Dear Mahatma: Any idea when the section of Van Buren Street between West Markham Street and Kavanaugh Boulevard will be resurfaced? It's in horrible condition, made worse by winter. -- Mid-Town Driver
Dear Mid-Town: This is somewhat complicated but was explained adroitly by a spokesman for the city of Little Rock.
Little Rock Public Works milled the old asphalt off Van Buren from Markham to Kavanaugh in 2004 and put down a new asphalt surface. The underlying concrete and its joints were understood to create the possibility of reflective cracking of the asphalt. A tape product was used on the joints to inhibit the cracking.
Alas, cracking ensued. The joints were sealed, but the movement of the concrete street slabs continues to cause deterioration at the joints.
Public Works patches the potholes. An overlay (short-term solution) or complete reconstruction (long-term solution) will be considered for the three-year funding cycle of 2016-18.
Dear Mahatma: My husband and I regularly travel Chenal Parkway and Interstate 630. I want to thank the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for the vision and planning that has made this so much better. The Big Rock Interchange will be beautiful when completed. I love the designs in the foundations. Please pass on to those who have done this that we appreciate it. -- Happy Readers
Dear Readers: As you wish. We passed your email to the public information guys at the Highway Department. They in turn passed it to Scott Bennett, the director. May we quote some from Bennett's email?
"While it's taken some time to reach the final outcome, we've seen small segments open that have produced big results. First was the eastbound I-630 to northbound I-430 two-lane ramp that opened in 2013 that provided immediate relief for those travelers.
"Then we opened the new northbound I-430 to eastbound I-630 ramp that eventually provided better access to Baptist Hospital -- another improvement. Next was the Shackleford Road overpass ... that relieved a lot of congestion. In the words of a loyal traveler, westbound traffic now experiences conditions 'that are like Saturday every day.'
"Most recently we've seen the opening of the southbound I-430 to eastbound I-630 two-lane flyover, meaning no more loop ramps for people heading downtown. This has further reduced congestion at the interchange. The final and tallest flyover -- westbound I-630 to southbound I-430 -- will open in July."
Bennett also thanked motorists for their patience and for paying attention to the changing conditions. As for the aesthetics, he said those are pine cones. (They are not, as one reader said to The Mahatma, pineapples.)
Vanity plate seen on a yellow Ford: YELODOG. Yellow Dog Democrat defined: An Arkansan who would rather vote for a yellow dog than a Republican. The world, we observe, has changed some.
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 06/27/2015