I-49 in Arkansas

[O Tamandua]

I mean I was pleasantly surprised when I saw your pics.  I was under the impression that this was to be a stupor 2 as well.

Thanks.  Again, as mentioned previously, the likely (up by 9 points on his Democratic opponent) next governor of Arkansas and the brand new Senate Majority Leader (also a Republican) are both from this community (Gravette), within whose school district about 4/5 of the Arkansas-side Bella Vista bypass runs.  They can't do anything about Missouri, but I still get a feeling they'll take a keen interest in the progress of I-49.  The more of this future Interstate that's built as they assume their new office, the better.

However much of this four-lane is paved, it's still WONDERFUL news.

[codyg1985]

Maybe they are just paving where the exit ramps will be?

[O Tamandua]

Maybe they are just paving where the exit ramps will be?

I don't think so.  The exit ramp future carriageways (isn't that what you call it) have been cut/dug.  You can see them in the Rocky Dell Hollow pictures.  Interestingly, for the most part the exits on the 2nd section (Rocky Dell Hollow Rd. to the new west Highway 72 bridge) are still dirt.

OK, Mid-southers.

Here are pictures I snapped this afternoon on the second (new Hwy 72 bridge in Gravette to Rocky Dell Hollow bridge west of Bella Vista Highlands) section of the Bella Vista Bypass, future I-49.  See if you notice something that looks unusual:

Facing north, new Rocky Dell Hollow Road bridge in distance:



Facing south, same location as above:



Facing north from new (West) Highway 72 bridge between old Gravette and Gravette/Hiwasse:



Facing south, same location as above:

[codyg1985]

^ I hope you are right and that they are paving both sides. Here is an example of where they paved both sides around where the exit ramp is on the recently-opened section of the BVB.

[O Tamandua]

...and in a timely story in the City Wire today:

The Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority is scheduled to meet with the chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee next month, the second meeting with a high-ranking Washington politician in Fort Smith since August regarding infrastructure-related issues.

According to RITA Executive Director Mat Pitsch, U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, a Republican from Pennsylvania and chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was invited to visit Fort Smith and meet with RITA by U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers.

http://www.thecitywire.com/node/34679#.VBG3TvldXUQ

[M86]

Thanks.  Again, as mentioned previously, the likely (up by 9 points on his Democratic opponent) next governor of Arkansas and the brand new Senate Majority Leader (also a Republican) are both from this community (Gravette), within whose school district about 4/5 of the Arkansas-side Bella Vista bypass runs.  They can't do anything about Missouri, but I still get a feeling they'll take a keen interest in the progress of I-49.  The more of this future Interstate that's built as they assume their new office, the better.

However much of this four-lane is paved, it's still WONDERFUL news.

Politics on this forum is really frowned upon... FYI

[bugo]

Thanks.  Again, as mentioned previously, the likely (up by 9 points on his Democratic opponent) next governor of Arkansas and the brand new Senate Majority Leader (also a Republican) are both from this community (Gravette), within whose school district about 4/5 of the Arkansas-side Bella Vista bypass runs.  They can't do anything about Missouri, but I still get a feeling they'll take a keen interest in the progress of I-49.  The more of this future Interstate that's built as they assume their new office, the better.

However much of this four-lane is paved, it's still WONDERFUL news.

Politics on this forum is really frowned upon... FYI

He didn't post a political opinion so it's not really political. Besides, you can't separate roads from politics because most roads are built by the government.

[Road Hog]

I can't tell if they're laying asphalt or wet concrete. I didn't see any rebar. Which is the final surfacing going to be?

[Scott5114]

Thanks.  Again, as mentioned previously, the likely (up by 9 points on his Democratic opponent) next governor of Arkansas and the brand new Senate Majority Leader (also a Republican) are both from this community (Gravette), within whose school district about 4/5 of the Arkansas-side Bella Vista bypass runs.  They can't do anything about Missouri, but I still get a feeling they'll take a keen interest in the progress of I-49.  The more of this future Interstate that's built as they assume their new office, the better.

