WEST LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - Arkansas Department of Transportation officials held a third meeting with the public over the plans to widen Cantrell Rd. in west Little Rock.
The previous two meetings put forward proposals for dealing with the complicated interchange between Rodney Parham Rd. and Cantrell, one block from I-430. With the decision made to build an overpass as part of a “Texas turnaround,” the public got another chance to weigh in.
For the biggest retailer in the area, the Pleasant Ridge Town Center shopping plaza welcomes the new details.
“Better than half the population is in this center at least once a week,” said Lou Schickel, the grateful developer of the outdoor mall and residential complex.
All those shoppers, commuters and other businesses in the fast-growing area of the city have created traffic trouble along the one-mile stretch.
The new plans have Schickel’s blessing.
“We got our first look a year ago and then in January we got a letter from our traffic engineer that there are some changes made,” he said. “If they've really made those changes, then we're quite happy with what has taken place.”
Just north of the troublesome interchange is a planned roundabout that will connect to new I-430 off ramps. The potential has developers eager to follow-up.
“That's going to feed into Walton Heights and that's going to feed down to the river and then there's 60 vacant acres here that will be fed off that,” Schickel said of the large tract of land between Cantrell and the Arkansas River.
Schickel expects some opposition from people who have fought him over development in the past. Some comments from the meeting included concerns of how complicated the traffic pattern is. But after seeing all the money flow to his neighborhood, Schickel believes it's time to get going.
“I'm just excited,” the 83-year-old developer said. "There’s $80-million being spent in the front of my shopping center. Thank You.”
The project is expected to be designed and built by the same company: Kiewit Corp. out of Omaha. The money-saving deal allows the firm to bid on the plan the way they envision, as long as they stay below within a budget threshold set up by and outside auditor. Those numbers are projected around $70-million.
The bids should go out as early as late 2019.