A previously announced $25 million federal grant for improvements to Highway 112 from Bentonville to Fayetteville is in limbo as the new presidential administration reviews awards that have not yet received grant agreements.

In January, the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission (NWARPC) announced it was awarded the U.S. Department of Transportation grant to enhance the Highway 112 corridor. 

The award is now under review, according to Tim Reavis, a transportation planner with NWARPC. 

“As the Highway 112 award was announced during the previous administration and an executed grant agreement is not in place, it is our understanding that the new administration is reviewing all discretionary awards under this program without a grant agreement in place,” Reavis said.

The project includes an expansion from two to four travel lanes to reduce congestion, the addition of a center median to reduce fatal and serious-injury crashes, and other enhancements that would reduce travel times and improve reliability, Reavis said. 

It also includes a separated 12-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian path running the 17.5 miles of Highway 112 from Bentonville to Fayetteville. The grant would supplement funding already allocated to the project.

“NWARPC is confident the new administration will see the value and need for the regionally significant project,” Reavis said.