Arkansas Good Roads Magazine - Fall 2023 by Arkansas Good Roads

GOOD ROADS The Award-Winning Magazine of the Arkansas Good Roads Foundation

Foundation Good Roads. Good for All.

Fall 2023

Working Together Pays Dividends for Arkansas Road Community

ROADS LEAD TO STRONGER COMMUNITY. A community’s roads connect us to jobs, healthcare, daily essentials, friends and family — and home. Ergon is proud to provide the materials and support needed to help build and maintain safe roadways across America, connecting us all to what matters most.

Contents

4 From the Executive Director What if it Were Someone you Loved?

7 Good Roads Summer Meeting in Jonesboro 8 Summer Meeting Photo Gallery 10 Rising ARDOT Leader Keli Wylie 10 14 Working Together Pays Dividends for Arkansas Road Community 20 Let Your Adventures Begin: 23 Little Rock Trail System Arkansas Highway Commission Meetings and 27 2024 Bid Letting Schedule 28 People, Projects, Promotions 29 Arkansas Good Roads Annual Meeting Announcement 30 Side Roads Her Unexpected Career in Engineering

Unified Voices in an Angry World

Arkansas’ Welcome Centers

Trails a Critical Part of Community Planning

Promotions and latest projects among AGRF member companies and organizations.

November 15, 2023

King Expressway Extension Open for Traffic Crafton Tull Lays Groundwork for U.S. Bike Route 80 Metroplan Receives $16.5M for Transportation Improvements

On the Cover: I-30 bridge reconstruction zone in Little Rock. (Photo by Joe Quinn.)

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Executive Director’s Message

What if it Were Someone You Loved? Joe Quinn, AGRF Executive Director In early September, my wife and daughter and I were at the wedding of a young man who is the son of a family we have been close to for decades. The event was a reunion of families who raised our children together. We shared third grade birthday parties, peewee football games, carpools, and worried about the transition from middle school to junior high together. To say the least, we know each other. I feel nostalgic looking at how well the kids have all turned out. They are all either employed or still in college, everyone has a career path, and most importantly there is a lot of love in the converted barn where the reception is underway. I have just returned from the taco buffet when a friend sends me an e mail saying, “Have you seen this? Sorry. But wanted you to be aware.” Attached is an article saying that a road worker on a job in Hot Springs had been hit by a car while working the day before. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette article said the driver kept going until running his car into a ditch seven miles away. Police charged the operator with driving under the influence. The newspaper article says the driver left behind a worker lying in a pool of blood. He was airlifted to the emergency room at a nearby hospital. As I scan the newspaper account of yet another incident involving a road worker, I look at the happy young people at the wedding, and I have this moment where I wonder what the parents in this room would think if their child had to work at a job site in the middle of the night with traffic passing just a few feet away? What if their child had to make a living in a world where a drunk driver leaves another human being lying in a pool of blood and races off into the dark Garland County night? In recent years we have seen a woman drive off after hitting an ARDOT worker and go home and try to burn her SUV. The ARDOT worker died. We have also seen another ARDOT worker killed when an elderly man 4 Good Roads Foundation | Fall 2023

driving on an interstate alone in the middle of the night, drove into a job site and killed an ARDOT worker near Morrilton. The latest injured worker in Hot Springs was employed by a sub-contractor working on a road job near the Hot Springs Airport. Luckily, in this case the worker was released from the hospital within 48 hours. As the wedding band starts to play, I wonder if somehow society is more tolerant of accidents when they involve a road worker? Making the roads safer for ARDOT, county, and contractor employees will in fact take motorists “slowing down and putting the phone down.” But it will also mean the judicial system should rethink how charges are filed in these incidents. It will also take all of us thinking differently for real change to happen. When you drive up to a work site, instead of just thinking about your own trip being ten minutes longer, think about how you would feel if it was your child working close to traffic at 4:00 a.m. when rain is falling. If we all can find a way to put real safety measures ahead of personal convenience, we can make progress. The next time you are at a wedding, or family gathering, or dance recital, or hunting with friends, think about how this issue would look to you if the people out on the roads were also the people you love. That was the thought that popped into my head as I carried a plate of tacos across the dance floor at the wedding. While I was complaining to my wife about wearing a suit in the heat during the outside marriage ceremony, a family in Hot Springs was sitting beside a loved one in a hospital room. We all need to slow down when approaching work zones, but we also need to work to guarantee that the force of the law and the judicial system is in full effect in road worker death cases in the same way it is in any other accident.

Executive Board

2023 EXECUTIVE BOARD Dan Flowers President D.B. Hill, III Vice President Bob Crafton Secretary/Treasurer Harold Beaver Graycen Bigger JoAnne Bush Alec Farmer Curt Green Mark Hayes Lance Lamberth Robert Moery Shannon Newton Chris Villines Jim Wooten

Dan Flowers President North Little Rock

D.B. Hill, III Vice President Little Rock

Bob Crafton Secretary/Treasurer Rogers

ARKANSAS GOOD ROADS FOUNDATION The Arkansas Good Roads/Transportation Council was established in 1975 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt and tax-deductible organization. In 2015, the council was re-established as a foundation in order to be a more visible and credible voice on behalf of the mission of the Arkansas Highway Commission and the Arkansas Department of Transportation. The purpose of the foundation is to promote adequate funding and financing for the planning, development, construction, and maintenance of a safe and efficient highway, street, road, and bridge system, including transportation enhancements. The work increases statewide economic growth, private sector job creation and retention, and improves the quality of life in all Arkansas counties, municipalities, and communities.

