I-49 in Arkansas

[Bobby5280]

LED billboards can have a play list of many ads. Here in Oklahoma most of the boards have hold times of 8 seconds before switching to the next ad. Some towns, like Edmond, demand a 30 second hold time on any variable message sign. That sucks. Too long a message hold time ruins much of the value of having the LED display in the first place.

Some cities and town just ban these LED signs and billboards outright, which reminds me of some towns banning the use of neon in signs. I still love neon signs, especially big outdoor signs loaded up with it. These days with widespread gentrification the trend seems to be banning as many signs as possible and then going nuts with the landscaping along side the streets. The problem with making a commercial/retail district look like a gated country club community it can make it really difficult for customers to find a store or restaurant. Then businesses lose business over that crap. All the trees and bushes along the medians and edges of a street along with Draconian sign limitations make it very easy to drive past any intended point of interest. Relying on the smart phone GPS is not a great fall-back for various reasons. To me a city doesn't look like a city without some cool looking signs.

[US71]

LED billboards can have a play list of many ads. Here in Oklahoma most of the boards have hold times of 8 seconds before switching to the next ad. Some towns, like Edmond, demand a 30 second hold time on any variable message sign. That sucks. Too long a message hold time ruins much of the value of having the LED display in the first place.

Some cities and town just ban these LED signs and billboards outright, which reminds me of some towns banning the use of neon in signs. I still love neon signs, especially big outdoor signs loaded up with it. These days with widespread gentrification the trend seems to be banning as many signs as possible and then going nuts with the landscaping along side the streets. The problem with making a commercial/retail district look like a gated country club community it can make it really difficult for customers to find a store or restaurant. Then businesses lose business over that crap. All the trees and bushes along the medians and edges of a street along with Draconian sign limitations make it very easy to drive past any intended point of interest. Relying on the smart phone GPS is not a great fall-back for various reasons. To me a city doesn't look like a city without some cool looking signs.

Billboards are banned in Fayetteville and the 49-71 scenic loop (except Mountainburg)

[mvak36]

I am definitely in favor of lighting on the interstates in Arkansas. I hated driving at night there last time I went. I'm indifferent about billboards. I figure that's more of a municipality by municipality decision.


iPhone

[Henry]

I am definitely in favor of lighting on the interstates in Arkansas. I hated driving at night there last time I went. I'm indifferent about billboards. I figure that's more of a municipality by municipality decision.


iPhone

At least put up high-masts at the interchanges, then work from there.

[M86]

Former Arkansas resident.

AHTD is very anti-roadway lighting. I never understood it, and fought against it.  Their policy is to let the local municipalities decide that, even in metro areas.  If it's an Interstate, why would a local town have jurisdiction?

It's funny, because I found a lot of discrepancies.  Take a look at Little Rock, and their Interstate system.  I remember reading the most Interstate miles per capita for a metro.

I hope AHTD is better... They were a disaster when I lived there, but were making progress.  They need to fix their lighting policy.

[US71]

Former Arkansas resident.

AHTD is very anti-roadway lighting. I never understood it, and fought against it.  Their policy is to let the local municipalities decide that, even in metro areas.  If it's an Interstate, why would a local town have jurisdiction?

It's funny, because I found a lot of discrepancies.  Take a look at Little Rock, and their Interstate system.  I remember reading the most Interstate miles per capita for a metro.

I hope AHTD is better... They were a disaster when I lived there, but were making progress.  They need to fix their lighting policy.

AHTD never seems to have much money, except for special projects like the Broadway Bridge, Little Rock and NWA get a lot attention, but everything else basically rots.

[Bobby5280]

Maybe the lack of lighting is about trying to save money on electricity bills.