However much of this four-lane is paved, it's still WONDERFUL news.

Politics on this forum is really frowned upon... FYI

He didn't post a political opinion so it's not really political. Besides, you can't separate roads from politics because most roads are built by the government.

This. "Highway 43 is likely to be built because it runs by Senator Greene's town" is acceptable. "Senator Greene is wasting government money on pork barrel highway 43 death benghazis because single-payer ISIS gun control abortions are sequestered" is not.

[O Tamandua]

Thanks.  Again, as mentioned previously, the likely (up by 9 points on his Democratic opponent) next governor of Arkansas and the brand new Senate Majority Leader (also a Republican) are both from this community (Gravette), within whose school district about 4/5 of the Arkansas-side Bella Vista bypass runs.  They can't do anything about Missouri, but I still get a feeling they'll take a keen interest in the progress of I-49.  The more of this future Interstate that's built as they assume their new office, the better.

However much of this four-lane is paved, it's still WONDERFUL news.

Politics on this forum is really frowned upon... FYI

He didn't post a political opinion so it's not really political. Besides, you can't separate roads from politics because most roads are built by the government.

This. "Highway 43 is likely to be built because it runs by Senator Greene's town" is acceptable. "Senator Greene is wasting government money on pork barrel highway 43 death benghazis because single-payer ISIS gun control abortions are sequestered" is not.

Thanks, Scott.  And that's as far as I'm going to go with it, save to add (again) there hasn't been an Arkansas governor from this region of the state since the early 60s.  If Rep. Hutchinson's gubernatorial hopes materialize, we'll see what they do.

Road Hog, I couldn't get close enough to take a picture (and feel stupid saying it this way) but there was SOMETHING buried in the ground beneath where they were paving (in the West Hwy. 72 bridge north-facing pictures) the day or two before they started paving...you see those square shapes before the equipment in the north-facing picture.  Whatever they've done, the pavement now extends to at least the end of the dirt in that picture, as far as the eye can see, as of yesterday, which is where the equipment was when I drove by as well.  BTW, at the East new Hwy. 72 bridge (Hiwasse/Gravette to Bentonville/I-49 segment) they were working in the dark two nights ago at 8:45 pm, as if it were the resurfacing of an active interstate.  Not sure why everyone's flying about now but BOY have they been active this month.

[US71]

FWIW, I saw 4 dump trucks pull off of Sunset Dr onto US 71 this afternoon. That's almost 2 miles north of the 49 construction, so maybe they were working on the road further west.

[cjk374]

I hope they take their time and put enough pride in their work to do the paving job right instead of making mistakes that will cost more money in the VERY near future to fix broken concrete way before its time.

They got in that kind of hurry in the late 60s/early 70s when they built the "new" US 65 between Little Rock and Pine Bluff.  The builders were dragging the concrete pavers over muddy roadbed with bulldozers so they could get the paving job done quicker.  Those of us who drove over that road regularly felt the results of that for many years.

[US71]

I hope they take their time and put enough pride in their work to do the paving job right instead of making mistakes that will cost more money in the VERY near future to fix broken concrete way before its time.

They got in that kind of hurry in the late 60s/early 70s when they built the "new" US 65 between Little Rock and Pine Bluff.  The builders were dragging the concrete pavers over muddy roadbed with bulldozers so they could get the paving job done quicker.  Those of us who drove over that road regularly felt the results of that for many years.

I-57 in Illinois was built with substandard materials and had to be rebuilt in the late 70's/early 80's.  I think the state wound up paying for the repairs.

[O Tamandua]

Nothing new on the highway, but in this glowing article on Northwest Arkansas growth today I-49 is listed as the biggest project and called "the spine" for all the development. 

(EDIT #1: and note again that NWA is predicted to be America's third-fastest growing metropolitan area through the year 2020 after Austin and Raleigh/Durham).

(EDIT #2: In a following story also published today, northwest Arkansas also had the most economic growth of any of the top 300+ American metro areas in 2013.)