Harold Beaver Rogers

Graycen Bigger Pocahontas

JoAnne Bush Lake Village

Curt Green Texarkana

Mark Hayes Little Rock

Lance Lamberth Batesville

Alec Farmer Jonesboro

(Non-Voting Member)

Robert Moery Little Rock

Joe Quinn, Executive Director goodroadsfoundation@gmail.com Kathryn Tennison, Editor kathryn@bestmanagement.net Celia Blasier, Designer graphics@bestmanagement.net Shannon Newton Little Rock

Chris Villines Little Rock

Jim Wooten Beebe

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Help them make it home to their families. PROTECT OUR ROAD WORKERS.

For more information, visit:

ARDOT.GOV/SLOWDOWNPHONEDOWN @myARDOT

@idrivearkansas

#SLOWDOWNPHONEDOWN

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NE Arkansas AGRF Event

Good Roads Summer Meeting in Jonesboro a Success by Joe Quinn, Executive Director Talking about Arkansas Trucking infrastructure growth Association President and planning is vital in Shannon Newton any state thinking about talked about Arkansas the future. But nothing being at the heart is more impactful than of the American getting out in the state supply chain and the and focusing on what is challenges facing her happening in one region. drivers. Newton also A trip like that is a spoke about how an chance to see the impact effort in California that completed projects to overregulate the are having and look at trucking industry is congestion points where driving shipping costs future projects can make up and making it harder driving easier. for trucking firms to do Arkansas Good what they are best at. Roads has fully Evan Bolte, the Vice embraced the idea President of Supply US Congressman Rick Crawford of hosting regional Chain at Riceland gatherings to look at what is happening in specific Foods, talked about the unique challenges facing communities and regions. In some ways, infrastructure the agriculture world when it comes to getting raw issues are essentially the same across the state, materials to Riceland facilities or getting the finished but in other ways there are unique challenges and food products to consumers. At its core, Arkansas is opportunities in each region. an agrarian state, and a road system that helps food In July, Arkansas Good Roads hosted a regional companies function well is critical. That is true in all meeting in Jonesboro that focused on the growth in regions of the state and probably an infrastructure Northeast Arkansas. Arkansas Highway Commission issue that doesn’t get discussed enough. Chairman Alec Farmer spent time before the meeting We wrapped up the day with US Congressman Rick laying out the route of a precise tour for commission Crawford giving an update on federal infrastructure members to look at new roads, roads that need to be issues. The Congressman stayed through all the improved, and high congestion driving areas. presentations and when he spoke it was clear he has a ARDOT Director Lorie Tudor updated community deep understanding of the subtleties of infrastructure leaders and Good Roads members on ARDOT and development issues facing Arkansas communities. priorities. Tudor also talked about the subtle shift In the summer of 2022, we held a similar meeting in Arkansas from constantly trying to find adequate in Fort Smith. Both gatherings are reminders that funding for infrastructure development to a world with regional economies are booming across the state. The more available funding. One of the key challenges companies bringing their work and jobs to Arkansas now is contractors finding the talent they need to keep need a quality workforce, but they also need systems up with an increased level of projects being put out for in place to make sure that infrastructure growth keeps bid. pace with economic needs. Fall 2023 | Good Roads Foundation 7

NE Arkansas AGRF Event

Jonesboro Summer Meeting Photo Gallery

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NE Arkansas AGRF Event

Photos by Rusty Hubbard, ARDOT

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ARDOT

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Rising ARDOT Leader Keli Wylie

Rising ARDOT Leader Keli Wylie Her Unexpected Career in Engineering by Deborah Horn Keli Wylie has had a couple of great years. In 2022, she was named a Spark! Star by the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock; an Honorary Commander for the 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base; and she graduated from the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Arkansas Class XVI. Her momentum didn’t slow down with the New Year. The Women’s Foundation of Arkansas named Wylie to its list of Top 100 Women of Impact, saying their honorees are “impacting Arkansas today, and they are making it a better state for future generations”. In addition to being a smart, diverse, and driven woman, she has worked her way from an entry level Civil Engineer in ARDOT’s Roadway Design to Assistant Chief Engineer for Program Delivery in just two decades. “You have to believe in yourself,” Wylie said a few weeks ago from her new windowed office on the top floor of the Arkansas Department of Transportation’s headquarters. However, it’s a promotion that almost didn’t happen. Taking a Big Career U-Turn While at Watson Chapel High School, Wylie’s goal was to pursue a degree in accounting, but while working on prom decorations during her junior year, a local contractor, James Farrell of Farrell Construction of Pine Bluff Inc., recognized a quality in Wylie that she hadn’t realized about herself. He suggested the teenager think about engineering. “I hadn’t been exposed to it…I had never even considered it,” Wylie remembered during a recent interview. So, with that observation and his encouragement, she shifted gears. A few years later, in 2002, she graduated from Louisiana State Tech in Ruston, LA, with a degree in Civil Engineering and an

extensive list of scholastic distinctions. She graduated Cum Laude, belonged to the Golden Key International Honor Society and Chi Epsilon Honor Society for Civil Engineers, and more. She was named a James C. Summerlin Outstanding Scholar and a Civil Engineering Junior of the Year Nominee. Right after graduation, and instead of considering a job in the oil industry, Wylie returned to central Arkansas and accepted a job with ARDOT in the Roadway Design Division’s Freeway Design section. She worked with districts around the state and was involved in projects like interstate and highway widening, interchange designs, bridge and approaches, and reconstruction. Wylie said, “It was a great place to start.” From Engineer to Section Head Six years later, she was named Senior Design Engineer in Roadway Design, and served as Roadway Design Assistant Section Head over the Freeway Design section. She flourished, while expanding her knowledge base and overseeing new responsibilities, and it wasn’t long before she was promoted to Assistant Division Head (ADH). Before having the chance to get her feet wet as ADH, Frank Vozel, then ARDOT Deputy Director and Chief Engineer, promoted her to Program

