I-49 in Arkansas

Started by Grzrd, August 20, 2010, 01:10:18 PM

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O Tamandua

Normally this wouldn't really merit a mention on this forum alongside the genuine highway/lighting/signage etc. issues but given this is Bentonville it could be very germane...I'm hearing that it's been reported (no link yet) that Walmart has bought 125 acres next to Lowe's on the Bentonville/Bella Vista border.  That will put it right where the BV bypass meets the current north end of I-540.

If this has happened I may not be around to see what comes to fruition with this but that's said to be a very large tract for just a Supercenter or even a distribution center.  New office space?  Or something more significant?  Time will tell, but interesting that its essentially at this particular junction.


US71

Quote from: O Tamandua on February 09, 2014, 09:41:59 PM
Normally this wouldn't really merit a mention on this forum alongside the genuine highway/lighting/signage etc. issues but given this is Bentonville it could be very germane...I'm hearing that it's been reported (no link yet) that Walmart has bought 125 acres next to Lowe's on the Bentonville/Bella Vista border.  That will put it right where the BV bypass meets the current north end of I-540.

If this has happened I may not be around to see what comes to fruition with this but that's said to be a very large tract for just a Supercenter or even a distribution center.  New office space?  Or something more significant?  Time will tell, but interesting that its essentially at this particular junction.

There is already a distribution center at the State Line off 71. It's possible they could move to a better location or maybe just buy up the land so someone else doesn't move in.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

M86

Quote from: O Tamandua on February 09, 2014, 09:41:59 PM
Normally this wouldn't really merit a mention on this forum alongside the genuine highway/lighting/signage etc. issues but given this is Bentonville it could be very germane...I'm hearing that it's been reported (no link yet) that Walmart has bought 125 acres next to Lowe's on the Bentonville/Bella Vista border.  That will put it right where the BV bypass meets the current north end of I-540.

If this has happened I may not be around to see what comes to fruition with this but that's said to be a very large tract for just a Supercenter or even a distribution center.  New office space?  Or something more significant?  Time will tell, but interesting that its essentially at this particular junction.

Even though I despise Walmart with every fiber of my being (and I live in NWA), they'd be smart to start a Walmart Truck Stop.  They've already started on a Walmart Convenience Store at 14th & Walton.  I doubt that is what they're doing.  I've always though that NWA needs a decent truck stop... I-540 is pretty much filled up.  And NWA needs a decent grocery chain! :)

US71

Quote from: M86 on February 10, 2014, 02:33:07 AM
Quote from: O Tamandua on February 09, 2014, 09:41:59 PM
Normally this wouldn't really merit a mention on this forum alongside the genuine highway/lighting/signage etc. issues but given this is Bentonville it could be very germane...I'm hearing that it's been reported (no link yet) that Walmart has bought 125 acres next to Lowe's on the Bentonville/Bella Vista border.  That will put it right where the BV bypass meets the current north end of I-540.

If this has happened I may not be around to see what comes to fruition with this but that's said to be a very large tract for just a Supercenter or even a distribution center.  New office space?  Or something more significant?  Time will tell, but interesting that its essentially at this particular junction.

Even though I despise Walmart with every fiber of my being (and I live in NWA), they'd be smart to start a Walmart Truck Stop.  They've already started on a Walmart Convenience Store at 14th & Walton.  I doubt that is what they're doing.  I've always though that NWA needs a decent truck stop... I-540 is pretty much filled up.  And NWA needs a decent grocery chain! :)

What about Harp's or Marvins?  I've not seen the Wal-Mart c-store yet: is it where the Redbud used to be?
Wal-Mart tried the c-store format years ago with the Wal-Mart Super USA stores. For whatever reason, they failed. Of course, now that the conscience of the company is gone (Sam and Bud) maybe they decided to try again.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

bugo

Quote from: US71 on February 09, 2014, 10:16:59 PM
Quote from: O Tamandua on February 09, 2014, 09:41:59 PM
Normally this wouldn't really merit a mention on this forum alongside the genuine highway/lighting/signage etc. issues but given this is Bentonville it could be very germane...I'm hearing that it's been reported (no link yet) that Walmart has bought 125 acres next to Lowe's on the Bentonville/Bella Vista border.  That will put it right where the BV bypass meets the current north end of I-540.

