Dear Mahatma, one with knowledge of all things: Can you predict if Interstate 30 north of the Arkansas River bridge will ever have the potholes, buckles and cracks repaired, including the I-30 and Interstate 40 interchange on- and off-ramps? Or must we who have blown tires and bent rims wait until we reach our golden years when and if ever when the new mega-interstate is built? -- Old Jerry
Dear Jerry: Knowledge of all things? Ha! We can hardly get out of bed in the morning anymore.
We asked the Arkansas Department of Transportation about this. We're deeply interested, because the racetrack known at the I-30/I-40/U.S. 67-167 Motor Speedway has some potholes that almost qualify as strip mines. Our little car fell into one the other day, and barely got out.
Says ArDot: Major repairs are anticipated this summer. Much of the work will require night-time lane closures to minimize the impact on traffic. Meanwhile, before summer, crews will address problem spots as they develop until more permanent repairs can be made.
We eagerly anticipate such repairs and encourage all readers to go to idrivearkansas.com, scroll over the Contact button, and go down to Report a Problem. Hammer that pothole thing, people.
Dear Mahatma: I have noticed that at night and in the rain, it is almost impossible to see the lines that divide the lanes on Interstate 30, Interstate 40 and U.S. 67/167. Most of these highways have three or four lanes. I try to drive in the outside lanes because I can see the painted edges. In most cases, I do not see reflective markers, so I drive on and pray I'm in my lane when I'm in the middle of the highway. Who do I call to request the lines be repainted or if there is some other way to distinguish where the lanes are? -- Worried Senior
Dear Senior: It takes a worried, worried man to sing a worried, worried song ... oops, lapsed back into the folk music revolution of the mid-20th century.
We asked Mark Headly, engineer for District 6 of the Arkansas Department of Transportation, about this.
What you want, he said, are reflective raised pavement markers. They're the best markings for driving at night in the rain. But they tend to get plowed off every winter and knocked off by traffic over a couple of years.
"We are overdue in this area for replacing those RPMs," Headly said, "and now that winter has hopefully ended, we intend to start replacing those in our area, starting with the interstates and other controlled access highways within the coming weeks and months."
But, he added, the crew that paints interstates and other controlled access highways will concentrate on another part of the state this year. The crew paints on a two-year cycle and was in central Arkansas last year.
Vanity plate on a Dodge Challenger: NT 2DAY.
Fjfellone@gmail.com
Metro on 04/28/2018