257 replies to this topic

[Mith242]

That and as unpopular as it is in Arkansas toll roads might have to start being considered more if people are going to want projects done under the 10-15 year period.

[tim2462]

yeap...and it's not like the tolls are high...it'd be well worth it.

[Mith242]

tim2462, on Dec 31 2005, 08:23 PM, said:

yeap...and it's not like the tolls are high...it'd be well worth it.

I think part of it is either idea or principle.  That or maybe the fact that most people in Arkansas are just unfamiliar with them in general and don't like the idea of change.

[tim2462]

LOL that's AR in a nutshell...afraid of change.  Luckily, with all of the new ppl moving here, things are changing.

Edited by tim2462, 31 December 2005 - 08:29 PM.

[Mith242]

tim2462, on Dec 31 2005, 08:28 PM, said:

LOL that's AR in a nutshell...afraid of change.  Luckily, with all of the new ppl moving here, things are changing.

That and I think some people are going to realize that they're going to have to do something to keep up with growth.  This is going to apply to some other areas as well not just NWA.

[tim2462]

Especially LR as the freeways around here continue to become so packed that they have to do something.

[mcheiss]

GSCullum, on Dec 31 2005, 07:15 PM, said:

I've talked to various people at Metroplan and the AHTD, and they are very aware of the need for I-40 to be expanded, but it may not happen until 2009 (I don't know why that is).  Also, on the loop, most people I've talked to about it seem to think it may be 20 years before it gets built, if it does at all.  The city just can't afford something that big.  

You know, people in Conway complain about traffic and pot-holes, but no one wants to raise taxes to do something about.  The problems will just get worse and it will have an impact on growth.

I wonder how long it will take NWA to widen I-540, if Conway's expansion could take up to 20 years.

[tim2462]

I doubt it will be that long, they have some of the funding in place and just got some money allocated to it from the transportation bill...Conway should have it in 5-8 years...I would guess 540 would be widened in that same time period.

[mcheiss]

tim2462, on Dec 31 2005, 10:26 PM, said:

I doubt it will be that long, they have some of the funding in place and just got some money allocated to it from the transportation bill...Conway should have it in 5-8 years...I would guess 540 would be widened in that same time period.

Are you saying 5 to 8 years with the finished product?

[tim2462]

I would say 5-8 years to be well in the process of building it...it's just hard to say...one would hope they would be finished within 10...we're not talking about long stretches of road...probably about 20 miles in NWA and about 10 or so on the Conway Loop. Maybe they can get the Conway Loop done sooner...we'll just have to see how the funding plays out.

[Mith242]

Both areas will also be expensive because I'm sure they'll have to do all the construction at odd hours of the night.  I don't think having construction during the daytime is going to be a good idea.

[mcheiss]

Mith242, on Jan 1 2006, 07:24 AM, said:

Both areas will also be expensive because I'm sure they'll have to do all the construction at odd hours of the night.  I don't think having construction during the daytime is going to be a good idea.

I agree.

Traffic would be backed up for miles at a time.

[GSCullum]

tim2462, on Dec 31 2005, 10:37 PM, said:

I would say 5-8 years to be well in the process of building it...it's just hard to say...one would hope they would be finished within 10...we're not talking about long stretches of road...probably about 20 miles in NWA and about 10 or so on the Conway Loop. Maybe they can get the Conway Loop done sooner...we'll just have to see how the funding plays out.

I think it's unlikely that any significant amount of work will be done on the loop by the end of this decade.  The money allocated by Congress so far for the project won't even cover the cost of buying land for the route.  Given current spending issues in Washington, there may not be much more to come for some time.  Without additional federal funding, buying land will be the only thing the city could do.

[Aporkalypse]

They were resurfacing I-40 between Conway and Little Rock from the time I was in college in the mid to late 90s until just 2-3 years ago.  I always questioned why they didn't just go ahead and widen it at that time, it never made sense.

Traffic, even back then, was HELL on that road.  My wife was living in Conway and working at Baptist in LR at the time and her commute sometimes was more than an hour.

[tim2462]

The city of Conway is seeking other types of funding to get this project started sooner than later. There's a video about it on KTHV.com...search the archives.

[tim2462]

Has anyone heard anything about the big movie theater planned for Conway? It's supposed to be along Dave Ward Dr. Also, what about the Ruby Tuesday that was announced back at the end of '04? It was going to be built by the Outback Steakhouse.  What ever became of these two projects?

[tim2462]

The Conway city council recently approved rezoning for property located along the south side of Spencer Lake and west of Padgett Rd. for construction of Spencer Lake Condominiums.

[GSCullum]

tim2462, on Jan 1 2006, 07:12 PM, said:

Has anyone heard anything about the big movie theater planned for Conway? It's supposed to be along Dave Ward Dr. Also, what about the Ruby Tuesday that was announced back at the end of '04? It was going to be built by the Outback Steakhouse.  What ever became of these two projects?

I've heard that the movie theater is not going forward.  I've heard various rumors about why the project isn't going through, mostly dealing with financial problems and not being able to get a fast food restaurant on the site approved by the planning commission or city council, but none of that can be confirmed as the cause.

[tim2462]

A nice big movie theater is just what Conway needs.  It's great Conway is getting all of the new restaurants and retail...but they need to start concentrating on getting some entertainment type development.

[mcheiss]

tim2462, on Jan 1 2006, 10:21 PM, said:

A nice big movie theater is just what Conway needs.  It's great Conway is getting all of the new restaurants and retail...but they need to start concentrating on getting some entertainment type development.

I agree.

Conway is a young vibrant city, that's too big not to have a big movie theatre. They could start taking back those tax dollars from Little Rock.