MonticelloLive

The Arkansas State Highway Commission has opened bids for improvements along a roadway in Chicot County, according to Commissioner R. Madison Murphy of El Dorado. 
     The purpose of the project is to remove the existing Arkansas Welcome Center at Lake Village and replace it with a new one.  The contract was awarded to Morris Beck Construction Services of Little Rock, Arkansas, for $2,332,101.
     “This new Welcome Center will feature a rock and log exterior and, indoors, there will be spacious tourism, multi-media and museum display areas,” stated Murphy.  “It will be the type of facility that motorists just coming into Arkansas will want to spend some time in.”
     The new center in Lake Village is one of a number of Welcome Centers that are being rebuilt around the state.  Former Governor Mike Huckabee and the Arkansas Legislature approved the initial phase of reconstruction plans for the centers in 2001.  Since that time, new Arkansas Welcome Centers have been built at Texarkana, Corning, Fort Smith and El Dorado.  One is also under construction at Blytheville.
     Murphy said work could begin on the project in six to eight weeks, weather permitting.  Completion is expected in late 2009.