Bentonville closes Southwest Rainbow Lane for more than a year as part of Rainbow Curve improvement project

BENTONVILLE -- A section of Southwest Rainbow Lane is expected to be closed for more than a year as crews work to improve the Rainbow Curve area. Southwest Rainbow Lane between Southwest Regional Airport and South Walton boulevards was closed at 8 a.m. Tuesday, a closure set to last through April 1, 2028, according to a news release from the city of Bentonville. The closure is related to roadway improvements around the Rainbow Curve intersection in the southern part of town. The work is intended to make the road capable of handling more traffic and to alleviate congestion, the release states. The City Council voted 6-0 May 12 to approve a more than $7.5 million contract with the Fayetteville-based APAC-Central Inc. for improvements to the intersection. Jarrod Brightwell, city engineer, said via email May 13 the Rainbow Curve improvements will include shifting the intersection west to align with the nearby Southwest Rainbow Lane, thus creating a traditional four-leg intersection that will be able to handle more capacity. Bentonville and the region have expanded west toward Centerton and Northwest Arkansas National Airport, according to Brightwell. Rainbow Curve sees thousands of vehicles traveling from the west into the heart of the city per day, and its current configuration causes significant delays that lead to congestion, he said. The reconfigured intersection will reduce travel time for motorists, he added. Bentonville will cover the more than $7.5 million cost of the contract with APAC-Central with 2021 street bond money, Brightwell said. City voters approved a $266 million bond issue in April 2021 that included $173.5 million for street improvement projects to handle increased traffic stemming from the city's population growth, according to a website dedicated to the issue. Construction on Rainbow Curve is expected to last 620 days, according to Brightwell. A detour route will be provided, and a real-time map of the closure, along with other city street closures, can be found on the city's website.