Saving money on electricity bills was one theory I had about a situation here in Lawton at the complex I-44 interchange with Cache Road and 2nd Street. There are 11 high rise light towers in that interchange. The lamps in those towers are unique in that they put out white colored light instead of the usual amber colored light. This is the only freeway interchange I can think of that has lamps like that. Anyway, for the past few years the lights in several of those towers were turned off and burned out lamps in the other towers weren't replaced. I figured ODOT was pinching pennies. Just over the past couple or so weeks ODOT maintenance crews serviced the towers, bringing the dark ones back online one by one. There's still a tower or two with a lamp out here or there, but the lighting in that interchange is far brighter at night than it has been in years.

[codyg1985]

Maybe the lack of lighting is about trying to save money on electricity bills.

Saving money on electricity bills was one theory I had about a situation here in Lawton at the complex I-44 interchange with Cache Road and 2nd Street. There are 11 high rise light towers in that interchange. The lamps in those towers are unique in that they put out white colored light instead of the usual amber colored light. This is the only freeway interchange I can think of that has lamps like that. Anyway, for the past few years the lights in several of those towers were turned off and burned out lamps in the other towers weren't replaced. I figured ODOT was pinching pennies. Just over the past couple or so weeks ODOT maintenance crews serviced the towers, bringing the dark ones back online one by one. There's still a tower or two with a lamp out here or there, but the lighting in that interchange is far brighter at night than it has been in years.

Those brighter white lights may have been LED lights.

[Scott5114]

Maybe the lack of lighting is about trying to save money on electricity bills.

Saving money on electricity bills was one theory I had about a situation here in Lawton at the complex I-44 interchange with Cache Road and 2nd Street. There are 11 high rise light towers in that interchange. The lamps in those towers are unique in that they put out white colored light instead of the usual amber colored light. This is the only freeway interchange I can think of that has lamps like that. Anyway, for the past few years the lights in several of those towers were turned off and burned out lamps in the other towers weren't replaced. I figured ODOT was pinching pennies. Just over the past couple or so weeks ODOT maintenance crews serviced the towers, bringing the dark ones back online one by one. There's still a tower or two with a lamp out here or there, but the lighting in that interchange is far brighter at night than it has been in years.

I'm not sure if it's the same in Lawton, but in Oklahoma City, the responsibility for maintaining freeway lighting is with...OG&E for some reason!! ODOT doesn't actually look for burned-out lights. I don't know if OG&E does, either, but they do accept reports from customers.

Talk about a weird policy.

[codyg1985]

Maybe the lack of lighting is about trying to save money on electricity bills.

Saving money on electricity bills was one theory I had about a situation here in Lawton at the complex I-44 interchange with Cache Road and 2nd Street. There are 11 high rise light towers in that interchange. The lamps in those towers are unique in that they put out white colored light instead of the usual amber colored light. This is the only freeway interchange I can think of that has lamps like that. Anyway, for the past few years the lights in several of those towers were turned off and burned out lamps in the other towers weren't replaced. I figured ODOT was pinching pennies. Just over the past couple or so weeks ODOT maintenance crews serviced the towers, bringing the dark ones back online one by one. There's still a tower or two with a lamp out here or there, but the lighting in that interchange is far brighter at night than it has been in years.

I'm not sure if it's the same in Lawton, but in Oklahoma City, the responsibility for maintaining freeway lighting is with...OG&E for some reason!! ODOT doesn't actually look for burned-out lights. I don't know if OG&E does, either, but they do accept reports from customers.

Talk about a weird policy.

In Alabama, I can think of two examples where municipalities or power companies are responsible for light maintenance. Here in Huntsville it is Huntsville Utilities. in Birmingham it is they city of Birmingham.

[Bobby5280]

Those brighter white lights may have been LED lights.

I'm doubting it. The lamps in these particular high rise light towers have been white the whole time I've lived in the Lawton area, more than 20 years, which is well ahead of the advent of high intensity LED use in outdoor lighting, jumbotrons, etc.

