I-540 in Northwest Arkansas (Little Rock, Fort Smith: insurance, school district, maintenance)

[Rock Climber]

Originally Posted by northbound74

Northwest Arkansas has been home to one of the biggest, most ambitious companies in the world for decades. Tyson is no slouch either. I-540 opened the region up to the rest of civilization to the south. It's been growing at a good clip for what, 20 years now? At least.
Didn't take a crystal ball to have been able see the need for infrastructure improvements back then.
I realize any populated place will deal with traffic problems. As I travel around the country, however, it's easy to see who has ambition, foresight, and anticipation, and who doesn't...and who doesn't waste time tackling issues.
I understand the mentality of not wanting things to change or grow among some people in Arkansas, but the Northwest is what it is, and it has to adapt.

I-540 was simply a local by-pass loop around the small town metro until 1999 when the southern section connecting it to I-40 was completed through the Ozarks. It wasn't even considered an interstate until that time.

There is no logical reason to suggest that it should have been a 6-lane freeway years ago. I don't think you fully grasp the rapid development of the region from tiny isolated towns to full-fledged metropolitan area. It did happen rather rapidly as far as I can tell.

Traffic along I-540 has only really been what I consider to be annoying for the past three or four years max. I used to commute north daily and except when there were accidents, rush hour was just a lot of vehicles and some congestion, not the "stop and go" rush hour typical of most larger cities. It used to make me laugh when people here would complain about rush hour traffic, as I have experienced the hour long one-way commutes across town in DFW as well as the madness of backroad trips finding new routes across Austin (which is woefully underserved by freeways and loops). NWA wasn't and even now isn't in the same category as far as being behind in highway infrastructure as those two metros.

I don't think the roads here are all that far behind the curve. As soon as the congestion reached a point that suggested 6 lanes were needed, the projects started within a couple of years. When its completed, NWA should (barring a large uptick in the growth rate) go back to having very manageable and mild rush-hour traffic for at least the next several years. A western loop (which I hope isn't needed for many years) has been in the preliminary planning stages for at least two years now.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Texrzrbak2

Been in 47 states. The roads in Arkansas are a continual issue and are always being repaved.

I have been in states across the country; most have continual work being done on them. Houston is one of the worst, what about DFW? As for repaving, what does that have to do with anything? I have to wonder what purpose blasting NWA on a regular basis is going to accomplish? BTW, was there some reason you changed your screen name?

[Texrzrbak2]

mod cut. I think I already said that once. Anyway, the fact that the roads are constantly being repaved means they are using cheap materials to pave; the states all get road funds from Congress, so when the cheapest materials are being used to pave roads, that means the rest of the funds are going into someone's pocket.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by Texrzrbak2

mod cut. I think I already said that once. Anyway, the fact that the roads are constantly being repaved means they are using cheap materials to pave; the states all get road funds from Congress, so when the cheapest materials are being used to pave roads, that means the rest of the funds are going into someone's pocket.

I suspect your conclusion is a little too definitive. The Roads Department certainly does use cheaper materials than I've seen elsewhere, but part of the reason for the repaving is because the extremes in temperatures and conditions that the roads are subjected to . 100+ temperatures in the summer, with drought conditions, accompanied by sub-freezing temps in the winter, and the spring and fall rains which are sometimes flooding, cause roads to actually expand and contract quite a bit. That leads to potholes and road erosion. And I don't know if this is true, but someone told me that the cheaper materials are better at accommodating the expansion and contraction than more expensive materials. I know that Arkansas is never cutting-edge in trying out new products and new technology, and I have to say road construction in Arkansas takes an eternity compared to other places I've lived, but road funds come from the federal government, AND the state government, AND locals. And when there's a lot of growth, there are never enough funds.

[Rock Climber]

They barely have a snow plow in the state of Texas. They don't care about which materials are better for allowing snow to melt, and they stripe their streets with those big plastic bubbles, which most states don't use because snow plows would rip every one of them up. There are regional differences.

Anybody who simply watches the news here knows that at the end of winter, there are always weather-caused potholes to patch here. That is not the case in Texas.

[socaldude101]

Anyone who complains about the roads and highways in NWA just needs to drive on Southern California freeways. They are literally some of the worst in the nation. While California has the most miles of freeways per capita of any state in the US, they are maintained poorly because of the state's ongoing budget shortfalls.

