I-49 in Arkansas

[agentsteel53]

there was a New York I-78 shield in Queens (or eastern Brooklyn - nowhere near the modern I-78 terminus) well into the early 2000s.

[bugo]

Okay, AARoads Forum members- it's the moment for which you have all been waiting...

Time for the I-540 signage scavenger hunt!

Our AHTD sign crews think they have replaced and/or removed all of the I-540 signs in relation to the redesignation of the route north of Alma as I-49. Time for you to let us know if they got 'em all. Here are the rules:

Can we make it a non-state name shield scavenger hunt instead?  Those new I-49 shields are hideous looking.  The style AHTD used about 10 years ago was much, much better.

[agentsteel53]

the worst part is that, unlike a Tennessee or Illinois or Minnesota neutered sign, these Arkansas shields leave no room for an aftermarket retrofit of a state name.

well, you can try...



I of course in no way endorse the vandalism of public property, but if some state-named Arkansas I-49 shields appeared, I would not be too discriminating about their source.

[Arkansastravelguy]

Several 540 signs at AR 112 and AR 264


iPhone

[US71]

HELPFUL HINTS:
Be sure to check I-40 - it was dual-signed with I-540 from Van Buren to Alma.

There was only one sign along I-40 that wasn't an overhead: it's just west of Exit 12 (I-49) along WB I-40. As of 6-1-14, it was still there.  540 was never co-signed along EB I-40, so there are no free standing signs heading east.


OK, no signs as a reward?  How about an official AHTD hat?

[Avalanchez71]

So is the Bella Vista bypass to be a "Super Two?"  I would be pissed if I bought a "Mountain Vista" only to have a highway in view of my piece of property.  You know that Eric Estrada sold peaceful mountain vistas on infomercials.

[US71]

So is the Bella Vista bypass to be a "Super Two?"  I would be pissed if I bought a "Mountain Vista" only to have a highway in view of my piece of property.  You know that Eric Estrada sold peaceful mountain vistas on infomercials.

If memory serves correct, it will be a "Super 2" until there is enough money to widen it.

[yakra]

Or "twin" it, as they say in the Great White North.

[Avalanchez71]

How long until they build it?  What is the traffic like now through this segment?  How long to you think that they four lane it?

[AHTD]

That's just it....

There is no "through" traffic and there won't be until Missouri can meet us at the state line.

The current effort includes fully completed interchanges, so all we will have to do is add the additional two (northbound) lanes.

All it will take is an estimated $50 million.

[txstateends]

All it will take is an estimated $50 million.

Maybe Steve Ballmer or Mark Cuban have that much in their couch cushions??

[O Tamandua]

OK, to those who are interested (in seeing the final leg of Missouri's I-49 finished): according to this Joplin Globe article, there will be public comment on the transporation priority lists for the proposed transportation tax up for a vote in August.  It looks like there will be both "open house" meetings and a public web site to be announced.

I know there are intrepid people here who will likely see any announcement on this before I do, but whatever I see germane to this I will post here.  If they pass it, let's get Missouri to finish the final McDonald County stretch of I-49 as we still focus on Arkansas building their share.

EDIT: Here is a link to the sales tax improvement program guide page they have for Missouri's Southwest District.  The final leg of I-49 is (Project #?)7PO601-H ("H" for "highway").  The forest green color of that link means the project is for Fiscal Year 2018.  Also, here is the main index page for the STIP 2015-2019 Draft proposals, and it says that one can call 1-888-275-6636 to make comments, or enter them online at http://modot.mo.gov/plansandprojects/construction_program/STIPComments.htm, or email them to STIPcomments@modot.mo.gov .

(Grzrd, in the spirit of your posts here, hope I done good.  )

[rickmastfan67]

AHTD, when might the newly posted segment of I-49 (former I-540) be getting it's new exit numbers based on it's mileage?  I want to be able to update OSM when they are getting posted.

[Grzrd]

according to this Joplin Globe article, there will be public comment on the transporation priority lists for the proposed transportation tax up for a vote in August.  It looks like there will be both "open house" meetings and a public web site to be announced ....
Here is a link to the sales tax improvement program guide page they have for Missouri's Southwest District.

O Tamadua, thanks for posting the map. It's a great visual!

The good news is that if the sales tax fails at the ballot, then the 2018 timetable for the BVB is in the STIP that you posted and which is reflected in the map.