If this has happened I may not be around to see what comes to fruition with this but that's said to be a very large tract for just a Supercenter or even a distribution center.  New office space?  Or something more significant?  Time will tell, but interesting that its essentially at this particular junction.

There is already a distribution center at the State Line off 71. It's possible they could move to a better location or maybe just buy up the land so someone else doesn't move in.

It's on what was once Spur US 71.

O Tamandua



Link about the land purchase by Walmart off future I-49 Bentonville/Bella Vista:  http://www.nwabusinessjournal.com/13066/walmart-buys-1261-acres-for-4-million

O Tamandua

Quote from: O Tamandua on February 10, 2014, 04:36:04 PM


Link about the land purchase by Walmart off future I-49 Bentonville/Bella Vista:  http://www.nwabusinessjournal.com/13066/walmart-buys-1261-acres-for-4-million

...and I'll go ahead and say it.

I wonder if Walmart has designs on building a new corporate HQ someday there?


  • It was said Walmart was thinking about doing so off I-540 near Northwest Arkansas Community college right before "the" 9/11 happened, but scuttled plans because they thought a big building would be a potential target.
  • Walmart's current headquarters, er, likely leave something to be desired for the crop of Ivy League MBAs who are hitting that company now.  The building also had asbestos issues at one point, according to a woman I once worked with whose husband had to help remove said mineral insulation.
  • Bentonville is developing a significant arts district nearby, and the Walmart HQ building (if it's ever fully abandoned, which I very much doubt) would be prime property.
  • Sam's Club has a big, nice HQ fairly close to the Interstate.  Walmart doesn't.
  • Though employees come from all over at HQ, most of them live in Bentonville and Bella Vista...where this property is right in the middle of.

I know it's fairly dangerous to speculate with this company.  But anything (earthly) is pretty much possible with them as well.

US71

Quote from: O Tamandua on February 10, 2014, 06:11:59 PM
Quote from: O Tamandua on February 10, 2014, 04:36:04 PM


Link about the land purchase by Walmart off future I-49 Bentonville/Bella Vista:  http://www.nwabusinessjournal.com/13066/walmart-buys-1261-acres-for-4-million

...and I'll go ahead and say it.

I wonder if Walmart has designs on building a new corporate HQ someday there?


  • It was said Walmart was thinking about doing so off I-540 near Northwest Arkansas Community college right before "the" 9/11 happened, but scuttled plans because they thought a big building would be a potential target.
  • Walmart's current headquarters, er, likely leave something to be desired for the crop of Ivy League MBAs who are hitting that company now.  The building also had asbestos issues at one point, according to a woman I once worked with whose husband had to help remove said mineral insulation.
  • Bentonville is developing a significant arts district nearby, and the Walmart HQ building (if it's ever fully abandoned, which I very much doubt) would be prime property.
  • Sam's Club has a big, nice HQ fairly close to the Interstate.  Walmart doesn't.
  • Though employees come from all over at HQ, most of them live in Bentonville and Bella Vista...where this property is right in the middle of.

I know it's fairly dangerous to speculate with this company.  But anything (earthly) is pretty much possible with them as well.

Wal-Mart is norotious for trying to reuse many of their old buildings.

-Optical Factory (Fayetteville)
-Truck Logistics (Bentonville)
-Bookkeeping / Health Services (Rogers)
-Wal-Mart Museum (old Walton 5 & 10)

Wal-Mart used to like their old building as part of their illusion about being a small "aw shucks" company. That illusion died with Sam. They have to do something with all that money they're hoarding.

Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

codyg1985

I don't know if there were any "Bud's" in NWS that the old Walmart buildings were converted to. I remember some of them in the mid 90's in Jasper, AL and Cullman, AL.
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

US71

Quote from: codyg1985 on February 11, 2014, 04:27:08 PM
I don't know if there were any "Bud's" in NWS that the old Walmart buildings were converted to. I remember some of them in the mid 90's in Jasper, AL and Cullman, AL.

Alma, AR had a Bud's.

I forgot Helen's Arts and Crafts too over some of the old Wal-Marts.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Scott5114

Quote from: US71 on February 11, 2014, 12:14:34 PM
Wal-Mart used to like their old building as part of their illusion about being a small "aw shucks" company. That illusion died with Sam.