Being a Civil Engineer, and having years of experience on CALTRANS (California's Transportation Department) freeway projects, I have some insight into how freeways are planned, designed and finally built. The process is relatively the same for each state with a few differences based on local building customs. When the need for a freeway or highway is first conceived, a series of steps is begun that ultimately takes several years until the first car is driving on the new roadway. The timeline for some of these steps overlap. A simplified overview of these process and timeline are:

1) Planning (2-4 years): Funding for the planning process is secured from available sources. Studies performed to determine routes and alternate routes for roadway. During this phase 10-20 year traffic projection studies (best guesses) are determined from existing regional growth data and environmental studies are performed. Local and state agencies are consulted to conform the proposed roadway routes with regional and state traffic plans.

2) Project Development (3-4 years): Funding for the project development phase is secured from available sources. Once the final route for the new freeway/highway has been determined, public hearings are held to get business and citizen feedback; environmental mitigation studies are finalized with any outstanding environmental issues being reconciled; and regional utility and transportation entities impacted by the project are consulted.

3) Design and Right-of-Way Phase (2-6 years): Funding for the design and right-of-way phase is secured from available resources. A complete set of construction plans, specifications and estimates are produced; right-of-way acquisitions are begun and finalized; construction bid packages are made available and a contractor is selected.

4) Construction Phase (2-5 years): The selected contractor(s) build the freeway/highway according to the construction plans. The highway is christened and opened to the public at the end of the construction phase.

So from the time a freeway or highway is first conceived, up to the day of the ribbon cutting ceremony, can take anywhere from 10-15 years. And the irony for many of those roadways is that by opening day they will already be operating at near or beyond their design capacity, particularly in growing urban areas or regions that have experienced rapid growth since the freeway or highway was first conceived. That is because the traffic studies that were used to design the roadway initially are now 10-15 years old and totally out of date. This is the paradox of freeway and highway projects everywhere. Adding to the problem is that the new roadway may open up areas of a region to development that were not easily accessible before, attracting additional commuters which further stresses the freeway's original design capacities.

[thegreenflute334]

Well, I just passed this three car wreck on 1-540. I got that creepy feeling and I knew someone had passed. The damn lanes are too narrow and you're going to crash especially when there is 2 freaking lanes and NO shoulder on the left and a shoulder on the right. I was in traffic for an hour.. anyway.. here it is on News five.. Deadly Crash Near Lowell Shuts Down Interstate | 5NEWSOnline.com

MY HAIR IS STILL STANDING ON THE BACK OF MY NECK!! Bottom line this expansion was needed 10 years ago mod cut. And now the locals are paying for it through sales tax.. mod cutAnd yeah.. I am a local.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by thegreenflute334

Well, I just passed this three car wreck on 1-540. I got that creepy feeling and I knew someone had passed. The damn lanes are too narrow and you're going to crash especially when there is 2 freaking lanes and NO shoulder on the left and a shoulder on the right. I was in traffic for an hour.. anyway.. here it is on News five.. Deadly Crash Near Lowell Shuts Down Interstate | 5NEWSOnline.com

MY HAIR IS STILL STANDING ON THE BACK OF MY NECK!! Bottom line this expansion was needed 10 years ago mod cut. And now the locals are paying for it through sales tax.. mod cut And yeah.. I am a local.

you might be local but did you live here 10 years ago? No one is arguing about the situation on 540. We all know, just trying to get on the highway or making room for others can be a nightmare. But the growth in the past 10 years or so has been more than anyone ever expected. You are talking out of both sides of your mouth: 1-expansion was needed 10 years ago and 2-we are paying through sales tax. do you think, had expansion been planned 10 years ago you would not have paid for it?

As for someone being killed in the accident, my heart goes out to them and their family, but without knowing the details, how can you blame the accident on the highway conditions? Hundreds of people are involved in accidents on our highways daily.

As I have been saying throughout this thread, we have lived all over the country and the story is pretty much the same: the highways and freeways always need updating, whether the condition of them is an issue, the lack of them, the issue or the constant construction. OK is a perfect example. The highways are always in need of something.

[Texrzrbak2]

I'd have to disagree. Most recently I was in DC and your analogy is true there because the entire beltway seems to be ripped up. But I have lived in SoCal and NC too. While in the military always moving I probably drove across every interstate in the country except a few and here at more issues on 540 and 40 in Arkansas.

[wiseguymn]

I moved back to NW AR last Oct. after spending 22 years in MN.
It is amazing how much NW AR changed in those 22 years between 1991 and 2013.
What is even more amazing is the change between 1974 when I was 7 years old and first moved to AR.
The roads are not perfect here but considering how much this area has changed it is really remarkable they are as good as they are.
This is not just flat wide open country that is exactly easy to build new roads on.
There is the need for a lot more bridges and planning to build roads here than in a lot of other places which also makes it a lot more expensive.
I am always amazed at the amount of rock blasting and fill it took to build so many of the roads we drive on here.
That is one of the thing that makes this area so beautiful and unique to so many other places.