“Keli is an important asset to ARDOT’s leadership team. She is a good sounding board, and I love her common-sense style of finding solutions to the challenges we face daily.” — Lorie Tudor, ARDOT Director

Left: Keli Wylie (photo by Christophir Smith). Fall 2023 | Good Roads Foundation 11

Rising ARDOT Leader Keli Wylie Administrator over the Connecting Arkansas Program (CAP). Wylie said, “I stepped into the position in November 2012.” This $2 billion CAP program resulted from the passage of a half-cent sales tax by the voters in late 2012. It was expected to raise about $2 billion and would include 31 projects that would be used on improvements on about 200 miles of Arkansas’s four-lane highway system. Additionally, it funded the $1 billion Interstate Rehabilitation Program (IRP). “It was a rare opportunity for me,” Wylie said as CAP is now poised to wrap up with the completion of a few more projects. The program required ARDOT’s best. It was fast paced, but required focus and attention to detail along with good and constant communication between the staff and contractors. Her familiarity with the entire state’s vast and varied roadway system, along with its needs and deficits, proved an asset. She said, “It was an incredible experience.” Guy Washburn, PE, Cranford Construction

Photo courtesy of Deborah Horn.

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General Manager, first met Wylie when she was a staff engineer in Roadway Design. “I have watched Keli grow in experience and responsibility within ARDOT for the past 12 years. Since then, she has been promoted and taken on many different leadership roles within the Department.” Furthermore, Washburn said, “Her work ethic is very strong, and she has balanced her role as a single parent with her professional growth.” Lorie Tudor, ARDOT Director, said, “Keli is an important asset to ARDOT’s leadership team. She is a good sounding board, and I love her common-sense style of finding solutions to the challenges we face daily.” A Stellar View from the I-30 Bridge CAP is the largest multi-project program ARDOT has undertaken and has been praised for its handling and swift execution, said Robert Moore. He worked on highway funding, first as Speaker of the House and later as an Arkansas Highway Commission (AHC) member, and CAP was one of his highest priorities. Wylie said, “It was a career game-changer for me.” Even before CAP was complete, she was named Administrator to the Alternative Project Delivery Program in 2019. That meant she was Project Director for the $650 million bridge and interstate construction project dubbed 30 Crossing. This included the rebuilding and widening of 7.3 miles of I-30 and I-40 through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock—one of Arkansas’s busiest sections of road. It also included the reconstruction of the Arkansas River Bridge and multiple interchanges. It’s expected to ease the traffic bottlenecks that often tie up rush-hour traffic on I-30, I-40, I-440, I-530, and I-630, much like the Big Rock Interchange in West Little Rock. But for Wylie and others, working on 30 Crossing wouldn’t prove as easy as CAP. The project ruffled more than a few downtown feathers and it was unpopular with a particularly vocal group of downtown residents and people who worked there. In public hearings, designed to allow the public to voice their concerns, Wylie said, “I was yelled at, but I think it was coming from a place of frustration.” It didn’t hurt that Wylie is well-spoken and engaging, and she didn’t dismiss the public but always

Rising ARDOT Leader Keli Wylie

“I want other women to realize—if you can envision it, you can achieve it.” — Keli Wylie took their concerns seriously. It’s been a complex project on multiple levels. But as the end of 2023 approaches, the demands of scheduling, lane closures, demolition, contractors and more, work is on track and is expected to meet the mandated completion date. Tudor said about Wylie’s performance, “Her skills are showcased best in how well she coordinated the execution of the Connecting Arkansas Program and the 30 Crossing project.” So it’s not a shock that in April, Wylie was named one of three Assistant Chief Engineers under ARDOT’s Chief Engineer for Preconstruction, Jared Wiley. “Keli’s been an outstanding employee at the department for 20 years and her design background enabled her to successfully transition into other areas,” Wiley said. Like others, Wiley said he believes, “She is the major reason for the success of the (CAP’s) program. She’s fun, personable and outgoing. With Keli you don’t have to worry about the job getting done. All part of the reason she was selected for the Assistant Chief Engineer—Program Delivery position one of the most challenging jobs at the Department,” Wiley said. In addition to the demands of her new job, she continues to manage CAP and 30 Crossing, but Wylie said, “The best part of my job is the people I work with.” Paving the Way for the Next Generation “My engineering career probably wouldn’t have happened without my encounter with James Farrell,” Wylie said. It wasn’t an educational track most young women pursued at the time, and when Wylie entered college, her fellow engineering classmates were young men. Yet, it’s often been her male bosses who have encouraged and supported her efforts to succeed, she remembered. Wylie hasn’t forgotten all the assistance she received along the way, so it’s now her mission to reach out to other young women, and men, to realize

their potential especially in the areas of engineering, math, and science, she said. But she does more than talk. For three years, she served as an Engineering Mentor for the Little Rock’s Museum of Discovery’s Girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program for girls, and last year, the museum named her a 2022 Spark! Star. It casts a spotlight on Arkansans who have successful STEM-based careers. Wylie said, “I was so honored,” and this year, she is serving as a Spark! 2023 co-chair. Additionally, Wylie is a founding chapter member of both ARITE (Arkansas Chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers), and the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Arkansas. It’s the state’s first chapter of WTS International and currently, she’s serving as WTS-Arkansas President. To date, they have raised more than $75,000 in scholarships, aiding women who are pursuing a transportationrelated field of study. Wylie said, “I want other women to realize—if you can envision it, you can achieve it.”

