I-49 One Step Closer to Being Realized

[KJW]

right of way is being acquired still, and consultants are still looking at the tolling aspects of the bypass

itk, thanks. I'm guessing this process is occuring on both sides of the state line?

[KJW]

Like an inquisitive, intrepid "urban planeteer", I drove the new highway yesterday until I was on the "old highway" again.

- Although it feels like an interstate, the highway is and apparently will be U.S. 71 from the Jane/Noel exit up to south of the Pineville turnoff, and there is very limited access for a couple mile north of the aforementioned exit.

- There was a LOT of work on this highway. It's wonderful how fast one can go, but it feels like you drive a long way. There still have to be some significant time savings (especially when they open the lanes in a few spots where one lane is still closed).

- At the "Pineville turnoff" there are sign structures that span across the highway...I think one such structure is on I-40 east of Fort Smith. That's apparently where the Bella Vista bypass / U.S. 71 split is going to be. It was hard to tell at night, but it looked like they actually had the turnoff for the bypass started and blocked off, but it didn't go very far.

[KJW]

I promise I won't make any more comments on I-49 for awhile after this. However, I had the occasion to drive current U.S. 71 North on the new stretch between Jane and Anderson during the daytime yesterday (my first such drive was at night), and I've a few additional thoughts:

- I'm still surprised that this hasn't been a more heralded event than it's been. This is a nice highway.

- There's about a 1 block stretch of two-lane still left right about where the previous southernmost limit of U.S. 71 four lane joined the 2 lane version. I'm guessing this will be addressed soon.

- At the highway's southern end, it "flies by" the old highway stretch at Brushy Creek road south of Pineville. They've "pockmarked" (made several dents every few feet making the old road impassable) the road and blocked it off where it joined the new highway, but regardless, as you're driving by the old highway heading north its impossible not to think: "THAT was the major road emanating from the north of the NWA metropolitan area?" Indeed, up until less than two weeks ago it was.

- For about a mile, there's a six-lane portion of the highway (3 lanes north, 3 south) between the Pineville exit and the future BV tollway exit. It's weird but possibly foreboding seeing this wide stretch of interstate in our metro.

- Missouri has tried to make preparations for the BV turnoff. There are rock cuts that have been made for a future bridge for northbound traffic to merge into U.S. 71. There is a small ramp, barricaded by concrete, for the future southbound BV tollway turnoff. Good thing for the barricades - that thing looks like a giant slalom dropoff. A bridge will be built there later.

- There's something weird about the Missouri portion of this highway which is another manifestation of the strange things we've seen happening as this metropolitan area erupts seemingly out of nowhere. At the I-44 turnoff between Carthage and Joplin, MO the signs announcing 71 South say "Neosho / Fort Smith". 1 such sign has a small "Fayetteville" sign attached to it. On the way south you see more than 1 sign announcing the mileage to Fort Smith. Yet not until the future tollway split do you see a sign for "Bella Vista". A mile or so later you see a Bella Vista / Bentonville mileage sign, but that's it.

1 mention of Fayetteville. 1 mention of Bentonville (a mileage sign 12 miles north of town). 2 signs for Bella Vista. Nothing for Rogers or Springdale. It's weird to be on an interstate heading to a metro area of nearly half a million (figuring Adair and Delaware Counties in the mix now) with hardly any official highway signs announcing it.

[masons_dad1]

Thanks for keeping us updated on what's going on with I-49. The Missouri portion sounds impressive indeed.

[KJW]

Thanks for keeping us updated on what's going on with I-49. The Missouri portion sounds impressive indeed.

No problem, Masons_Dad1.

I promised I wouldn't blah-blah any more on this for awhile, so for what this means to Missouri here's an article from this past Saturday and another from two weeks ago (both of these have pictures) that appeared in the Carthage Press newspaper.

(Joplin, MO is split between two counties, Jasper and Newton, with most of the city in Jasper County. Neosho is Newton's county seat, while Carthage is the county seat of Jasper.)

[Mith242]

Yeah thanks for the update Kurt. It's not always easy for me to keep up with things going on up there.

[KJW]

Yeah thanks for the update Kurt. It's not always easy for me to keep up with things going on up there.

No problem, Mith.

The most fascinating thing on reading those links is how big of a deal this is to Missouri. Makes it easier to understand why it wasn't trumpeted in Arkansas...this was what our neighbors across the border had been waiting for. People in this article were saying they'd waited a dozen years for this portion of the highway - indeed, parts of McDonald County's U.S. 71 were as reviled for their fatality rates as the old highway south of Winslow, albeit not nearly as steep and sheer. The time savings between Carthage and the Arkansas line were also noteworthy.

What's interesting was the comment from the Missouri development official that this is a "NAFTA" highway. He's meaning it's a Canada-U.S.-Mexico corridor, and why shouldn't it be as it's the quickest, most fuel-efficient route from all those aforementioned midwest cities to Houston and Brownsville (allowing truckers to go as far south in American and avoid as much Mexican highway as possible)? He didn't mention I-49 and this alone won't be responsible for completing the Fort Smith-Ashdown link, but it's another bit of pressure to finish the corridor.