I don't think anyone has actually bought into that illusion since at least the 1990s. I have never known Walmart as anything other than the canonical example of global capitalism–Walmart is the big business.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

US71

Quote from: Scott5114 on February 11, 2014, 05:38:43 PM

I don't think anyone has actually bought into that illusion since at least the 1990s. I have never known Walmart as anything other than the canonical example of global capitalism–Walmart is the big business.

Sam died in 1992, so it was shortly after his passing that things changed. Bud tried to carry on, but was quickly silenced by the monied executives.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Grzrd

#662
In its January 23 Comment regarding the Draft Primary Freight Network, AHTD contends that I-540/Future I-49 from I-40 to US 71B should be included in the draft network:



Previous discussion about the Draft Primary Freight Network can be found in this thread:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=11125.0

O Tamandua

Quote from: Grzrd on February 13, 2014, 10:28:49 PM
In its January 23 Comment regarding the Draft Primary Freight Network, AHTD contends that I-540/Future I-49 from I-40 to US 71B should be included in the draft network:



Previous discussion about the Draft Primary Freight Network can be found in this thread:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=11125.0

Northwest Arkansas urbanized area (population of over 200,000)?!?!

The darn NWA metro is sitting on just over 500,000 right now, I do believe.

bugo

Quote from: US71 on February 11, 2014, 05:28:28 PM
Quote from: codyg1985 on February 11, 2014, 04:27:08 PM
I don't know if there were any "Bud's" in NWS that the old Walmart buildings were converted to. I remember some of them in the mid 90's in Jasper, AL and Cullman, AL.
Alma, AR had a Bud's

There was one in Hot Springs near the western US 70-270 split (now 70B-270B).

codyg1985

Quote from: Grzrd on February 13, 2014, 10:28:49 PM
In its January 23 Comment regarding the Draft Primary Freight Network, AHTD contends that I-540/Future I-49 from I-40 to US 71B should be included in the draft network:



Previous discussion about the Draft Primary Freight Network can be found in this thread:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=11125.0

The Interstate 49? Are they turning into south Louisiana?
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

AHTD

We received a request to post links to these documents in this thread.

FEIS: U.S. 71 - Texarkana to DeQueen and the Texarkana Northern Loop (90.4mb)
http://www.arkansashighways.com/forums/FEIS_U.S.71_TXK-DeQueen_and_TXK_North_Loop.pdf

FEIS: U.S. 71 - Texarkana to DeQueen and the Texarkana Northern Loop APPENDIX (100mb)
http://www.arkansashighways.com/forums/FEIS_U.S.71_TXK-DeQueen_and_TXK_North_Loop_(appendix).pdf

FEIS: U.S. 71 - DeQueen to I-40 (77.3mb)
http://www.arkansashighways.com/forums/FEIS_U.S.71_DeQueen-I-40.pdf

FEIS: U.S. 71 - DeQueen to I-40 (APPENDIX) (15.9mb)
http://www.arkansashighways.com/forums/FEIS_U.S.71_DeQueen-I-40_(appendix).pdf

Enjoy!
Travel and construction information available at www.idrivearkansas.com

Grzrd

^ AHTD, thanks for posting the above FEIS info. Great historical info.




Quote from: Gordon on May 24, 2012, 07:27:38 PM
I asked the AHTD bridge department when do they plan to design the I 49 Arkansas River Bridge In the Fort Smith area ...

Quote
Our bridge program through 2016 does not include that structure.

Carl J. Fuselier, P.E.
Division Head - Bridge
Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department
Quote from: Grzrd on September 26, 2013, 02:07:19 PM
This article, primarily an update about the (non-Future I-49) I-540 construction work in Fort Smith, notes that the I-540 Arkansas River bridge is not being upgraded, primarily because funding for the Future I-49 Arkansas River bridge is a higher priority:
Quote
Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department District 4 Engineer Chad Adams ....
According to Adams, widening the bridge to conform with current federal highway standards, which is what the contractors are doing with many of the bridges along I-540, is not financially feasible, especially considering that the AHTD is attempting to secure funding for a river bridge along the I-49 route.
Quote from: AHTD on January 14, 2014, 05:39:31 PM
the river crossings (Arkansas River estimated around $500 million)

AHTD, in regard to the I-49 Arkansas River bridge, do you have any updates as to when design studies for the bridge might begin and/or funding updates?

bugo

Let me guess: It will be a humpback concrete span with no superstructure and Jersey barriers, just like virtually every bridge AHTD has built in the last 70 years.

