Fort Smith, Ark. — The City of Fort Smith released an update on Project 17-12-C1, a large-scale sanitary sewer improvement effort, reporting steady progress as of Aug. 7, 2025.
The project, originally authorized in 2016, saw a change order in June that increased the scope of work, overall cost, and timeline for completion.
Adjusted plans include the replacement or remediation of more than 6,000 linear feet of sanitary sewer lines by pipe bursting, over 5,200 feet of sewer lines by open-cut methods, and more than 4,100 feet by CIPP methods.
Additional work calls for 52 point repairs, the replacement of 28 manholes, rehabilitation of 131 manholes, replacement or remediation of more than 2,000 feet of sewer service lines, and 267 cleanouts.
As of the August progress update, 68% of pipe bursting was complete, 31% of open-cut pipe work was finished, and 62% of point repairs had been made. Crews had replaced 13 manholes and rehabilitated 42, while also completing 1,036 linear feet of sewer service line work and 87 cleanouts.
The project remains on track with an adjusted completion date of March 31, 2026. The adjusted cost stands at $8.47 million.
McClelland Consulting Engineers serves as the design engineer, while Forsgren, Inc. is handling construction. Funding comes from the 5/8-cent sales tax dedicated to Consent Decree projects.