Infrastructure needs continue to be a top Northwest Arkansas priority

The Northwest Arkansas Council held its annual meeting on Thursday (Nov. 12) at The Record in Bentonville, where it highlighted regional accomplishments and challenges to continued growth. The Northwest Arkansas Council held its annual meeting in Bentonville on Thursday (Nov. 12) to discuss achievements and challenges, with infrastructure needs selected by 55% of council membership as the region’s top priority.

The range of needs include transportation, wastewater capacity, workforce development, and early-stage capital funding.

Council CEO Nelson Peacock said the region is making progress attracting investors, which are necessary for startups to grow in Northwest Arkansas and the state. Together with The Walton Family Foundation and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the council continues to expand venture capital access.

“We simply don’t have enough investors in Northwest Arkansas or in the state of Arkansas,” Peacock said. “That’s basically true of every community other than Silicon Valley or maybe Austin, Texas, and we’re trying to solve for that. By establishing a nationwide network of investors, we bring them here to the region and introduce them to great companies.”

He said since 2024, more than 200 venture capital firms have participated in over 1,500 meetings for due diligence. So far, one out of every four companies that participate in the program have made connections nationally and internationally.

“We have been able to hand off a lot of companies willing to relocate and recruit in the state of Arkansas,” Peacock said.

HEALTHCARE INVESTMENTS

He also highlighted recent investments to expand regional healthcare, including Alice Walton’s billion-dollar+ multi-phase specialty care campus with phase 1 to open in 2029, and the $82.7 million expansion of Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Springdale.

Other projects included a new 85,000-square-foot Orthopedic & Sports Medicine hospital in Springdale from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, a $4 million investment from Highlands Oncology for an expanded clinical trials suite, and a second center in Rogers now under construction.

Washington Regional Hospital opened a $3.1 million simulation training center, and Community Clinic expanded care in Siloam Springs for women’s health and opened another school-based clinic at Rogers Heritage High School. Peacock said all that happened just last year and does not include other ventures coming in 2027.

“It’s really incredible,” he said. “But in healthcare, we do face impediments, of course, with all national policy challenges and some state policy challenges as well.”

TRANSPORTATION, WASTEWATER

Peacock said there is a $3 billion funding gap for transportation needs through 2050, noting the Highway 112 widening between Fayetteville and Bentonville needs another $400 million, and the remaining bypass around Springdale, east of Interstate 49, requires an estimated $450 million to $550 million in funding. Peacock said the region’s transportation infrastructure needs total around $6 billion through 2050 and only $3 billion is appropriated.

“We are going to have to look at other funding sources and examine the feasibility of toll roads and other options in the coming months,” he said.

Wastewater capacity is perhaps the biggest immediate threat to growth. The council and the Walton Family Foundation identified about $2.44 billion in wastewater needs, including treatment plant improvements, connections for areas served by septic systems, decentralized treatment, and infrastructure to move wastewater between systems.

Peacock said the study found opportunities to consider available capacity across the region when planning future developments. Lack of wastewater capacity has already slowed building projects in the region.

WORKFORCE

Melinda Bunyard, director of career and technical education at Bentonville Schools, oversees the district’s IGNITE program, discussed the program’s growth. IGNITE began in 2015 with 16 students and has grown to more than 600 students and 18 career pathways, which include healthcare, construction, technology and others. The program aspires to grow to 1,500 students and serve 8 different school districts in the next few years.

“We are proud of the work and growth of this amazing program that we run with the help of industry,” she said. “I think that’s what makes the difference for our students and our partners who interact on a daily basis. Our students do not just hear about work opportunities; they actually get to work on real-world projects with our partners. This year we launched a construction program with the help of Crossland, and that is available to students from their freshman year on up.”

Other meeting business included the honoring of Dick Trammel with the prestigious lifetime council membership. He joins an elite list of just 7 others who have received the honor – President Bill Clinton in 2010, John Paul Hammerschmidt and Alice Walton in 2012, Uvalde Lindsey in 2015, Scott Van Laningham in 2019, Susan Barrett in 2020 and Mark Simmons in 2025.

Infrastructure needs continue to be a top Northwest Arkansas priority

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