LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Many of us have found ourselves constantly thinking about the I-30 crossing project as we get to and from where we need to go— rarely do any of us give any thought to the space underneath.
Architects like James Meyer have been working to change that because they believe that the space underneath could actually be utilized.
"Are you saying we have a big blue dinosaur in the room?" Meyer, with Taggart Architects, said. "You need something that grabs people, that gets their attention, that gets them talking."
A massive dinosaur that could greet travelers on the state's busiest stretch of the interstate would certainly get people talking, wouldn't it?
The dinosaur is part of a design for what the future of the space underneath I-30 could look like.
"Come up with some great concepts for what we can do with the 20-acre park that's going to be left after the 30 Crossing project is complete," Chris East, Chairman for Studio MAIN said.
Dozens of entries narrowed down to four ideas for what the space could look like were presented to the Little Rock Rotary Club on Tuesday afternoon.
From the idea of the dinosaur to canals that would cut through the River Market, there's been plenty of vision.
"There's already a lot of park space in the River Market, which is wonderful," Heather Davis of AMR Architects, explained.
Davis represented another one of the designs and added that there's something that seems to connect every design.
"That is going to have a huge impact for years to come," she said. "So we should be excited about it, and we should be involved in making sure that it really becomes what it deserves to be."
The space – whatever it ends up as – will bridge the divide that the interstate makes, which is why even though this process is still years away, Meyer doesn't want to just sit by.
"So if we want a park, if we want a place to spend time, and really have pride in, we need to do something and we need to do it now," Meyer added.
All of the designs are just ideas – there is no guarantee that any of the designs will be chosen. East also added that nothing can happen until the 30 Crossing project is finished.