The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has formally asked the Metroplan board of directors to grant the proposed Interstate 30 corridor project a waiver from its policy restricting central Arkansas freeways to six lanes.
The restriction has been a part of Metroplan's long-range transportation plans dating back to the 1990s, including the most recent update of the plan, called Imagine Central Arkansas. Construction alternatives for the I-30 project require the policy to be abolished or the project granted an exception to the policy.
The two construction alternatives include one with eight main lanes and another that has six main lanes with four more lanes segregated for local traffic in the vicinity of the bridge over the Arkansas River.
"We would respectfully request that the Metroplan Board consider an amendment to Imagine Central Arkansas at the June Board meeting that would repeal this freeway widening restriction and allow a level playing field for the consideration of all reasonable and feasible alternatives for projects being developed" in the region, Scott Bennett, the director of the Highway Department, said in a June 17 letter.
The board president, Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher, responded with his own letter Wednesday to say "we will do our utmost to handle it through our adopted processes in as expeditious manner as possible" but that "unfortunately, ten days lead time is insufficient to do that in time for the June Board meeting."
Fletcher quoted previous estimates from staff that considering the waiver and other issues associated with the project could take as long as four months, to begin only after the project's environmental assessment is completed.
Bennett's letter appeared to request action specifically at Wednesday's board meeting, mentioning that meeting twice in requests for either a repeal of the policy or a waiver to the policy for the I-30 corridor project, known as 30 Crossing.
"I appreciate the Metroplan Board's past collaboration with the Department and I respectfully request that the Board abolish the six-lane freeway restriction referenced in Imagine Central Arkansas at the June Board meeting," Bennett wrote. "If the Board is not willing to abolish the six-lane freeway restriction at this time, I respectfully request that the Board provide an exception for [30 Crossing] at the June Board meeting so that further development of reasonable alternatives for this project will not be impeded."
But the time frame that Fletcher outlined is fine with the Highway Department, according to Ben Browning, the design/build director for the department who is helping oversee development of 30 Crossing.
"Essentially, what Scott is asking is to start the process," Browning said Thursday. "We understand they have a process. We're asking to get that process started."
Copies of the letters from Bennett and Fletcher were contained in the board's agenda, which was emailed to board members Thursday afternoon.
Bennett said he is seeking a full repeal of the restriction of area freeways to six lanes because in addition to 30 Crossing, the department is studying the widening of I-30 from Interstate 530 to Benton and, in collaboration with Metroplan, a regional high-occupancy toll lanes study.
"The universe of reasonable and feasible alternatives for these studies should include widening sections of these roadways to more than six lanes," he said.
The board policy has been to widen all freeways to six lanes within the region. At that point, investments in freeways under the policy have been limited to improving interchanges, maintaining pavement and bridges and using advanced technology to improve traffic flow.
Additional lane capacity under the policy would only be addressed after "investments are made in robust regional arterial and transit systems," according to Imagine Central Arkansas.
Bennett said the investment strategy has never been documented and is contrary to other stated goals such as "economic growth," "equality of access," "quality transportation corridors" and "transportation choice." The long-range transportation plan developed in 1995, however, did "establish a scenario that envisioned higher-density land use and development," he said.
Limiting freeways to six lanes wasn't "mentioned as a strategy to implement this vision," Bennett said, noting that instead it relies on changes to local land-use and development policies as well as expanded transit service, all of which are issues dependent on local jurisdictions, not the state.
He also said subsequent long-range transportation plans, which are updated every five years, lacked supporting documentation demonstrating that investing in the regional arterial network and transit "is a better strategy to meeting the needs of Central Arkansans than widening of congested freeways."
He called the policy arbitrary and said it "lacks detail to help determine when the condition has been met."
Bennett also said the policy amounted to a one-size-fits-all approach, noting that under the policy the two-lane section of Interstate 40 in Lonoke, which carries 40,000 vehicles daily, could be widened to six lanes while the I-30 corridor, which carries 120,000 vehicles daily, couldn't be widened beyond the six lanes it has now.
"Widening much of the 'regional freeway system' to six lanes regardless of travel demand while placing restrictions which are not well defined or justified on the widening of six-lane freeways with much higher volumes is not logical, constrains our ability to objectively evaluate all reasonable alternatives and does not show good stewardship of public funds," he said.
The department has identified $630.7 million in funds available for the 30 Crossing project, which intends to reduce congestion and make it safer to travel through the 6.7-mile corridor between I-530 in Little Rock and I-40 in North Little Rock.
Project organizers have also proposed replacing the I-30 river bridge and making improvements to a section of I-40 between John F. Kennedy Boulevard and U.S. 67/167 in North Little Rock.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2018 and last until 2022.
Metro on 06/24/2016