I'm not sure if it's the same in Lawton, but in Oklahoma City, the responsibility for maintaining freeway lighting is with...OG&E for some reason!! ODOT doesn't actually look for burned-out lights. I don't know if OG&E does, either, but they do accept reports from customers.

AEP/PSO run the power grid in the Lawton area. I could be wrong, but I'm almost certain the pickup trucks I saw parked by these towers when they were doing the maintenance work were ODOT trucks. I don't know who is getting the light bill for those towers. I would think the state would be paying for it since I-44 ROW is technically not city property. But then again ODOT wants the City of Lawton to pony up $600,000 to install a functional sidewalk on one of the old Gore Blvd bridges crossing I-44 (roughly half a $1.3 million estimate for the job). That's to help prevent more pedestrian deaths from people trying to jay-walk across the I-44 main lanes rather than use the bridges where no sidewalks are currently present. I wonder how much money the City of Norman is throwing in for its $20 million+ SPUI interchanges on I-35. So, with all that said, I guess it wouldn't surprise me if the City of Lawton was paying the light bill for those high rise towers on I-44 property.

[Henry]

Those brighter white lights may have been LED lights.

I'm doubting it. The lamps in these particular high rise light towers have been white the whole time I've lived in the Lawton area, more than 20 years, which is well ahead of the advent of high intensity LED use in outdoor lighting, jumbotrons, etc.

So in all lilkelihood, they're metal halide lights? Of course, high-pressure sodium lights are the amber-colored ones.

[Grzrd]

This TV video reports that the Arkansas House of Representatives has passed a resolution that the completion of I-49 is important enough for the federal government to provide funding, with the $500 million Arkansas River bridge perhaps being a first priority:

The 14-mile stretch of bridge that would go from Barling to Alma over the Arkansas River is projected to cost $500 million, according to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
"Anything that the federal government can do to speed this process along I'm all in favor of,"  Owen said ....
Federal funding is exactly what the authors of HR 1018 are encouraging. They also want to bring attention back to the project, which Owen said needs to be a priority.
"When this is completed, there's not going to be any stopping expansion of Fort Smith, I can tell you that, and even the rest of Sebastian County,"  he said.
The expansion from Fort Chaffee to Texarkana is estimated to cost about $2.5 billion, according to the AHTD.

The text of the resolution is linked in the article:

10 NOW THEREFORE,
11 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIRST GENERAL
12 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
13
14 THAT the House of Representatives recognize the need for expansion of
15 the United States Route 49 north-south corridor and encourage the United
16 States Government to fund a project to provide accessibility to and create
17 economic prosperity for the Arkansas communities extending along the
18 corridor.
19
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT upon adoption of this resolution, an appropriate
21 copy shall be provided to the Arkansas congressional delegation by the Chief
22 Clerk of the House of Representatives

[NE2]

For the record, the preamble makes it clear that they mean I-49, not US 49 (which is also in Arkansas).

[The Ghostbuster]

Interstate 49 and US 49 are on opposite sides of the state, so any confusion should be minimal.

[US71]

Interstate 49 and US 49 are on opposite sides of the state, so any confusion should be minimal.

In theory. Still, naming them correctly would ensure no confusion.

[NE2]

You're replying to a bot.

[Gordon]

One thing would help is having the engineering done on this project. President Trump said the other day that his infrastructure projects that he wants to do later this year is for them to be ready for construction immediately and not be 2 years before they actually start hiring people like they did on the stimulus jobs a while back. AHTD needs to get off there butt and get it ready or we will lose out on that help. I 49 needs to be a priority for them and maybe the governor can help on that.

[Scott5114]

One thing would help is having the engineering done on this project. President Trump said the other day that his infrastructure projects that he wants to do later this year is for them to be ready for construction immediately and not be 2 years before they actually start hiring people like they did on the stimulus jobs a while back. AHTD needs to get off there butt and get it ready or we will lose out on that help. I 49 needs to be a priority for them and maybe the governor can help on that.

