Little Rock notebook

Right-of-way land

for I-30 on agenda

Little Rock city directors on Tuesday will consider a resolution to authorize the donation of city property to the Arkansas Department of Transportation for the widening and reconstruction of Interstate 30.

The property to be transferred is approximately an acre, which is in the city's right of way.

The reconstruction, dubbed the 30 Crossing project, is a nearly $1 billion project to revamp Interstate 30 through North Little Rock and downtown Little Rock that includes replacing the Interstate 30 bridge over the Arkansas River.

Land buy planned

for interpark trail

The city of Little Rock plans to buy property located between Hindman and Western Hills parks to allow for the construction of a trail connecting the two parks.

Pulco Realty Corporation is selling the approximately 1-acre tract of land for $9,000. Funding for the purchase is available from a portion of the three-eights-cent capital improvement sales tax allocated to Western Hills Park.

The purchase is on the Little Rock Board of Directors' agenda for Tuesday's regular meeting.

Early June goal for

yard-waste pickup

The city of Little Rock hopes to return yard waste collection to its normal schedule by the first week of June after delays caused by the covid-19 pandemic.

The city's solid waste division cut back on the number of people working on a daily basis to allow workers to distance themselves from one another, which resulted in delayed pickup.

The city announced Monday that it was beginning to phase crews back to near-normal staffing levels "while continuing distancing and safety practices"

Little Rock will continue allowing residents to dump their own waste through the end of May, if they choose, at the city's facility at 10801 Ironton Cutoff.

Online meeting set

on street project

The city is set to hold an online public meeting June 1 to discuss a project to reconstruct Little Rock's Bowman Road from Kanis Road to Cherry Laurel Drive.

An in-person forum will not be held because of coronavirus-related restrictions.

Residents can view information about the project, including a narrative that describes the need and proposed features, a copy of the latest plans and a copy of the city's non-discrimination policy statement, by going to littlerock.gov, navigating to the "Public Works" section under the "City Hall" tab at the top of the page, and clicking on "Civil Engineering." There is also a comment form where people are invited to submit input.

Log-in information for the June 1 online meeting, which will take place from 5:30-6:30 p.m., will be posted online. Representatives from the city's Public Works Department and others will be on hand to review submitted comments and provide responses.

Libraries to start

sending book kits

The Central Arkansas Library System will resume distributing some book club kits in June, after temporarily putting the service on hold during the covid-19 pandemic.

The library system on Wednesday sent out a survey to people who had used the service before asking if they still wanted to receive kits and encouraging participants to practice social distancing when distributing and collecting books.

The system also encouraged book clubs to meet virtually on video chat platforms such as Zoom or Google Hangouts rather than in person to prevent the spread of the virus.

Sculptor's work

wins commission

Little Rock has named Kathleen Caricof as the recipient of the 2020 Sculpture at the River Market public monument commission, the city announced in a news release Thursday.

Caricof's sculpture that won the $60,000 commission is called Synergy. It will be installed in spring 2021 near the entrance of the West Central Community Center, 8616 Colonel Glenn Road., according to the release. The brushed metal piece is 20 feet high, 12 feet wide and 10 feet deep. It has two large curved metal ribbons that swoop toward each other before splitting toward the top.

In her submission, Caricof said that her sculpture was inspired by the motion of the activities that take place in the community center and the connections it forms among community members.

"Designed with energy, this tall metal sculpture shows the excitement of the expression of motion," she said. "These forms, as simple as they might look, depict the complex movements of athletes and the togetherness of a lively community."

Website follows

arts center work

As construction continues in downtown Little Rock, the Arkansas Arts Center has launched a website where people can track the renovation's progress.

The website is reimagining.arkansasartscenter.org.

The redesigned arts center in MacArthur Park is expected to open in 2022.

Metro on 05/18/2020

Upcoming Events