Dear Mahatma: Is it possible to replace burned-out bulbs on Interstate 30 through downtown Little Rock?
- Better to Light a Candle
Dear Better: Lights over interstate highways are installed by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, which then turns over the task of maintenance to the municipality in which the lights are put.
Little Rock Public Works says the department has recently ordered replacement equipment to get all the high-mast lighting on I-30 - and the South Terminal Interchange - back up to what they call “snuff.”
Additionally, lights in the median have some circuit issues, and trouble-shooting goes on to get those issues fixed.
Dear Mahatma: Small Exit signs placed on top of the larger interstate signs indicate on which side the exit will be.
Perhaps you can get the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department to explain why the Exit 138 sign, going south on Interstate 530, is on the upper right, rather than the upper left, given the exit goes left.
- Bill
Dear Bill: This is something up with which the taxpayers of Arkansas should not put. Or something like that.
Alerted to this riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, by your correspondent, the Highway Department fixed the sign within a couple of days.
Such is the power of reasoned discourse. Or something like that.
Dear Mahatma: Back in December, when the snow was plowed off the highways, centerline reflectors were plowed [off], too. At least they were on Arkansas 25 to Heber Springs and Arkansas 14 to Newport.
Traveled both at night, saw most of them glowing brightly on the shoulder, in the ditch and in the woods.
- Troy in Mountain View
Dear Troy: The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department agrees that reflectors have been lost in Stone County. Agency spokesman David Nilles says that sometimes happens when plowing. A higher number than normal were lost during the weather in December because there was so much more ice than snow. Plow operators have to run close to the pavement for ice.
The reflectors will be replaced, Nilles says, at the cost of 78 cents each, not counting labor.
Dear Mahatma: Is there a law concerning how loud a vehicle can be? We live in a once quiet neighborhood. A young person now has acquired a vehicle that sounds like a plane taking off.
- Earache
Dear Earache: There is no state law that we can find, and we’ve looked repeatedly over the years with the help of others, that limits vehicle noise. The city of Little Rock and other municipalities have noise ordinances. Look around, and you’ll see signs here and there to that effect.
Options are three. First, call the city’s nonemergency number, 311, and ask for police enforcement. Second, have a cup of coffee with the parents of this inconsiderate miscreant, keeping in mind that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Third, hope the boy is smart enough to go away to college someday.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 02/15/2014