Photo courtesy of Keli Wylie.

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Mack-Blackwell

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Working Together

Working Together Pays Dividends for Arkansas Road Community Unified Voices in an Angry World by Joe Quinn, Executive Director On a September Tuesday afternoon in El Dorado, it still feels like summer as dozens of state and community leaders who have impacted infrastructure growth in Arkansas for decades gather to celebrate Madison Murphy. Murphy is a legendary business leader who in 2012 co-chaired a statewide bond issue election that passed a temporary ½ cent sales tax for road development. Murphy is also a former member of the Arkansas Highway Commission who deflects the praise coming his way with humor. He seems a little amused that Highway 167 will now be known as the Madison Murphy Highway. Murphy’s work on the Move Arkansas Forward bond issue campaign in 2012 permanently changed infrastructure funding in Arkansas. In his remarks, Murphy sums up his efforts simply: “I love the state of Arkansas and I love Southern Arkansas.” Former highway commissioner Jonathan Barnett tells the crowd, “Madison has been a gift to the state of Arkansas. He volunteered to help when he didn’t have to.” Infrastructure development like this leads to private sector jobs and safer roads across all our communities. Mark Lamberth is the President and CEO of Batesville-based Atlas Asphalt. Mark’s son Lance will be the next leader of an Arkansas-based and family-owned company that has been building a better Arkansas for three generations. Mark co-chaired the bond issue campaign with Murphy in 2012. He remembers the campaign fondly: “Diverse industries and businesses from all around the state worked together to pass the half cent sales tax.”

Lamberth jokes that his primary role in the campaign was to chauffer Murphy around the state and keep him on time, but it’s clear on this day that the campaign was a sophisticated effort with leaders like Lamberth and Murphy putting together a real coalition to pass the bond issue in the face of loud opposition. Barnett says, “The half cent sales tax had a lot of opposition in 2012, but it transformed the way we are still building highways and roads today.” This gathering is a reminder that in an angry and confrontational political world, the organizations and people who move in the Arkansas infrastructure world have stayed civil and respectful. House Speaker Matthew Shepherd grew up here and still lives here. He understands that working together pays dividends for communities and regions, “Highway 167 is a lifeline for this region that connects people and places. Every single day, this road is a part of someone’s journey.”

“The different regions of Arkansas generally understand each other, and local leaders tend to work cooperatively. As a smaller state, I think there is a feeling that we are all in this together.” — Arkansas Highway Commissioner Marie Holder

At left: Madison Murphy (Photo by Rusty Hubbard, ARDOT.)

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Working Together

progress and bring continuity to the work we do.” The Mack-Blackwell amendment was passed by voters in the 1950s to give the Arkansas Highway Commission autonomy to make decisions about road construction projects without political interference. Arkansas Highway Commissioner Marie Holder understands the need for community and strategic alignment in this sector of the economy, “The different regions of Arkansas generally understand each other, and local leaders tend to work cooperatively. As a Culture of Cooperation smaller state, I think there is a feeling that we are all ARDOT Director Lorie Tudor worked at ARDOT in this together. Maybe it was the pandemic or shifts as a young woman, then left to get an engineering degree. She came back and quietly worked her way to in the economy, but there is a sense of purpose and the top spot in the sprawling department. The nostalgic working for the greater good—the state highway system.” feel of this day is not lost on her when she says, “We When Speaker Shepherd is asked how many people are here today in part because we are celebrating 70 approach him with suggestions about roads, Shepherd years of the Mack-Blackwell amendment being in place. That amendment has always allowed us to make grins and says, “Well, not as many as I used to get. I think Arkansans understand that we have addressed road funding in the short term. Our roads are, for the most part, superior to roads in states around us.” Shepherd is probably hearing less complaining because Arkansas is in the process of receiving and allocating $3.8 billion dollars in federal infrastructure money passed by Congress. The annual conversation about what road funding the general assembly will approve in the next legislative session has mostly been replaced with a dialogue on how to best allocate the available resources. Current Arkansas Highway Commission Chairman Alec Farmer reminds the crowd that despite what some people think, highway funding does inherently follow traffic, “Right now 50% of our roads carry 90% of the traffic.” Matthew Shepherd, House Speaker. (Photo by Rusty Hubbard, ARDOT.) On this day, the speaker, the legendary business leader, three current or present ARDOT Directors, and three decades of highway commissioners celebrate an industry that creates jobs and makes it easier for a parent to take a child to daycare or the dentist. The road and bridge world is a throwback to a time when gathering multiple stakeholder organizations with a unified message generally led to success.

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Working Together

Robert Moery, Lorie Tudor, and Keith Gibson. (Photo by Rusty Hubbard, ARDOT.)

