O Digger of Facts and Assorted Information: Can you tell us what the heck is going on with the dismantling of the hill along the Interstate 40 westbound merging ramp at Crystal Hill? Day after day, mechanical claws load truckloads of dirt from that hill. -- Curious Traveler
Dear Traveler: Several people have wondered this and asked The Mahatma. (Digger of facts? All we know is what we read in the newspapers, really.)
Clever us, we asked the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, which conveyed the following.
This sharply sloped area has a history of embankment failure. The slope has several times slud far enough to be a hazard in the roadway. The Highway Department district here in central Arkansas has tried to repair the slope. And then after some months -- pow! -- failure. So the agency's geological engineers studied the problem and determined it exceeded the resources of the Highway Department.
And so the repair of the slope has been incorporated into the I-40/Interstate 430 project. The material that is prone to sliding will be taken down to bedrock, after which large rocks will be added to stabilize the slope. This is known as a rock buttress.
Dear Pothole Consultant: Chenal Parkway is traveled by thousands each day. It is generally well-maintained, and was recently resurfaced with money from the bond issue of 2012. But those of us who used the parkway know of the chronic, malignant potholes just east of Chenal Club Boulevard. This has gone on for years and will continue until the underlying problem -- the spring beneath the area -- is addressed. -- Do it Right the First Time
Dear Right: Yours is not the first question about this. Nor is this the first time the matter has been explored in this space.
Alas, the answer remains the same, even though the city spokesman giving it has changed.
The new spokesman is Jennifer Godwin. The old spokesman was ... we forget.
Ms. Godwin gave the short answer to the question of a solution -- none right now. She said it would take a significant amount of money to investigate the problem without knowing if a permanent solution is feasible. Meanwhile, the plan is to keep fixing the potholes.
Dear Mahatma: Why not enhance the rock at the Big Rock Exchange at Interstates 630 and 430. The rock is a wonder. How about lighting it up at night? -- Ed
Dear Ed: It's very cool, that Big Rock. We asked the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department if there were any consideration of lighting the Big Rock. Or if there were any other decorative or commemorative plans in the works.
Definitive answer: No.
At least there was an answer. We were asked years ago by a reader if the Razorback Foundation would pay to have the rock carved into a likeness of Frank Broyles. He used to coach football. We then asked the foundation, which continues to ignore us.
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 12/05/2015