There will soon be two concurrent public comment periods in Missouri: one for the STIP, and one, beginning June 13, for the sales tax transportation projects. As recently posted in the I-49 Coming to Missouri thread, it has been reported that the BVB will be included in the sales tax project list. MoDOT will probably post that list on June 13 (last week MoDOT had posted a link for regional priority lists that had no projects, but recently removed it, presumably because they are waiting for all of the lists to be completed). I'm guessing that the better news might be that, if the sales tax is approved by the voters, then the 2018 date for the BVB will be accelerated to perhaps 2015 or 2016 (it's worth mentioning that the BVB is one of only 25 "new" projects in the STIP because of the current budgetary constraints, which strongly suggests it is a high priority project for MoDOT).

FWIW that's simply my read on the situation in Missouri.

[O Tamandua]

according to this Joplin Globe article, there will be public comment on the transporation priority lists for the proposed transportation tax up for a vote in August.  It looks like there will be both "open house" meetings and a public web site to be announced ....
Here is a link to the sales tax improvement program guide page they have for Missouri's Southwest District.

O Tamadua, thanks for posting the map. It's a great visual!

The good news is that if the sales tax fails at the ballot, then the 2018 timetable for the BVB is in the STIP that you posted and which is reflected in the map.

There will soon be two concurrent public comment periods in Missouri: one for the STIP, and one, beginning June 13, for the sales tax transportation projects. As recently posted in the I-49 Coming to Missouri thread, it has been reported that the BVB will be included in the sales tax project list. MoDOT will probably post that list on June 13 (last week MoDOT had posted a link for regional priority lists that had no projects, but recently removed it, presumably because they are waiting for all of the lists to be completed). I'm guessing that the better news might be that, if the sales tax is approved by the voters, then the 2018 date for the BVB will be accelerated to perhaps 2015 or 2016 (it's worth mentioning that the BVB is one of only 25 "new" projects in the STIP because of the current budgetary constraints, which strongly suggests it is a high priority project for MoDOT).

FWIW that's simply my read on the situation in Missouri.

Thank you, Grzrd!  Again, I know we're in a financial pinch, but if money is being spent, still, on highways it's hard for me to see why finishing I-49 is NOT a high priority now for Missouri, given that two weeks ago the Northwest Arkansas metro area (partially in Missouri) "hit" the 500,000 mark, plus all the other things happening with "lower I-49 and Texas I-69.  Exciting times, exciting times...)

[txstateends]

About the green section south of I-49, if it's supposed to represent the Bella Vista Bypass, the coloring went the way of US 71's current route into Bella Vista instead.

[O Tamandua]

About the green section south of I-49, if it's supposed to represent the Bella Vista Bypass, the coloring went the way of US 71's current route into Bella Vista instead.

Awp!  Quite true, and that would make no sense because that portion of the highway is in very good shape right now and any bridges, etc. on it are very new.  Still, hoping this is meaning the BVP.

[Grzrd]

About the green section south of I-49, if it's supposed to represent the Bella Vista Bypass, the coloring went the way of US 71's current route into Bella Vista instead.

I think you found a map error.  In defense of the mapmaker, the BVB is identified in the STIP as a "US 71" project.  As I posted approximately two years ago in the I-49 Coming to Missouri thread, the identification of the project as a "US 71" project made me question whether Project 7P0601 involved work on the Bella Vista Bypass.  I telephoned MoDOT and they confirmed that the project was in regard to the Bella Vista Bypass:

In looking at MoDOT's 2013-17 Draft STIP, I noticed what appears to be a Bella Vista Bypass project slated for the 7/2014 to 6/2015 time period (page 11/27 of pdf)

I spoke with a MoDOT individual today and he confirmed that the above 2015 project in the Draft STIP is for the Bella Vista Bypass.

Any confusion on the part of the mapmaker is understandable.

[bjrush]

Someone not from the SWMO district office who doesn't care about I-49 made the map

Intern screwed up

[O Tamandua]

Interesting though not really surprising quote in this Northwest Arkansas Business Journal story which is mainly about a new 10-story building being built in the Pinnacle area of Rogers, AR:

Only four landowners – Hunt Ventures, Joe Whisenhunt, Chad Hatfield and the LaFrance family – have property in the immediate area, and all four of them know what they're doing.

"Everyone is well-funded and positioned to build when the time is right,"  Ball said. "This is going to be rational, not speculative, development. There's a long cycle of demand."

Like George, Ball would not disclose the names of potential tenants, but he did say that moving forward the Pinnacle area would continue to attract companies of the highest caliber, and increasingly companies that do not yet have a presence in Northwest Arkansas.

