Dear Mahatma: When the new Southwest High School is completed, will Mabelvale Pike be resurfaced? The construction traffic has torn up that road. -- ADG Reader
Dear Reader: Mike Hood of the city's Public Works Department tells us the road will be resurfaced from one end of the construction limits to the other. That is, Richsmith Lane to the north and Helm Drive to the south.
By the way, the school is to open in the fall. The student body will top 2,000, the school colors are green and purple, and the school mascot is a gryphon.
A what? A gryphon is a mythological creature that combines the head and wings of an eagle with the body of a lion.
Seriously.
Dear Mahatma: When is Scott Street going to be repaved? -- Joanne
Dear Joanne: We went back to the well -- Mike Hood of the city's Public Works Department.
He said there aren't any parts of Scott Street on the city's resurfacing list for 2020 or 2021. But, he said, there's a way to request improvement projects. Go to the city's website, then to Public Works, and find a form on the web page called Infrastructure Request Form. Fill it out online, and it can be emailed directly to Public Works.
Hood said to be specific with the street and the segment you wish to be considered. Public Works will grade and estimate the cost and add it to a list of street surfacing requests. Jobs are done based on the condition of the street, the amount of traffic, and what money is available. Hood notes that since the city's voters approved a 10-year capital improvement program back in 2011, the city has allocated more than $45 million for street resurfacing through 2021.
Dear Sir, I've been reading your column since I was a little lad. Now 75 ... kidding. My wife and I moved to rural northeast Arkansas seven years ago. While some highways are quite good, what about our two-laners? As in Arkansas 115. It's as crooked as a dog's hind leg and covered up with big trucks any hour of the day. Loggers, chicken haulers, feed and fertilizer. You get the picture. Keep up the good work of being the people's advocate on these matters. -- John R.
Dear John: Ha-ha! We've been writing this column for almost 15 years. So, yeah, both of us were mere lads back then.
Regarding Arkansas 115, which according to the state highway map runs from Cave City in Sharp County to Pocahontas in Randolph County, there is a plan.
David Nilles of the Arkansas Department of Transportation said an improvement project will resurface selected sections of 22 miles of Arkansas 115. The work will begin at the Sharp County line and move north to the highway's junction with Arkansas 117.
The work will be let to contract in 2022.
John, here's hoping we both last that long.
Vanity plate seen on a Honda: PMS4EVR.
Fjfellone@gmail.com
Metro on 03/07/2020