In 2020, as the pandemic shut down many aspects of life in Arkansas, voters were asked to go to the polls and make permanent the half cent sales tax that Madison Murphy fought for in 2012. Despite political and logistical obstacles created by Covid, Arkansas Good Roads executive board member Robert Moery managed a successful campaign to make the ½ cent tax permanent. If voters had said no, the average city or county road department in the state would have seen budget reductions of 30%. Moery thinks it was an example of the infrastructure community coming together when it mattered the most, “Everyone in Arkansas is impacted by quality roads, and we need to continue to invest in infrastructure. ARDOT, and the Issue 1 Coalition we put together, were specific in telling voters why

the funding extension was needed, and what exactly the money would be spent on. It was a reminder that transparency and precisely defining needs is a successful strategy.” Local Leaders Unified in a New Way Mark Hayes is the Arkansas Municipal League Executive Director. Hayes says the mayors and community leaders he represents feel they have more of a voice in infrastructure issues than they once did. Hayes says that the Municipal League and the Association of Arkansas Counties embraced the reality that a mayor and county judge working together have far more power than if they work separately. Hayes says, “The general state of the relationships between cities and counties is much stronger than it used to Fall 2023 | Good Roads Foundation 17

Working Together

be. Working together to tackle large projects “The general state of the means more can be done rather than working relationships between cities and separately.” Hayes says federal policies and counties is much stronger than regulations don’t always make it easier for it used to be. Working together any local leader to get any project done, but he points out that at the state level the to tackle large projects means relationship local leaders have with ARDOT more can be done rather than has never been better. “Our relationship with Lorie Tudor is great right now,” he says. working separately.” “Lorie has been very easy to work with, and — Mark Hayes, Arkansas Municipal she really listens when we bring an issue to League Executive Director her.” Any Arkansas Good Roads member from year creeps into sight, we are again seeing that any sector of the economy has specific budget or infrastructure leaders in Arkansas continue to embrace policy issues that they are most interested in. That is the idea that on the days when it really matters, the simple reality of different businesses responding working together inevitably pays more dividends than in different ways to labor shortages, inflation, and working separately. shifting political realities. But as the end of another

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Arkansas’ Welcome Centers

LET YOUR ADVENTURES BEGIN: Arkansas’ Welcome Centers by David Nilles

Are you ready to explore Arkansas? The weather is perfect for getting out on the open road and discovering all there is to do in the Natural State. Waiting for you out there are 52 State Parks, a National Park, a National River, over 100 museums, just as many campgrounds, great places to eat and so much more. So where to begin? All the information you need to get ready for that perfect trip is available at your closest Arkansas Welcome Center. You’ll find 13 centers located at strategic points of entry to the state. Where to Find the Centers Welcome Centers can be found at Bentonville, Blytheville, Corning, El Dorado, Harrison, Helena/ West Helena, Lake Village, Mammoth Spring, Red River, Siloam Springs, Texarkana, Van Buren and West Memphis. Construction will begin soon on a new one near the Missouri State Line on the Bella Vista Bypass. 20 Good Roads Foundation | Fall 2023

Step Inside: Relax & Learn Inside each Center, you will find a wealth of information on tourist attractions in the state. Racks and racks of brochures, fliers, booklets and maps are available to help you map an itinerary for your trip. If you have questions, Welcome Center staff will be glad to provide you with answers. Travel consultants share their wealth of knowledge with about one million travelers annually. For those who have already begun their trip, the Centers make for a good place to pull off the road and rest for a while. In addition to travel information, you’ll find rocking chairs for sitting and coffee for drinking. WiFi is also available. Many of the Welcome Centers incorporate design elements such as native stone and large timbers. Each includes vast amounts of space for travel brochures, sitting areas and special exhibits. They also contain computer kiosks, multi-media space and picnic areas outdoors.

Arkansas’ Welcome Centers A special feature of the Lake Village Welcome Center is a 3,700 square-foot multi-level fishing and observation deck overlooking Lake Chicot. The Welcome Center in Helena-West Helena is unique in that it reflects the Antebellum-style architecture of the city around it. It is also the newest Center, opening in 2013. A History of Welcoming Visitors In 1997, ARDOT conducted a study of conditions at its 13 existing Travel Information Centers and concluded that improvements were needed. Working together with the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, ARDOT developed a plan to rebuild eight of the centers. The first decision was to rename them Arkansas Welcome Centers. The first two new Welcome Centers hosted ribbon cuttings in late 2004. Fast forward to 2020 and Arkansas had 10 of the redesigned Welcome Centers opened for travelers.

Coming Soon: A New Center Near Bella Vista Northwest Arkansas will soon be home to the state’s newest Arkansas Welcome Center. With the opening of the Interstate 49 Bella Vista Bypass in September 2022 and the many motorists that drive that interstate, it made perfect sense to build a new center along the bypass. Design plans for the new building, that will be located at the interchange of Interstate 49 and Highway 72 east of Gravette, are almost complete. Northwest Arkansas community leaders have been included in the design process. The site will include picnic tables in a wooded picnic grove, bicycle racks and outdoor space for potential art installations. Once completed, the new facility will join the other Arkansas Welcome Centers across the state in offering a pleasant respite from the road and a wealth of recreational opportunities to make your next trip one in which you see the best that Arkansas has to offer! Reprinted with permission from ARDOT’s Arkansas Highways Magazine.