US71

Quote from: bugo on February 19, 2014, 11:08:15 AM
Let me guess: It will be a humpback concrete span with no superstructure and Jersey barriers, just like virtually every bridge AHTD has built in the last 70 years.

UCEB: Ugley Concrete Eyesore Bridge (H/T to Bridgehunter.com)
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

bjrush

Quote from: bugo on February 19, 2014, 11:08:15 AM
Let me guess: It will be a humpback concrete span with no superstructure and Jersey barriers, just like virtually every bridge AHTD has built in the last 70 years.

Cash-strapped agency not wasting money on unnecessary frills? Sounds like they deserve applause and a thank you from the public

They aren't opposed to it, but the money has to come from somewhere. See Broadway Bridge
Woo Pig Sooie

O Tamandua

How big a deal is it to have an Interstate that A) doesn't yet connect with its southern counterpart 150 miles away with no idea when said connection will ever happen, and; B) doesn't yet connect to its northern counterpart, either, and will require a billion dollar bridge to do so (kind of like how no one yet really knows when the Bella Vista connector will link to future I-49 right near that 125 acre land purchase Walmart has just made)?

THIS big (interstate just at the lower right of the attached image)...keep it up, AHTD...we're ALL going to be the better for this completed I-49 some day:



Quote

"The announcement is wonderful news for Fort Smith and Barling,"  Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders said. "Not only will it provide a needed influx of physicians for this region, it will also provide a significant economic impact for all of this area."

The Fort Smith Regional Healthcare Foundation intends to build what it calls the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine on 200 acres near Chad Colley Boulevard at Chaffee Crossing.

"We are committing $58 million to this project,"  foundation board chairman Kyle Parker said during a meeting of the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority's Board of Trustees. "The proposed medical school will enrollarrow-10x10.png 150 students per year for a total of 600 students that will be attending."

Parker added that current plans place the first crop of students in class by August 2017.

"There have been a lot of good days at Chaffee Crossing, but I think this one tops them all,"  FCRA executive director Ivy Owen said. "This fits perfectly in our land reuse plan."

The acreage, located in both Fort Smith and Barling, was donated by the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday.

"For us to give away $4 million worth of land doesn't come easy,"  FCRA Board of Trustees chairman Dean Gibson said.

The foundation estimates an annual economic impact on the community of $75 million to $100 million.
"The impact of this besides the $75 million a year is just immeasurable in my opinion,"  Owen said.

Mercy System, Sparks, Cooper Clinic, the Choctaw Nation Health Services Authority and Community Health Centers of Arkansas have indicated their desire to play integral roles in the clinical rotations and residency education of the proposed college, according to Parker.

"What we fully anticipate doing is continuing to build a medical university,"  he said. "We will look at a dental school, a physician's assistant school, physical therapy schools."

Parker said the college will employ 65 teachers with annual salaries of at least $103,000. Owen said 60 percent of the graduating doctors will become family practice physicians, "but they can go specialized."

"I think they've come up with the right idea,"  Barling Mayor Jerry Barling said. "Everybody is going to be a winner on this one."

http://swtimes.com/news/plans-unveiled-regional-medical-school


AHTD

#672
Indeed this is very good news!


Did you know we recently located our new District 04 HQ at Chaffee Crossing?
http://swtimes.com/sections/news/new-district-office-state-highway-department-open-barling.html

Planning is currently working on revised estimates for the Arkansas River crossing, once that is available we will post in this forum.
Travel and construction information available at www.idrivearkansas.com

M86

Quote from: AHTD on February 20, 2014, 12:03:36 AM
Did you know we recently located our new District 04 HQ at Chaffee Crossing?
http://swtimes.com/sections/news/new-district-office-state-highway-department-open-barling.html

Any chance you can rework Districts 4 and 9?  District 9 has their headquarters in Harrison.  The NWA metro is nearing half of a million people.  Why would Benton County's district headquarters be almost 2 hours away?  It's makes no sense, and is clearly creating issues here.

bjrush

Good question. What is the process for redistricting, I assume it goes through the Commission?
Woo Pig Sooie



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