Again, JMO, but I doubt even Missouri voters can stop the interest in this highway (and the Texas I-69 it will link to) from growing ever stronger.

[galador]

(EDIT #2: In a following story also published today, northwest Arkansas also had the most economic growth of any of the top 300+ American metro areas in 2013.)

My friend and I were discussing this article yesterday and, if you consider Fort Smith part of "NWA"¹, then NWA (the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA + the Fort Smith MSA) is already getting very close to passing up Central Arkansas (Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway MSA + the Pine Bluff MSA) as both the most populous area (761,796 vs. 800,015 respectively, as of 2010 census data) the largest economic driver in the state ($34.2 billion GDP vs. $44.2 billion GDP).

Obviously, NWA still has a bit to go before it surpasses Central Arkansas, but it is slowly getting there.

All this to say... it's clear that the improvements to I-49 are going to be increasingly important in the coming years. 

• This is debatable, but anecdotally, there was a news story on one of the local TV stations about the groundbreaking of the new osteopathic medical college in Fort Smith, and the lead was "There's a new medical college coming to NWA..."

[O Tamandua]

(EDIT #2: In a following story also published today, northwest Arkansas also had the most economic growth of any of the top 300+ American metro areas in 2013.)

My friend and I were discussing this article yesterday and, if you consider Fort Smith part of "NWA"¹, then NWA (the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA + the Fort Smith MSA) is already getting very close to passing up Central Arkansas (Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway MSA + the Pine Bluff MSA) as both the most populous area (761,796 vs. 800,015 respectively, as of 2010 census data) the largest economic driver in the state ($34.2 billion GDP vs. $44.2 billion GDP).

Obviously, NWA still has a bit to go before it surpasses Central Arkansas, but it is slowly getting there.

All this to say... it's clear that the improvements to I-49 are going to be increasingly important in the coming years. 

• This is debatable, but anecdotally, there was a news story on one of the local TV stations about the groundbreaking of the new osteopathic medical college in Fort Smith, and the lead was "There's a new medical college coming to NWA..."

Two things:

1. Actually, the combined NWA/FSM population is just over 801,000 now, I believe.  LR (if you would add Searcy, Pine Bluff and Hot Springs) is over 900,000.  Both will surpass 1,000,000 some day if growth holds.

2.  On the way to Arkadelphia last Saturday, I stopped at the Long John Silver's restaurant on Rogers Ave. in Fort Smith.  They were playing a Fayetteville station, and the break I heard was advertised by Windstream Casino in Joplin, both up I-49 from FSM.  If and when the I-49 river bridge is built, my guess is we'll at least some day see NWA and FSM as a Combined Statistical Area (like Little Rock is with Searcy and Pine Bluff).

[US71]

(EDIT #2: In a following story also published today, northwest Arkansas also had the most economic growth of any of the top 300+ American metro areas in 2013.)

My friend and I were discussing this article yesterday and, if you consider Fort Smith part of "NWA"¹, then NWA (the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA + the Fort Smith MSA) is already getting very close to passing up Central Arkansas (Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway MSA + the Pine Bluff MSA) as both the most populous area (761,796 vs. 800,015 respectively, as of 2010 census data) the largest economic driver in the state ($34.2 billion GDP vs. $44.2 billion GDP).

Obviously, NWA still has a bit to go before it surpasses Central Arkansas, but it is slowly getting there.

All this to say... it's clear that the improvements to I-49 are going to be increasingly important in the coming years. 

• This is debatable, but anecdotally, there was a news story on one of the local TV stations about the groundbreaking of the new osteopathic medical college in Fort Smith, and the lead was "There's a new medical college coming to NWA..."

Fayetteville and Fort Smith are supposed to be separate Metropolitan Survey Areas,  but media has blurred the lines. A lot of our local news in Fort Smith comes Fayetteville/NW Arkansas. Part of it is probably because of the University of Arkansas and their athletic teams.
Part of it is probably Wal-Mart/Tyson/ JBHunt: not a day goes by that one of them has an "important" announcement.

It's also interesting to note that our local newspaper, The Southwest Times Record is now being printed in NW Arkansas and trucked to Fort Smith.