The Arkansas Welcome Center in Harrison was completed in late 2018. (Photo courtesy of Rusty Hubbard, ARDOT)

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Arkansas State Highway Commission

Philip Taldo Vice Chairman

Dalton A. Farmer Chairman

Keith Gibson Member

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Marie Holder Member

David Haak Member

Little Rock Trail System

Trails a Critical Part of Community Planning by Deborah Horn Leaving Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood ride my bike anywhere, be it to work or out to brunch wasn’t an easy decision for Lea Charlton, but she or dinner, without first having to load up and drive was attracted to the laid back, outdoor lifestyle that somewhere,” Charlton said. Rockwater Village offered. In 2018, there were only about a dozen newly built homes hugging the north Headed Down the Right Path shore of the Arkansas River between Argenta and Charlton’s story embodies what Casey Covington, Burns Park, but it had promise. There was a boat dock Metroplan’s executive director, believes their planned a stone’s throw from where she wanted to build— Greenways project will offer Central Arkansas Charlton loves kayaking on the river—and the small residents and tourists. The idea is for people to be able but close-knit community was welcoming, as was the to jump on and off the trail, grab a beer and a pizza proximity of the water and the wildlife. here and visit friends there, Covington said, before “The birds are gorgeous, including the pelicans, adding that trails like these are “good for attracting eagles, and the dozens of chimney swifts that explode people to an area, and there are economic benefits”. out of the vestal chimney (left as a nod to North Little In the last half decade, countless homes, condos, Rock’s industrial past) at dusk,” Charlton said. The and apartments have sprung up along the Arkansas area checked all the boxes, proving impossible for River Trail. It’s not just about more homes or new her to resist, so she got busy designing her multi-story dream house. These days, her evenings are often spent on the patio grilling or just watching the colorful sunsets or the incredible storms that fill the great expanse of sky over the river. As important to Charlton was the Arkansas River Trail, which runs right past her place. Eventually, the Arkansas River Trail will be part of a 220-mile biking and walking system, known as the Central Arkansas Regional Greenways. “Being close to the trail definitely played a part in my decision to live here. I get to Photo courtesy of Deborah Horn. Fall 2023 | Good Roads Foundation 23

Little Rock Trail System businesses, but, Covington said, “It’s about quality of life”, and “Trails bring people (tourists) to the area, too”. For example, the Big Dam Bridge 100 Cycling Tour started in 2006 with a cap of 1,000 riders, but now, as many as 3,500 bikers come from around America to participate. Tony Patton has been riding for about 40 years and supports the Greenways. He’s met people from all over and said, “Any bike trails are good for Arkansas because so many people come to our state to ride them.” Covington said, “These folks fill our hotels, eat in our restaurants, and celebrate their victories in our local bars and breweries.” The Buck Starts Here In 2021, the Metroplan board adopted a resolution that funds construction of the Greenways to the tune of about $55 million. The plan was crafted by Metroplan staff, the Arkansas Department of

Transportation (ARDOT), local mayors, county judges, and other interested parties and completed last year. It was adopted by the board this year, Covington said. Then, this past August, the Metroplan Board of Directors announced it was awarding $16.5 million in transportation improvement funding for 15 projects in 2024, with much of spending going to early Greenways planning. The money comes through the Surface Transportation Block Grant and Carbon Reduction Programs, a Federal Highway Administration program. Benton, Bryant, Cabot, Maumelle, Sherwood and Pulaski and Saline counties were awarded money to design or start construction on the Greenways trails, while Conway, Greenbrier, North Little Rock, and Little Rock were awarded money to improve their city’s own pedestrian or bike master plans. Covington said, hopefully the trail work will start late this year or early next and provide safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists.

Photo courtesy of Metroplan.

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Little Rock Trail System “Think of it as a (separate) mini road,” according to Metroplan’s website. However, the website’s author went on to say, there will be “some exceptions where on-street bicycle lanes may be necessary”. That’s where input from ARDOT becomes critical. David Siskowski, P.E., ARDOT Local Programs Division Head, first moved here about 15 years ago to work for ARDOT and was into riding bikes at that time. He did the Big Dam 100 a few times and the Hotter’N Hell ride in Texas. He appreciates a good trail system.

When completed, the Greenways’ trails will crisscross Central Arkansas, from north of Conway and Cabot and east from Lonoke and west from Maumelle south to North Little Rock, Little Rock, Wrightsville, and then southeast toward Benton and eventually Hot Springs National Park. Wherever possible, the trail will connect to existing trails, like the Arkansas River Trail or the US Bike Route 60 and possibly more. The completion date will depend on the future availability of funding, Covington said. Go Right at the River The Greenways’ paved trails, between 12 and 14 feet wide, will travel along waterways and other natural terrains that physically separate bike riders and walkers from streets and highways utilized by motorized vehicle traffic. It will intersect with already established routes, such as the Arkansas River Trail, whenever possible.

(Photos courtesy of Crafton Tull.)

“At this time and even at the presidential level, there’s ‘vulnerable funding’ for accommodating bicyclists and other alternative vehicles,” he said. But with federal funding comes rules. According to ARDOT’s Sept. 23 Federal-Aid Attributable Projects 2023 Informational Session PowerPoint presentation, federally funded projects’ design plans must be certified by an Arkansas Licensed Professional Engineer and then submitted to ARDOT for review. This includes the Greenways’ trails. The overall process required is much like that of highway construction, including environmental clearances, right of way acquisitions, bids, construction inspection, and more. ARDOT is responsible for administering federal funding and reimbursement, and general construction oversight. Siskowski said, “We have a good relationship with Metroplan.” Fall 2023 | Good Roads Foundation 25

WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK

AGCARKANSAS

PROTECTING ARKANSAS CONTRACTORS FOR OVER 84 YEARS. AGC Arkansas is the voice of the construction industry in our state. Through a full-time lobbying team, legislative committee and state agency liaison committees, we vigorously promote and protect the construction industries’ interests locally and nationally. The AGC Arkansas Highway Division, along with our membership of building, utility, and associate members, promote and pursue skill, integrity and responsibility with a keen focus on safety and training, all while growing the Arkansas economy, building relationships, and having fun.