Of course, that presupposes the infrastructure plan will be funded. Even among the Republicans there are a lot of skeptics, so it's possible it will see the same fracturing of support that the healthcare bill is seeing.

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

AHTD has way to much shit on their plate! What they need to do is take a step back and think about their life choices, because clearly, the people in position now aren't doing so well with Arkansas' transportation "Hey guys I got 53 million the other day, let's go build an Interstate" "Oh, guys lets expand I-30 in Little Rock!" -- Meanwhile, US 71 is turning to dust....

Great job AHTD! I haven't heard anything yet on District 4's plans for US 71 renovations in Sebastian County (it needs it!), but I will wait!

[US71]

AHTD has way to much shit on their plate! What they need to do is take a step back and think about their life choices, because clearly, the people in position now aren't doing so well with Arkansas' transportation "Hey guys I got 53 million the other day, let's go build an Interstate" "Oh, guys lets expand I-30 in Little Rock!" -- Meanwhile, US 71 is turning to dust....

Great job AHTD! I haven't heard anything yet on District 4's plans for US 71 renovations in Sebastian County (it needs it!), but I will wait!

Take a look below Artists' Point: there are giant cracks and gaps in the pavement, but all they do is (attempt to) patch them

[Grzrd]

I can't remember if this has been mentioned, but this article reports that AHTD is studying whether to toll the thirteen-mile Arkansas River bridge section of I-49:

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is commissioning a study on the feasibility of not only using tolls to help build a new section of Interstate 49 in western Arkansas, but also to have someone else operate and maintain the tollway.
The Arkansas Highway Commission last week approved an order to solicit consultants to study using tolls and a public-private partnership to complete a 13-mile section of I-49 from Interstate 40, where I-49 ends now, south to Arkansas 22 in Barling. ....
it could actually be a design-build-finance-operate-maintain project. Part of the study should also evaluate the costs and benefits of operations and maintenance by a third party versus operations and maintenance by the department." ....
The estimated price tag of the 13.7-mile segment between Barling and Alma is $380 million. The estimate includes $110 million for a new bridge over the Arkansas River. ....
The consultant will have to reassess the environmental impact statement for the project because it is outdated. The Federal Highway Administration approved it in 1997.
The consultant also will develop a "conceptual and preliminary design for more accurate cost estimating ... explore tolling as a feasible funding option and ... determine if the project is a candidate for the design/build/maintain project delivery method," state highway officials said.
From the time it takes to hire the consultant to completion of all aspects of the study, it could take two years, Bennett said.

This slide from AHTD's presentation on the Future of Fort Smith concisely summarizes what should be produced by the end of the study (p. 31/35 of pdf). I am particularly interested in the coceptual design:

Scott Bennett's "Wish list" for Governor Hutchinson and President Trump: the I-69 Mississippi River Bridge and the I-49 Arkansas River Bridge:  http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/115718/fort-smith-great-river-bridges-comprise-arkansas-wish-list

It still looks like they are about 1.5 years away from finishing the conceptual design. No telling how long the final design will take. Sure, the Trump infrastructure plan is a long shot, But it would be nice if this project would have a chance.

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

I can't remember if this has been mentioned, but this article reports that AHTD is studying whether to toll the thirteen-mile Arkansas River bridge section of I-49:

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is commissioning a study on the feasibility of not only using tolls to help build a new section of Interstate 49 in western Arkansas, but also to have someone else operate and maintain the tollway.
The Arkansas Highway Commission last week approved an order to solicit consultants to study using tolls and a public-private partnership to complete a 13-mile section of I-49 from Interstate 40, where I-49 ends now, south to Arkansas 22 in Barling. ....
it could actually be a design-build-finance-operate-maintain project. Part of the study should also evaluate the costs and benefits of operations and maintenance by a third party versus operations and maintenance by the department." ....
The estimated price tag of the 13.7-mile segment between Barling and Alma is $380 million. The estimate includes $110 million for a new bridge over the Arkansas River. ....
The consultant will have to reassess the environmental impact statement for the project because it is outdated. The Federal Highway Administration approved it in 1997.
The consultant also will develop a "conceptual and preliminary design for more accurate cost estimating ... explore tolling as a feasible funding option and ... determine if the project is a candidate for the design/build/maintain project delivery method," state highway officials said.
From the time it takes to hire the consultant to completion of all aspects of the study, it could take two years, Bennett said.

