We did our best to be a bug on the wall this past Tuesday at the Wyndham Riverfront hotel in North Little Rock, scene of a public meeting about the 30 Crossing project, a fancy name for the biggest interstate highway project in Arkansas.
For those who have been asleep at the wheel for the past couple of years, the Interstate 30 bridge over the Arkansas River will be replaced.
Seems simple. But along the way the plan got complicated, mostly because of hot public interest and involvement. How hot? A rough estimate is that more than 400 people showed up at the Tuesday meeting, the sixth such in the planning process.
Those people were nice, too. No one shook a fist when Scott Bennett, the director of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, got up to explain the latest concept, plan and alternative.
Quoting Noel Oman's front page story Wednesday: A shift of the interchange at Cantrell Road that sends I-30 traffic into downtown. Such traffic would move south, allowing traffic to go to and from downtown from Fourth, Sixth and Ninth streets and Capitol Avenue. (FYI: Mr. Oman is a real newspaper reporter. All we do is drink coffee and fritter away 500 words in this space once a week.)
This latest iteration -- six interstate lanes with four local access lanes -- is one of five alternatives.
Meanwhile, at the meeting, people were looking at maps and video demonstrations and such. Some of them agreed to speak with your correspondent.
John Holt, who lives on East Capitol Avenue, was dispirited. Or at least concerned.
"This is going to be awful for me, four lanes in front of the condo I just bought."
Maybe. Maybe not. Danny Straessle, who speaks for the Highway Department, confirmed that the plan right now is to turn Capitol into four lanes from the frontage road to Cumberland, and take out the parking. But, he said, the city has asked this plan to be reviewed. So there is hope for Mr. Holt.
Capitol, a two-way street, would be flanked by Fourth Street with three lanes eastbound only, and Sixth Street with three lanes westbound only.
Stephanie Smittle, who lives in the Capitol View neighborhood of Little Rock, is concerned about the idea that interstate highways divide cities. She liked the idea, presented at the meeting, that the newest plan would create a more pedestrian-friendly downtown with green spaces and family spaces.
"That's all good stuff for Little Rock."
Harold Payne, who lives on West Seventh Street in Little Rock, east of UAMS, was skeptical of more interstate lanes.
"I come from the point of view that we won't solve [traffic] congestion by paving over America. Future Americans will have to live with the concept of alternate forms of transportation as the norm."
Six lanes of I-30 are enough, he said.
"Detroit can build enough automobiles to fill up every lane we build."
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 04/30/2016