LITTLE ROCK — Editor’s note: A long time ago - five years this month - in a newsroom in this town, a traffic column was started. Since everyone’s an expert on driving, more questions came to the Drivetime Mahatma than could possibly be answered and published in one column a week. The five-year anniversary is a sneaky way of getting some of them in.
Dear Mahatma: The columns for the new overpasses at the massive construction project at the Interstate 430/630 interchange appear to be etched with a pineapple design. Why was this chosen? Seems to me a fearsome Razorback or the outline of our fair state’s border would have been more appropriate.
- Charles
Dear Charles: Pineapples? The Mahatma zipped out to take a look, and then confronted the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
“Au contraire, mon ami,” said the Highway Department, which is French for “negative, dude.” That is a modified pine cone design, fitting because the pine is the state tree of Arkansas, and pines are much more prevalent in Arkansas than pineapples.
Regarding an outline of the state, such a thing is featured on the I-430 bridge that passes over I-630 at the project, whose three phases will cost $124 million, with an estimated completion of early 2015.
Vanity license plate seen in the doctors’ section of the parking deck of Medical Towers II in Little Rock: EPIDUEL.
Sir: I live in central Little Rock and am very annoyed at the noise level of motorbikes. Their thunder can literally be heard for miles and minutes. One loud bike disturbs thousands when ridden through densely populated areas. Little Rock should put a stop to this outrage.
- Tom
Dear Tom: Motorcycles and sound systems - boom-de-boom-de-boom - are a frequent complaint in this corner.
Little Rock does have a noise ordinance.“The creating of any unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise of such character, intensity or duration as to be detrimental to the life or health of any individual, or in disturbance of the public peace and welfare is prohibited,” the ordinance says.
Also of note is that after many times asking the question, it appears that no state law regulates the decibel level of vehicles.
About all a body can do is call the city’s non-emergency number, 311, and ask for enforcement.
Dear Mahatma: On my last trip across the U.S. 79 bridge at Clarendon, I looked again at the new road and bridge. Is it my imagination or are they lower than the old road and bridge? Seems I’m looking down on the new construction. Didn’t the new bridge already flood once last spring?
- Mary Louise
Dear Mary Louise: Now you’ve gone and done it. How high’s the water, Mama? Five feet high and rising. How high’s the water, Papa?
Glenn Bolick of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department says the new bridge on U.S. 79 most emphatically did not flood this past spring. He adds that the new bridge and roadway are constructed at elevation 183.1 feet, which is the elevation of the 1927 flood. Also that this year’s flood at Clarendon reached an elevation of 177.4 feet, or 5.7 feet below the 1927 flood.
He didn’t say it, but we will: The 1927 flood is the historical whopper by which all others are measured.
Dear Mahatma: At Kirk and Rahling roads in Little Rock, is it permissible to turn left onto Rahling by using either of the lanes on the left side of the stop sign? I see people turning left from the outside lane. If that’s OK, could the city erect a sign or paint an arrow on the road or something? The only thing straight ahead is Chenal Methodist Church.
- Pat
Dear Pat: Those Methodists!
All kidding aside - some of our best friends are Methodists - no, it’s not OK to turn left from the outside lane here. Or any outside lane unless it’s so marked. In fact, says Bill Henry, the city’s traffic engineering manager, there are no dual lane left hand turns in Little Rock at intersections without signals.
Let’s also quote the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, a publication of the Arkansas State Police. About turning, it says, “Where there are no signs or lane markings to control turning, a driver should turn from the lane that is closest to the direction of travel and turn into the lane closest to the lane from which the turn is initiated.”
No mention of Methodists.
Vanity license plate seen on a maroon Silverado pickup: WEED DR. Presumably, a lawn service.
Dear Mahatma: Is the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department going to repair U.S. 67-167 between Cabot and Jacksonville any time soon? It’s one major pothole after another. Other drivers and I have started to use the access roads because they’re easier on the front end
- Fix 67/167
Dear Fix: David Nilles of the Highway Department says the only jobs in the pipeline for that area are to replace the bridges at Redmond Road and at Main Street, both in Jacksonville.
Meanwhile, he adds, the Highway Department will continue to maintain the roadway and make repairs until money is available for reconstruction of the stretch of your concern.
Dear Mahatma: Is there a website where I can see what the Interstate 430/630 interchange will look like once it’s complete? It looks like it’s started to take shape.
- Kris
Dear Kris: Try arkansashighways.com. That’s the website of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. Scroll down a little bit on the home page. On the right side is a button that says “Big Rock Interchange Information.” Click on that baby then click on “Project Layout.”
You will find an aerial photo with many colorful lines indicating traffic flow. Also marked will be three flyovers - I-430 southbound to I-630 eastbound, I-430 northbound to I-630 eastbound, and I-630 westbound to I-430 southbound. Plus the dedicated Baptist Hospital access ramp.
Dear Mahatma: Please explain to me why Interstate 40 in Arkansas remains pot-holed, rippled, cracked and miserable. Once crossing into Tennessee the highway is pristine and smooth. Is Arkansas not doing its part in the maintenance department?
- Shake, Rattle & Roll
Dear Shake: Get into that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans ... oops. Had a Bill Haley and the Comets moment there.
Don’t know about Tennessee, but we ran this past the folks at the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. Forthwith its defense, delivered robustly:
A $17 million project to improve the I-40 intersection with Arkansas 118 was recently completed.
A recent $6.2 million project added an auxiliary lane and relocated three ramps on I-40 in Crittenden County.
A $27 million project that was recently completed added a new overpass for I-40 westbound traffic, built two new ramps and reconstructed lanes and shoulders at the Interstate 55 interchange.
In Prairie County, 10 miles of I-40 are under reconstruction near the White River bridge, a project costing $56 million. After the work is completed, the bridge itself is scheduled to be replaced. In November voters passed the 2011 Interstate Rehabilitation Program, which will allow the Highway Department to spend more than $1 billion over the next five years.
You want better highways, dude? Then come this November, vote for the half cent sales tax. It’s temporary - only 10 years.
So there. Yeah. That’s what we’re talkin’ about.
Vanity license plate seen in Little Rock on a Nissan Juke: JUKE BOX.
Dear Mahatma: Driving north on University from 36th Street, the speed limit goes down to 25 mph in the vicinity of UALR. There’s not a sign increasing the speed limit until north of 12th Street. Are we really supposed to drive 25 mph for that distance?
- Ken
Dear Ken: No, you’re not supposed to, according to the city’s traffic engineering manager. Bill Henry says there should be a sign increasing speed to 45 mph around 28th Street. And there’s fixin’ to be one.
He also thanks you for your service to the city’s traffic safety.
Dear Mahatma: What’s up with the new headlights that give off a blue-colored light and are very blinding? Are they legal?
- iPhone Sender
Dear Sender: New headlights? Not hardly. The Mahatma drives a 2003 car with high intensity discharge headlights. His wife’s car, a 2009 model, has them as well. But your instincts are right - they do seem to be more prevalent over time. HID headlights are perfectly legal, and can also be had in the aftermarket.
If the lights are blinding, perhaps it’s because oncoming drivers neglect to turn off their high beams. Arkansas Code 27-36-211 requires low beams when drivers come within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle, or when following within 200 feet of another vehicle.
Vanity license plate seen on a VW coupe: TMPTRSS. Oh, to have met her.
Style, Pages 27 on 04/17/2012