SPRINGDALE : City dedicates Don Tyson Parkway
Posted on Tuesday, July 1, 2008
SPRINGDALE — Don Tyson, retired senior chairman of Tyson Foods Inc., wasted no words Monday at the dedication of the road named in his honor.
“I’m glad I’m from Springdale,” Tyson said to a standing ovation.
A portion of Don Tyson Parkway, the 5. 5-mile centerpiece of the $ 105 million bond issue approved by voters in 2003, was opened in front of the poultry producer’s world headquarters. The parkway, also known as the southern corridor, runs east from Oaklawn Drive to Butterfield Coach Road. Four lanes wide with a median, the parkway connects U. S. 71 Business, Turner Street and Arkansas 265.
The entire road is expected to be open this fall. Little remains to be done besides painting stripes and installing traffic signals at the parkway’s intersection with U. S. 71 B.
The northern corridor along Wagon Wheel Road, lined with orange barricades and red dirt, is still under heavy construction. Meanwhile, some parts of the central corridor along Huntsville Avenue are finished. Like the parkway, Huntsville is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
As of Monday, the city had spent $ 78. 8 million in bond proceeds. In addition to the three corridors, the bond program included new asphalt, intersection improvements and widening some streets. Most of those projects are done.
Planning and Community Development Director Patsy Christie was pleased to see another part of Tyson Parkway opened to traffic.
“It’s exciting to actually get to drive on it,” she said.
From the time the parkway was conceived to the end of construction will be about eight years.
“In the planning process, that’s not a long time,” Christie said.
Tyson, son of the Tyson Foods founder, led the company through a rapid period of expansion, engineering more than 20 acquisitions. When Tyson took over as president in 1967, Tyson Foods had annual sales of $ 52 million. When he retired from the company’s daily operations in 1991, the company had annual sales of $ 3. 9 billion.
Through charitable donations and civic involvement, the Tyson family has had a profound impact on Springdale, Mayor Jerre Van Hoose said. Touting Tyson’s ability as a businessman and his generosity as a philanthropist, Van Hoose looked at Tyson and said, “Don, this day’s for you.”
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