Dear Mahatma: Driving east on Interstate 40 outside of Fort Smith on Dec. 6, we noticed a horrid smell, and it kept getting stronger. Finally, we realized that we were closing on a crew spraying something in the left lane, presumably pre-treatment for icing. Two trucks, one spraying, one trailing with flashing lights. What fluid is that? So far as I know calcium chloride is odorless. And the utmost sympathy for the driver of the blocker truck. -- Be the Guy in the Front Truck!
Dear Guy: The grapevine at the Arkansas Department of Transportation connected us to Chad Davis, the maintenance engineer for District 4.
The roadway in question was treated with a mixture of salt brine and beet juice. That is, 90 percent brine and 10 percent beet. The latter helps the former stick to the road and lowers the freezing temperature a little more.
Presumably, the smell was the beet juice.
Dear Mahatma: In your Dec. 15 column, you said traffic cameras were outlawed through ACA Section 27-52-110 and 27-52-111. I remembered two locations in Little Rock offhand: Baseline Road and Interstate 30, and Markham Street and Shackleford Road. I have attached pictures from Google Street View. Two cameras are visible in the picture of Baseline and I-30, and three are visible in the picture of Markham and Shackleford. What gives? -- Carl
Dear Carl: What gives is that your correspondent is only partially smart.
Details make the difference, we used to say in the newsroom. The detail left out was the word enforcement. That is, traffic enforcement cameras are outlawed by the state Legislature.
What you see are traffic sensor cameras. They watch the volume of traffic and change the lights accordingly.
On another topic in last week's column, we have heard from the esteemed mayor of Maumelle, Mike Watson regarding the new interchange to be built connecting Maumelle to Interstate 40 at the old rest stop site.
The mayor, whose term ends shortly, wrote in to clarify the exact amount the city of Maumelle has contributed to the project, for which the Arkansas Department of Transportation accepted a bid from McGeorge Contracting Co. of Pine Bluff of $14,578,035.84.
But that's an incomplete figure, given it's only for the construction.
The mayor kindly sent along a document from ArDot that said the total cost was $18,452,874.19. Bumping up the total were costs for preliminary engineering, right of way acquisition, utility relocation and construction engineering.
So the city's total share was $13,982,185.27.
The mayor said the city in November delivered two checks totaling that figure to ArDot. He didn't say what it was like to hold $13,982,185.27. As Mama used to say, that would have burned a hole in our pocket.
The city also paid $418,000 over the past 10 years for engineering costs.
Treat this interchange gently, Maumelle drivers. It comes dearly.
Fjfellone@gmail.com
Metro on 12/22/2018