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I-30 expansion continues to cause concern for Little Rock residents

Members of opposition group "Improve 30 Crossing" spent Saturday afternoon airing their grievances and discussing alternatives to the proposed 30 Crossing Project.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A plan to expand Interstate 30 through Downtown Little Rock continues to draw concern from residents. Members of opposition group "Improve 30 Crossing" spent Saturday afternoon airing their grievances and discussing alternatives to the proposed 30 Crossing Project.

ARDOT's preferred plan for the project will include three lanes and two additional feeder lanes in each direction on Interstate 30 in downtown Little Rock. The agency believes this expansion will make the commute between Little Rock and North Little Rock easier.

People in attendance at Saturday's meeting discussed a number of concerns they have with the project. Joshua Silverstein, a member of Improve 30 Crossing, spoke in opposition of eliminating the existing Cantrell/I-30 interchange.

"Eliminating the Cantrell interchange would be devastating for commuters and devastating for the downtown communities that have been growing," Silverstein said.

He fears it will affect accessibility and increase traffic between I-30 and Cantrell.

"If you want to come downtown on a Friday or Saturday night, that's going to be a lot harder to do after this because of how traffic is going to back up," Silverstein said.

Ann Grimes and Somers Collins are neighbors at River Market Tower, located at the intersection of 3rd and Rock Streets. They fear the expansion will negatively impact their neighborhood.

"Everyone I know is against it," Collins said of the people who live in her building. "We understand more than anyone the importance of being able to move around Little Rock, move around our neighborhood and in and out of our neighborhood. It seems to me the benefit of this project is mainly going to be realized by out-of-towners."

Grimes believes that benefit will come at the expense of downtown residents.

"I'm very concerned about the walkability of the neighborhood, the access to locally owned businesses particularly," Grimes said. "We already have a parking problem, a walking problem, and I'm concerned about more traffic. I'm concerned about noise."

In an article on the Connecting Arkansas Program website, ARDOT addresses the quality of life impact for adjacent neighborhoods:

"As part of the 30 Crossing planning process, the Department has been regularly meeting with city representatives and transit agencies to make sure the corridor is built to accommodate their future plans," the article reads in-part. "However, as the state’s department of transportation, ArDOT has the responsibility to take into account everyone’s needs and compromise to do what’s best for the entire region and state."

Click here to read ARDOT's full response to quality of life concerns.

"I think that our highway department has just ignored the world outside of their highway," Collins said.

Organizers of Saturday's meeting said ARDOT representatives were invited to attend, along with Little Rock and North Little Rock city leaders, among other elected officials. None of those invited parties were in attendance, they said.

ARDOT has taken public comment at several meetings throughout the design process.

In January, the agency selected a design-builder for the project. They'll spend about six months working to determine how much can be completed with available funding. Construction could begin by late 2019.

An ARDOT spokesperson could not be reached for comment on Saturday, Feb. 16.

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