“

what our members say

We meet once a week during legislative sessions. Our staff, members, and three lobbyists track the bills and work diligently to ﬁght against laws that may adversely affect our businesses and the construction industry. We also work just as hard to promote good legislation that will beneﬁt us all. I strongly encourage anyone in the construction industry to join AGC and be more involved in legislation, locally and nationally.

”

- Don Weaver, President/CEO Weaver-Bailey Contractors

26 Good Roads Foundation | Fall 2023

2024 Arkansas Highway Commission Meetings and Bid Letting Schedule The Highway Commission has scheduled the following Commission Meetings and Letting dates for Calendar Year 2024. At this time, Commission Meetings, with exception of the October 2, 2024 meeting, are scheduled to be held in Little Rock. The October 2, 2024 meeting will be held in Jonesboro. A special virtual meeting will be held on September 18, 2024, for consideration of the 2025-2027 Biennial Appropriations for the Arkansas Department of Transportation and the State Highway Employees Retirement System.

COMMISSION MEETING DATES February 13 April 3 June 19 August 7

September 18* October 2** December 4

*September 18 meeting is a virtual meeting to approve the 2025-2027 Biennial Appropriations, due in October 2024. **October 2 meeting to be held in Jonesboro, AR.

LETTING DATES January 17 February 28 April 10 May 22

June 26 July 31 September 18 November 6

Fall 2023 | Good Roads Foundation 27

Transportation Connections

People, Projects, Promotions Transportation Connections

Travis Brooks has been promoted to Assistant Division Head of the Planning Division effective September 23, 2023. Brooks holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Arkansas State University. He also has a master’s degree in public administration from Arkansas State University and a master’s degree in philosophy from Indiana University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer. Prior to joining the Department, Brooks worked as a Transportation Planner with the Jonesboro Metropolitan Planning Organization. Brooks began with the Department in August 2015 as an Engineer I in the Transportation Planning and Policy Division. Continuing along the engineering career path, Brooks promoted to Staff Transportation Planning Engineer in November 2020.

David Siskowski is being named Division Head for Local Programs, effective August 12, 2023. Siskowski has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He is a Registered Professional Engineer. Siskowski was hired as a Civil Engineer in Planning and Research in April 2009. He advanced through the engineering career path and promoted to Project Development Engineer in Program Management in April 2013, and advanced to Staff Program Management Engineer in October 2014. He obtained his current position of Assistant Division Head of Transportation Planning and Policy in July 2020. Transportation Connections is compiled by the Good Roads Editor. Possible items for inclusion can be sent to kathryn@bestmanagement.net.

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Arkansas Good Roads Annual Meeting November 15, 2023 11:00 am – 1:30 pm Association of AR Counties 1415 W. 3rd St. Little Rock, AR 72201 ARDOT Director Lorie Tudor will speak on the year ahead at ARDOT and discuss how the department is dealing with labor and talent issues that directly impact Good Roads members. Arkansas Chief Workforce Officer Mike Rogers will talk about the statewide effort to make it easier for all employers to find the workers they need to grow and thrive.

Scan this QR code for more information or to register.

Thank You 2023 Meeting Sponsors!* Gold

*Sponsors at time of printing.

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Fall 2023 | Good Roads Foundation 29

Side Roads

King Expressway Extension Open for Traffic On September 18, the 5.8-mile extension of the King Expressway was opened for traffic by ARDOT. The southbound lanes opened right before 5 PM, and the northbound lanes opened right after 5 PM. According to the ARDOT news release, “The Arkansas State Legislature designated the bypass as a scenic highway due to its beautiful, steep, tree-lined views through the Ouachita Mountains.” The extension, which is a two-lane route connecting the Highway 70 east interchange to the junction of highways 5 and 7, will cut travel time in

half from Hot Springs to Hot Springs Village. “There are a number of challenges when it comes to constructing new location roads, especially in the middle of the Ouachita Mountains; we were able to overcome those challenges and complete this important arterial connection for the growing population of Garland County,” said ARDOT Director Lorie Tudor in the news release. The ribbon-cutting will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

Drone photo of an overpass on the King Expressway extension before it opened to traffic. (Photo courtesy of Rusty Hubbard & ARDOT.)

30 Good Roads Foundation | Fall 2023

To Our Valued AGRF Members: Thank You!