It also is a reason to keep watch on the Neosho/Joplin to NWA commuting situation. BTW, the official ribbon cutting ceremony for this highway occured two hours ago according to that article with Gov. Matt Blunt in attendance.

[Mith242]

Yeah it is interesting to see. I've gotten the impression in the past that people in SW Missouri felt a bit ignored by the rest of the state. It's nice to see that area being recognized a bit more.

[KJW]

Joplin Globe: (U.S.71/I-49 Anderson/Jane segment opening) "I wish we'd had this highway 20 years ago"..."Arkansas can expect to see more economic development".

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: [url=http://www.nwarktimes.com/adg/News/200041/]"'We

[Mith242]

Yeah I read that article today. Guess I didn't realize that Missouri now has it four lanes from Arkansas all the way to Iowa now. Although I don't think all of that is interstate quality.

[KJW]

Yeah I read that article today. Guess I didn't realize that Missouri now has it four lanes from Arkansas all the way to Iowa now. Although I don't think all of that is interstate quality.

(BTW, this map doesn't show the Texarkana to Shreveport interstate either completed or now under construction.)

Now, I've only driven (the current) U.S. 71 up a few miles north of Carthage but it was indeed interstate-quality...it's not yet been designated as such, however. Folks who've driven it say it is equal quality all the way to KC, whereupon there are the existing interstates to Omaha/Canada and Des Moines/Minneapolis/Duluth.

The pressure is increasing on Arkansas now, though Louisiana's having to do its part between Shreveport and the LA/AR state line.

[Mith242]

(BTW, this map doesn't show the Texarkana to Shreveport interstate either completed or now under construction.)

Now, I've only driven (the current) U.S. 71 up a few miles north of Carthage but it was indeed interstate-quality...it's not yet been designated as such, however. Folks who've driven it say it is equal quality all the way to KC, whereupon there are the existing interstates to Omaha/Canada and Des Moines/Minneapolis/Duluth.

The pressure is increasing on Arkansas now, though Louisiana's having to do its part between Shreveport and the LA/AR state line.

I'm not sure if it's interstate quality all the way to Kansas City though. But it is sounding more and more like the one section left out will be the one in Arkansas. Too bad everyone will have to be waiting on us to eventually get it done.

[KJW]

A little ribbing from our friends north of the border:

[KJW]

Toll won't cover Bella Vista bypass costs, highway officials say.

[Mith242]

Yeah I read about that today. Looks like it will be short $140 Mil. That's even after it being made a toll road. Sounds like the state is basically only doing one project at a time. I guess for a while the one they'll be focusing on is around North Little Rock. Who knows when this or especially the 412 Bypass will ever happen.

[Aporkalypse]

Yeah I read about that today. Looks like it will be short $140 Mil. That's even after it being made a toll road. Sounds like the state is basically only doing one project at a time. I guess for a while the one they'll be focusing on is around North Little Rock. Who knows when this or especially the 412 Bypass will ever happen.

I don't think we'll see the North Belt anytime soon, either. The new I-630/430 interchange will probably be Central Arkansas' major priority.

The studies on the Bella Vista toll road didn't make me too excited about the potential impact of building it, honestly.

[Mith242]

I don't think we'll see the North Belt anytime soon, either. The new I-630/430 interchange will probably be Central Arkansas' major priority.

The studies on the Bella Vista toll road didn't make me too excited about the potential impact of building it, honestly.

Okay, I knew it was some project down in that area.

[KJW]

Aporkalypse, not that it matters much but as has been said previously Missouri has a southbound turnoff lane (blocked by concrete) and cutaways out of the stone for a northbound merge-access bridge for the BV bypass...they're serious about this. (As apparently was Arkansas with the state highway commissioner attending the recent Jane/Anderson segment opening ceremonies).

Amusing banter on the comments accompanying today's article:

justalocal wrote on Sep 20, 2007 8:32 AM:

" If Arkansas hadn't of drug it's feet for so long, the price wouldn't of doubled!! Missouri was ready to do it years ago, and waited for Arkansas for a while then realized they would just have to do their road without them. I think they should have to come up with all the money to build it, forget the toll road, we have had to put up with this traffic for long enough!!!! "

jtd498 wrote on Sep 20, 2007 8:52 AM:

" I agree with the above person. Ark has more than enough money. Specially in this area. With all the taxes we pay. Look anyplace else in this state and you will find gas 20 to 30 cents cheaper. But we pay a premium here. Were is all the tax money for the inflated prices we pay??? Hey Arkansas get a clue come out of the stone age. We need this bypass NOW! Not 100 years from now. "

UAfootball wrote on Sep 20, 2007 10:12 AM:

" Not to mention that our State reported a 1 billion dollar surplus last year. Get Benton county wet and get a lottery and use that tax revenue that has been going to Missouri for years to fund the BV by pass! "

[Mith242]

Yeah but most of that surplus is going to go toward education. The Lt Governor is also pushing for a lottery but the revenue for it will go to education as well. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't push for one otherwise. Even the added revenue if Benton County went wet doesn't mean it will mean more money put towards roads. I saw something about the AHTD having transportation needs of $19 Bil in the next 20 years (or something like that) but only expecting to get around $1 Bil in funds in that same time period. What I find particularly disappointing is that now they're even having troubles with making the bypass around Bella Vista a toll road. At best it will still fall far shorter than they expected. And some even think you'll have to put more stoplights on 71B to make more people get off and use the toll road.

