Work is progressing on a project to replace the deteriorating roof at South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field.
Blake Dunn, of CADM Architecture, Inc., said the project is about 70 percent and could be completed within another week or so.
Though dry weather has put much of the state under a burn ban and heightened wildfire alerts, weather conditions have been prime for construction.
Dunn said El Dorado Roofing Company, LLC, went to work two weeks ago to put a new roof on the airport terminal building.
The project got under months after the El Dorado Airport Commission decided to move forward with long-running plans for the much needed repairs and set about finding the cash to cover the cost of the repairs before wintry weather set in.
Airport commissioners, city officials and Dunn agreed that the leaky roof would likely not make it through winter.
In October, Dunn told airport commissioners that the deterioration was accelerating.
“You have odor and moisture in the building, and the longer you wait, the worse it will get,” Dunn said at the time.
Commissioners raced against the clock to secure funding for the project.
El Dorado Roofing was awarded the low bid of $114,200 and waited at the ready to start once the funding was in place.
In late October, the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics awarded a grant of $64,600, and the El Dorado Works Board and El Dorado City Council approved a match from the city’s one-cent sales tax for economic development.
The total cost for the project has been set at $129,200 — $114,200 for construction; $15,000 for architectural and engineering services; and a $25,000 contingency.
So far, Dunn said costs are staying within budget, and he doesn’t anticipate any overruns.
“They’re making really good progress. They’ve been very
fortunate out there,” Dunn said. “There haven’t been any (unexpected) issues. Everything is going the way we thought it was.”
The airport commission will likely get an update on the project during a regular meeting at 3 p.m. today on the second-floor of the terminal building.
El Dorado Municipal Auditorium
Dunn said the city is still withholding a $25,000 payment on a renovation project that was completed in 2016 at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium.
The $5.6 million refit included new-addition construction/expansion for the 60-year-old building and improvements to the roof and building systems.
After being shut down for more than a year, the facility reopened in July 2016, with several punch-list items, mostly cosmetic, remaining.
CADM drafted the master renovation plan for the auditorium.
Last month, Mayor Frank Hash said that due to a recurring issue with the heating and air system, the city was withholding the final $25,000 payment to construction manager East-Harding Construction of Little Rock.
Dunn said CADM is working with East Harding and its subcontractor to troubleshoot the problem with the mechanical system.
He explained that the air compressors keep shutting off, and the monitoring system sends out an alarm signal alerting repair technicians about the problem.
Dunn said technicians from Carrier examined the problem this week, adding there is an extended warranty on the heating and cooling system.
“It’s not a major issue, just an annoyance. It’s a complex system, and everyone’s working real hard to get that issue resolved,” Dunn said. “We’ve not pinpointed what it is yet. It’s the only thing that’s not been resolved and why we have not paid that contract in full yet.”
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].