[O Tamandua]

(EDIT #2: In a following story also published today, northwest Arkansas also had the most economic growth of any of the top 300+ American metro areas in 2013.)

My friend and I were discussing this article yesterday and, if you consider Fort Smith part of "NWA"¹, then NWA (the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA + the Fort Smith MSA) is already getting very close to passing up Central Arkansas (Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway MSA + the Pine Bluff MSA) as both the most populous area (761,796 vs. 800,015 respectively, as of 2010 census data) the largest economic driver in the state ($34.2 billion GDP vs. $44.2 billion GDP).

Obviously, NWA still has a bit to go before it surpasses Central Arkansas, but it is slowly getting there.

All this to say... it's clear that the improvements to I-49 are going to be increasingly important in the coming years. 

• This is debatable, but anecdotally, there was a news story on one of the local TV stations about the groundbreaking of the new osteopathic medical college in Fort Smith, and the lead was "There's a new medical college coming to NWA..."

Fayetteville and Fort Smith are supposed to be separate Metropolitan Survey Areas,  but media has blurred the lines. A lot of our local news in Fort Smith comes Fayetteville/NW Arkansas. Part of it is probably because of the University of Arkansas and their athletic teams.
Part of it is probably Wal-Mart/Tyson/ JBHunt: not a day goes by that one of them has an "important" announcement.

It's also interesting to note that our local newspaper, The Southwest Times Record is now being printed in NW Arkansas and trucked to Fort Smith.

US 71, that's an ironic twist, because NWA and FSM are in the same Nielsen DMA (Designated Market Area).  Fay and FSM have been together for decades, but FSM TV station managers fought to pry Benton County AR AWAY from its former market (Joplin, MO-Pittsburg, KS) in the late 80s.  The more counties in a DMA, the more ad dollars a DMA TV station can get.  And what an amazing thing that Benton County is now the most populous of all the counties in this market:

[US71]

Getting (sort of) back on topic here, some of the  Jersey Barrier on I-49 in Lowell is having to be replaced

[bjrush]

Its a retaining wall in some sections too, not just a Jersey

Hopefully the footing is ok. Its underground so they probably haven't checked

[galador]

There is a new article this morning in The City Wire about some further improvements on I-49, including plans for a new set of interchanges where Fullbright Expressway (Hwy. 71), Highway 112 (Razorback Road/Cato Springs Road), and I-49 come together.

Having just had to navigate this interchange recently, I can say that this can't come soon enough. In order to get from anywhere to the south on Fullbright Expressway to I-49 South, you have to get off Fullbright Expressway onto Highway 112 (which is not signaled, there is only a stop sign), and then get on the I-49 ramp from 112 (again, not signaled). Especially when there is traffic from a UofA event, this is awful.

[US71]

There is a new article this morning in The City Wire about some further improvements on I-49, including plans for a new set of interchanges where Fullbright Expressway (Hwy. 71), Highway 112 (Razorback Road/Cato Springs Road), and I-49 come together.

Having just had to navigate this interchange recently, I can say that this can't come soon enough. In order to get from anywhere to the south on Fullbright Expressway to I-49 South, you have to get off Fullbright Expressway onto Highway 112 (which is not signaled, there is only a stop sign), and then get on the I-49 ramp from 112 (again, not signaled). Especially when there is traffic from a UofA event, this is awful.

This is actually on Garland Ave near the Autopark....other side of town

[galador]

This is actually on Garland Ave near the Autopark....other side of town

Hah, oops.  Guess I totally mis-read it then.

All complaints with the other interchange still apply, though... maybe they need to look at that end of 112, too...

[US71]

This is actually on Garland Ave near the Autopark....other side of town

Hah, oops.  Guess I totally mis-read it then.

All complaints with the other interchange still apply, though... maybe they need to look at that end of 112, too...

Once they start to widen that end, maybe they will.

[US71]

AHTD has released a map of proposed improvements to I-49 in the vicinity of AR 112/US 71B on the north end of Fayetteville.