LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - It is a project that will affect almost every one of us, and Thursday will be the last chance for the public to learn about it.
ARDOT will lay out its final plans for the 30 Crossing project during an open house from 4 -7 p.m. at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock. It is a plan more than four years in the making.
“We’re looking to improve the experience of driving through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock on Interstate 30,” said Danny Straessle, a spokesman for ARDOT.
Straessle said doing nothing about that stretch of Interstate 30 is not an option.
“It’s structurally deficient and functionally obsolete,” he said. “That interstate was originally completed in the mid-to-late 50’s. The Arkansas River Bridge was completed in 1958.”
ARDOT’s preferred plan for the Interstate is called a six-lane split diamond with collector/distributor lanes. The current three lanes on either side will widen, with a shoulder on the inside on the bridge. Additionally, there will be two feeder lanes on each side for people entering or exiting the freeway downtown., but it has two additional feeder lanes on each side over the river, replacing the quick, narrow, downtown exits we have now.
“So, if you panic about slowing down and exiting off of I-30 or hitting the gas and gunning it to get on I-30 so you don’t get hit from behind, this project, you won’t have to worry about that anymore,” Straessle said. “Because the transition will be very seamless. You will be stepped up slowly, from slower speeds to medium speeds, to interstate speeds to get where you need to go.
“It’s an easier way to get down there, and certainly more efficient and safer way to get there, as well.”
During the meeting, visitors will be able to see displays explaining the changes and the environmental impact of the proposal. Visitors will be able to write comments about the plan or take home a form with a pre-stamped envelope that may be mailed within 15 days.
“If you’re concerned about the project, it’s important to see exactly what their preferred options is, and then to respond to that,” Patricia Blick said.
Blick has concerns about 30 Crossing, and as the executive director of the Quapaw Quarter Association, represents many people who will feel its effects. QQA advocates for the protection and restoration of the many historic homes and buildings downtown. Blick does not expect any of them would need to be demolished to accommodate the expanded freeway.
“But we also want these to be areas where people want to live, and work, and play,” she explained. “And you might have buildings retained, but if the environment is so heavily-compromised that people don’t want to live there, then we really haven’t accomplished what we wanted to.”
She added that a decrease in property values caused by the project could cause homeowners to move away, leaving no one to care for the historic homes.
Her hope is that the project will improve connectivity between the east and west sides of the Interstate, furthering the growth of the East Village and along Capitol Avenue.
“We have these areas,” she said, “that are revitalizing, somewhat fragile, but very-much pedestrian-friendly areas. And we would not want to see that diminished.”
Straessle said every comment about the project will be reviewed. “We have to perform due diligence on those comments,” he said. “We respond to the comments in the document that ultimately goes to the Federal Highway Administration.”
Straessle said that a federal review of the comments and their response is the final step before ARDOT proceeds with construction, which he estimated to begin in 2019 and end in 2023. He knows many people have expressed concerns over the years, but believes it is the right thing for drivers and residents in central Arkansas.
“It makes access to the downtown areas easier than it is now,” he said. “We’re here to help business grow; we’re here to help those customers get to those businesses; people who work for those businesses to get there; and folks who love to go down to the River Market for arts and entertainment. It’s an easier way to get down there, and certainly more efficient and safer way to get there, as well.”