take around six months to complete.