If you’ve driven on Interstate 30 recently, you've already seen lots of changes with road construction, but other projects have also been coming together.
Big plans are in the works for downtown Little Rock
On Monday morning, Little Rock city officials announced thanks to a $2 million planning grant, plans are moving forward to design a deck park over I-30
Their goal in creating the park is to make the city more connected.
“It's going to completely change the face of our city and our community,” Jay Chesshir with the Little Rock Regional Chamber said.
He hopes a deck park between 6th and 9th street will bring more people together and increase walkability in Little Rock.
“This gives us an opportunity to take a place that maybe was an area that people didn't want to come to, and gives them a reason to now want to come to,” Chesshir said.
The design process has now begun on the project that’s been in the works since 2014.
“The grant that we've just received will help inform us through the architects, engineers, and those types of people of what can be, how big how long what the weight bearing capacity can be so that we can then determine exactly what will be there,” he explained.
Even though the deck park still has to be approved and completed, Chesshir said the end goal is to be able to walk from East Village over to the Museum of Fine Arts.
“It truly makes connectivity, something that is a part of our fabric as opposed to the highway and other infrastructure, disconnecting people,” he added.
Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said it's nice to see the project move a step forward.
“We wanted to make sure particularly when I was a highway commissioner, and now being Mayor, that this will reconnect. And this is a great opportunity as the public and private sector working together to ensure that that happens,” Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said. “It's taken 10 years to get to this day. Hopefully 10 years from now if not so far into the future we will see this actually finished and people enjoying it."
After the design phase is complete, Chesshir said they’ll present the city’s plans back to the federal highway and transportation department for additional grants to help build it.