[KJW]

Yeah but most of that surplus is going to go toward education. The Lt Governor is also pushing for a lottery but the revenue for it will go to education as well. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't push for one otherwise. Even the added revenue if Benton County went wet doesn't mean it will mean more money put towards roads. I saw something about the AHTD having transportation needs of $19 Bil in the next 20 years (or something like that) but only expecting to get around $1 Bil in funds in that same time period. What I find particularly disappointing is that now they're even having troubles with making the bypass around Bella Vista a toll road. At best it will still fall far shorter than they expected. And some even think you'll have to put more stoplights on 71B to make more people get off and use the toll road.

Mith, I like Bella Vista a lot. It's a very nice community in many ways. Yet I'm glad I don't live there right now as I'd be steamed. KHBS/KHOG TV had a lead story on this last night. A lady they interviewed said people have been waiting a long time for this. They also interviewed Mr. Barnett (the Ark. Hwy Commish who was at the Missouri highway ribbon-cutting ceremony last month) and he said this still is very much an active project.

itk, do you know what the daily traffic count on U.S. 71 within the BV city limits is? Even if its only 10,000 vehicles at 33% alleviation that's still 3,300 the tollway would see, which in an average day would translate to 2.29 vehicles per minute every minute every hour of the day.

[Mith242]

Mith, I like Bella Vista a lot. It's a very nice community in many ways. Yet I'm glad I don't live there right now as I'd be steamed. KHBS/KHOG TV had a lead story on this last night. A lady they interviewed said people have been waiting a long time for this. They also interviewed Mr. Barnett (the Ark. Hwy Commish who was at the Missouri highway ribbon-cutting ceremony last month) and he said this still is very much an active project.

itk, do you know what the daily traffic count on U.S. 71 within the BV city limits is? Even if its only 10,000 vehicles at 33% alleviation that's still 3,300 the tollway would see, which in an average day would translate to 2.29 vehicles per minute every minute every hour of the day.

I do know where you're coming from. But I have to also say there are people in other areas as well waiting for decades for some of these larger road projects to be done. I do think it will be done. I think all of this is just making the wait longer before it finally happens.

[Aporkalypse]

Aporkalypse, not that it matters much but as has been said previously Missouri has a southbound turnoff lane (blocked by concrete) and cutaways out of the stone for a northbound merge-access bridge for the BV bypass...they're serious about this. (As apparently was Arkansas with the state highway commissioner attending the recent Jane/Anderson segment opening ceremonies).

Amusing banter on the comments accompanying today's article:

Don't misunderstand, I think it still needs to be built. What I mean is that the study's numbers disappoint me in that not only do they mean less toll revenue but that it will really hurt the case for federal funding for the project as ridership demand is now more questionable.

How much of Missouri's improvements to 71 were made out of state funds vs federal funds? Did the state actually pay the bulk of that or was this something federal funds were assigned to long ago?

[KJW]

How much of Missouri's improvements to 71 were made out of state funds vs federal funds? Did the state actually pay the bulk of that or was this something federal funds were assigned to long ago?

Aporkalypse,

Apparently the funds for the most recent Hwy. 71/future I-49 project came from the state, and fairly recently:

Barnett said traditional fuel sales taxes are no longer enough to pay for extensive road projects.

When Missouri voters approved Amendment 3 in 2004, providing millions of dollars for road work, the Highway 71 project was pushed forward and completed a full year ahead of schedule, he said.

The link.

(EDIT: Also, State Rep. Donna Hutchinson says there are 32,300 vehicles driving daily between the Missouri State Line and Bentonville via BV.)

[Aporkalypse]

Aporkalypse,

Apparently the funds for the most recent Hwy. 71/future I-49 project came from the state, and fairly recently:

(EDIT: Also, State Rep. Donna Hutchinson says there are 32,300 vehicles driving daily between the Missouri State Line and Bentonville via BV.)

I guess my point about the number is that 33k is a pretty unimpressive number when you're trying to justify the need for such an expensive project. By comparison, several ordinary roads in LR all have higher traffic counts - University, Markham, Cantrell, Rodney Parham, Chenal, Bowman, McCain, JFK, etc.

A simple google search told me that the portions of Highway 71 in Newton and McDonald Counties alone received more than $77 million in dedicated federal funding.

Part of this will have to be federally funded, so the question is what can we do to increase the federal priority for the bypass? I would think the main issue would be the safety of having semis and other highway traffic traveling through the main portion of town with stoplights, etc. That's the real reason I think the bypass should be built.

[cowbreath]

That's a good map, it just doesn't seem that we have enough traffic in our region for much notice. Looking at the east it looks a lot worse.