DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Left-turn fix at west Little Rock intersection in works — in 3 years

Is anyone looking into the left-turn issue at Cantrell Road and Taylor Loop in west Little Rock? The volume of traffic making the turn from westbound Cantrell to southbound Taylor Loop is so great that vehicles in the turn lane often back up to near Pinnacle Valley Road. A new gas station has added to the congestion. How about some help here? -- Larry

Dear Larry: Our first stop was with the city's chief traffic guy, the always patient Bill Henry.

He told us that city staff recently made updated traffic counts and adjusted signaling to better accommodate current traffic volumes. For sure, he added, the single left-turn lane at Taylor Loop is "an identified capacity issue" that should be addressed with an ArDot plan for widening Cantrell Road in this area.

What widening? So many road projects ...

Cantrell Road is also Arkansas 10, and so planning for and fixing this is very much a matter for the Arkansas Department of Transportation. ArDot had a public meeting back in October at the family life center at nearby Christ the King Catholic Church. Not that the planning process is new -- this newspaper reported on plans for improvements here back in 2017.

ArDot passed us a map, which the agency cautions is as preliminary as all get-out. Our reading of the map indicates two lanes are planned for turning left from westbound Cantrell Road to southbound Taylor Loop.

In addition to being preliminary, ArDot said it's looking at March 2023 to award a contract.

We took off our shoes, subtracted 2020 from 2023 and came up with three years. Preliminary timeline, of course, subject to change, because everything in the world of highway construction is subject to change.

Note to Larry: Remember that two of the seven cardinal virtues are faith and hope. They are useful when liberally applied to matters of traffic.

Vanity plate: BUBATRK. Onward, Bubba!

Dear Sir: Will the bridge over John Barrow Road be replaced during the widening of Interstate 630? I've watched as the work has been done, and at the start one bridge was taken down and remade so the widening would fit. From my view it looks like Barrow Bridge doesn't have enough room for the lanes. -- Nosy Parker

Dear Parker: You aren't nosy at all. We asked David Nilles, spokes dude for the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

Negatory on the bridge, he said.

There's plenty of room for widening under the bridge. Work done on the bridge includes maintenance on the deck, and some painting to freshen it up.

As everyone should know by now, this 2.2-mile project to widen I-630 is to be completed in early 2020. The project started in June 2018, with a contract cost of $87.4 million.

We took off our shoes again, and carefully calculated that early 2020 means "any minute now."

Vanity plate: BSUAVE. Too late for us.

Fjfellone@gmail.com

Metro on 02/29/2020

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