Thanks for supporting us and helping us tell the story of why good roads and bridges matter. For membership information, please contact Joe Quinn at 479-426-5931. First Community Bank of Batesville ACEC/A FM Structural Plastic Technology AGC Arkansas Forsgren, Inc. Alec Farmer Garver LLC APAC-Central, Inc. Golden Triangle Economic Development APAC-Tennessee, Inc. Harold Beaver Arkadelphia Alliance HDR Engineering Arkansas Asphalt Pavement Association Hines Trucking Inc. Arkansas Concrete HNTB Corporation Arkansas Department of Transportation Horatio State Bank Arkansas Farm Bureau Hudson, Cisne & Company Arkansas Municipal League Arkansas Poultry Federation Arkansas Society of Professional Engineers Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce Arkansas State Police Commission Arkansas Trucking Association Ash Grove Cement Company Association of Arkansas Counties/ County Judges Associated Builders & Contractors of AR Atlas Asphalt, Inc. (Jamestown Investments) Bank of Delight Blackstone Construction Bob Crafton Burns & McDonnell Cashion Company Clark Machinery Company Commercial Bank - Monticello Contractor’s Specialty Service Company Cowling Title CPC Midsouth Highway 248 west of Waldron on the way to Crafton-Tull & Associates Lake Hinkle, which is known for largemouth Crisp Contractors bass, catfish and crappie fishing. (Photo by Bill Curt Green & Company, LLC Paddack) D.B. Hill Contractors, Inc. I-49 International Coalition Dan Flowers Jack Buffington Delta Asphalt Jeffrey Sand Company Dermott Industrial Development Jensen Construction Company Dumas Chamber of Commerce Jim Wooten Eagle Bank and Trust JoAnne Bush Emery Sapp & Sons Johnnie Bolin Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce

Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce Keith Gibson Kiewit Corporation LaCroix Optical Company Larco, Inc. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Lion Oil Company M & T Paving and Construction Co., Inc. Marie Holder Maxwell Hardwood Flooring McGeorge Contracting Company, Inc. Michael Baker Int’l Midwest Lime Company Millar, Inc. Mobley General Contractors Monticello Economic Development Commission NE Ark. Regional Intermodal Facilities Authority NWA Council Ohlendorf Investment Company OK AR Chapter American Concrete Paragould Reg. Chamber of Commerce Philip Taldo Pickering Firm, Inc. Razorback Concrete Company Riceland Foods, Inc. Riggs CAT Robert Moery Rogers Group, Inc. Ronnie Duffield Gravel Company Ryburn Motor Company, Inc. Scott Equipment Springdale Chamber of Commerce SW AR Planning & Development District Tyson Foods, Inc. UCA Foundation University of Arkansas Upper SW Regional Solid Waste Management District Walmart Weaver-Bailey Contractors, Inc. Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority

Fall 2023 | Good Roads Foundation 31

Side Roads

Crafton Tull Lays Groundwork for U.S. Bike Route 80 Crafton Tull recently received a merit award from the American Society of Landscape Architects Central States for its 113-page U.S. Bike Route 80 feasibility study. The year-long study evaluated towns along two proposed routes to see which one offered safer and better amenities for long-distance cycling, and the team included members from Crafton Tull, State Physical Activity and Nutrition, the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Metroplan, and the Arkansas Department of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Heritage. U.S. Bike Route 80, which connects central Arkansas to the Tennessee border, starts in North Little Rock, then goes through England, Stuttgart, Clarendon, Marianna, and Hughes, finally ending up in West Memphis. The feasibility study took into account city amenities such as health clinics, bike repair stations, and cultural attractions, as well as safety issues like volume of traffic. The U.S. Bike Route System is a national network of bicycle routes connecting urban and rural communities, and new routes are added every year.

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32 Good Roads Foundation | Fall 2023

Side Roads

Metroplan Receives $16.5M for Transportation Improvements Metroplan announced in September 2023 that they received $16.5 million from federal-aid transportation programs administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). These funds will be used to improve transportation across central Arkansas. “Transportation is really a critical role of central Arkansas, it’s a crucial part of our economy and it’s a big part of quality of life,” said Casey Covington, Metroplan’s executive director. “I’m looking forward for us continuing to invest in our Central Arkansas transportation system.” Fifteen projects in total were awarded money for Metroplan’s 2024 program, one of which is a reconfiguration of Broadway Street from 17th Street to two lanes with a center turn lane. Other projects include the installation of a traffic signal in Austin at

the intersection of Highway 38 and North Lincoln Street, as well as the extension of Crystal Hill Road in North Little Rock with other accommodations for bicyclists and pedestrians. “It will be an alternative to Maumelle Blvd. which is one of the heaviest traveled and congested roadways,” Covington said. “But it will also include some of our regional greenway network, which we intend to construct and have a 200-mile regional greenway that will provide transportation from all our major cities.” Covington noted that construction projects will start in 2024 or early 2025. Projects in the design phase must go through an engineering study before being presented to the public for input.

15 Projects Awarded Money for Metroplan’s 2024 Program Cycle

Fall 2023 | Good Roads Foundation 33

Join Us, Please! Good Roads works with our members to tell the story of the need for funding and financing to help all communities develop, build and maintain roads and bridges. This drives the local economy and makes the roads safer for all of us. We have corporate and individual membership rates available. The award-winning Good Roads magazine reaches more than 1,200 key stakeholders. If you want to put your message in front of an elite audience of state legislators, mayors, county judges, Good Roads members, engineers and the companies that build roads and bridges, this is the best way to do it. This is the only in-state publication that offers you an easy way to reach this very specific audience.

Arkansas Good Roads Foundation goodroadsfoundation@gmail.com 479-426-5931

34 Good Roads Foundation | Fall 2023

Arkansas Good Roads @arkansasgoodroads AR Good Roads @ARGoodRoads

Beyond the design At Garver, our Transportation Team’s work goes beyond designing roadways and bridges. The team also provides comprehensive planning services to communities across the state. That includes Environmental Scientist Cassie Schmidt, whose environmental assessments of critical transportation projects are opening new paths for the state’s travelers.

Cassie Schmidt Environmental Scientist

GarverUSA.com

Fall 2023 | Good Roads Foundation 35

Arkansas Good Roads Foundation P.O. Box 25854 Little Rock, Arkansas 72221

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