The end result, Ball predicts, is that in about 10 years the Pauline Whitaker intersection will be completely built out. Looking at current and future indicators, it all makes sense, Ball said.

The Pinnacle Hills Promenade is essentially full, but the public's appetite for retail has not yet been satisfied. In terms of offices, as long as Walmart is located here, there will always be a demand for both Class A and Class B space, and companies are now demanding floor plates of 10,000 SF and up.

And in terms of sheer growth, both the public and private sectors are trying to keep pace with the population. The Northwest Arkansas Council, using figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, estimates that as many as 23 people move to the region each day. Pinnacle and Pauline Whitaker, as well as places across the region, will have to grow to meet the pressure of that influx, Ball said.

http://www.nwabusinessjournal.com/13334/pinnacle-matures-poised-for-most-ambitious-building-yet

While there are several things fueling NWA's growth (mainly, a few big things) Pauline Whitaker Drive wouldn't have existed without former I-540 coming to the area, and that area was quite sparse 12 years ago (at least 2 years after I-540 opened up).  I'm guessing these owners see a completed I-49 (at least in the metro area) in NWA's future 10 years down...maybe more completion elsewhere.

[US71]

While there are several things fueling NWA's growth (mainly, a few big things) Pauline Whitaker Drive wouldn't have existed without former I-540 coming to the area, and that area was quite sparse 12 years ago (at least 2 years after I-540 opened up).  I'm guessing these owners see a completed I-49 (at least in the metro area) in NWA's future 10 years down...maybe more completion elsewhere.

This may be Chicken vs Egg, but the Promenade made a lot possible.  540/49 has been around since the mid- late 1980's when it was US 71. When the Promenade was built, there was little else there (though I think St Mary's/Mercy was scouting out land), though New Hope Road was already straining from excessive growth. The highway department was happy to build them an exit, though (and remove Perry Road).

IMO, Northwest Arkansas as a whole is experiencing explosive growth. I shudder to think what would happen if the bubble suddenly burst.

[Road Hog]

At a steady 23 people per day, it would take 59.5 years for NWA to double its population from the current 500,000 to a million, and that sounds sustainable. A lot can happen in this time, though. It could accelerate, or Walmart could relocate to Dallas.

[bugo]

Walmart isn't going anywhere.  They have too much money invested in Bentonville.  If you've never been there, it's basically Walmartville. 

[US71]

Walmart isn't going anywhere.  They have too much money invested in Bentonville.  If you've never been there, it's basically Walmartville. 

Waltonville

Even though Wal-Mart is notorious for abandoning old stores, it would take a lot for them to abandon their cargo airport  XNA and I just don't see that happening.

Only WM Execs have money, so if they left who would buy their expensive houses?

Wal-Mart is in Bentonville to stay, I'm fairly sure.

[O Tamandua]

...and then there's Tyson Foods in Springdale, which just apparently was successful in bidding for the Hillshire Farms brands.  Given Tyson's earnings reports this year coupled with Hillshire's annual sales, that would put Tyson Foods at #78 in this year's Fortune 500 to Walmarts #1 position.  As a comparison, here are some American states that have either only one or zero corporate headquarters in the 1 to 78 spots on that list (and I'm not including NWA company J.B. Hunt which is somewhere around 470 on the list):

Massachusetts (Boston)
Maryland (Baltimore)
Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
Oklahoma (Tulsa, Oklahoma City)
Louisiana (New Orleans)
Utah (Salt Lake City)
Oregon (Portland)
Missouri (St. Louis, Kansas City)
Florida (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Jacksonville, Orlando)
Colorado (Denver)
Indiana (Indianapolis)
Arizona (Phoenix)
Tennessee (Memphis, Nashville)

All but one of those cities has an NFL, NBA and/or MLB franchise (many with two or all three) and the one which doesn't, Tulsa, has a WNBA team. Amazing. I just don't see an NFL, NBA, MLB or WNBA team for Arkansas in the future...too close to other successful franchises and I"m not sure the state needs one, though I'll be cheering along if it ever happens in my lifetime.) Rather, I see a metro area where some unbelievable things are happening, and which will grow even more with a completed I-49.

(BTW, Road Hog, there are multiple counties bordering Benton County, AR which aren't yet in the NWA metro area but could be added...Adair and Delaware Counties in Oklahoma have been mentioned as candidates, for example.  Those two combined are 62,000 folks, which would be a big jump right there.)