This slide from AHTD's presentation on the Future of Fort Smith concisely summarizes what should be produced by the end of the study (p. 31/35 of pdf). I am particularly interested in the coceptual design:

Scott Bennett's "Wish list" for Governor Hutchinson and President Trump: the I-69 Mississippi River Bridge and the I-49 Arkansas River Bridge:  http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/115718/fort-smith-great-river-bridges-comprise-arkansas-wish-list

It still looks like they are about 1.5 years away from finishing the conceptual design. No telling how long the final design will take. Sure, the Trump infrastructure plan is a long shot, But it would be nice if this project would have a chance.

Well, his Wall budget is going to have to come from somewhere, so no telling where the funds are going to come from and what other thing will be on the verge of collapse in our shit economy.

[Grzrd]

Scott Bennett's "Wish list" for Governor Hutchinson and President Trump: the I-69 Mississippi River Bridge and the I-49 Arkansas River Bridge:  http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/115718/fort-smith-great-river-bridges-comprise-arkansas-wish-list

It still looks like they are about 1.5 years away from finishing the conceptual design. No telling how long the final design will take. Sure, the Trump infrastructure plan is a long shot, But it would be nice if this project would have a chance.

This MSNBC TV video has Fort Smith and Chaffee Crossing officials wanting the Trump infrastructure plan to build a large part of I-49:

Fort Smith holds a Gallup poll distinction most cities want desperately to avoid – its residents reported the lowest well-being of anywhere in the United States, in part due to 12,000 manufacturing jobs lost here since 1999. Locals say the most devastating closure was the shutdown of the iconic Whirlpool factory, which at its peak employed 4,500 people ....
But local boosters are looking to one infrastructure project in particular to provide a massive jolt to Fort Smith's economy: the completion of Interstate 49, which when finished would stretch from New Orleans to Canada.
"We're ready for them to start moving dirt," says Ivy Owen, who leads a multi-state coalition pushing to complete the project.
Today, Fort Smith is home to an unconnected six-mile stretch of highway funded in part by President Obama's stimulus bill that opened in 2015. It is flanked by new development and green road signs proclaiming it "Future Interstate 49," but on both sides, it dead-ends.
For around $3 billion, the government could complete Interstate 49 in Arkansas and create an uninterrupted 1,700 mile trade corridor that runs right through Fort Smith, something supporters say would transform the city's fortunes.
In a chopper flying over the lonely six-mile stretch of the highway, Owen said he believes Trump can get it done.
"Mr. President, you campaigned on jobs. Finishing this highway will produce jobs."

The first problem is that Scott Bennett did not include finishing I-49 in his "wish list". That said, I've thought that he should have at the very least included some I-49 bypasses (Mena, Waldron, etc.) in case the Arkansas River bridge would not be ready for construction in time.  I wonder if it's too late for him to amend his list?

[Gordon]

President Trump said on the news he wanted infrastructure projects to ready to put people to work within 3 months when they get a bill passed to spend money. Looks like Scott Bennett has I-49 on his back burner. Same thing happened when Stimulus bill passed. Bella Vista bypass was not ready for construction so they could only use 2 million for utility relocation. This Time Governor Hutchinson Asked for the bridge project get started on design and engineering work or there wouldn't be nothing at all ready. That is called dropping the ball for a priority road that needs to be built. He could ask Missouri to ask jointly for money to finish Bella Vista Bypass to 4 lanes.