Dear Mahatma: Overheard at lunch recently -- a bridge is going to be built over the Arkansas River between Mayflower and Roland. Truth? -- Sandy
Dear Sandy: This is a great idea. We looked at a map of our wonderful state and, yes, Mayflower and Roland are across the Arkansas River from each other.
Great idea or not, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Transportation said there is no such plan. And, said David Nilles, he's 99 percent sure there never was such a plan.
Dear Mahatma: What's about to happen in the area where Interstate 40 merges into Interstate 30 going toward Little Rock? I can see they're preparing to do something, and I immediately think, "Now what?" -- Beverly
Dear Bev: This construction is part of the 30 Crossing Project, which remakes roughly seven miles of Interstate 30 through downtown Little Rock with some Interstate 40 thrown in over in North Little Rock, and with a new bridge over the Arkansas River.
Phew.
The construction to which you refer is to do the following, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation: Build a new bridge over I-40 eastbound to allow two lanes of I-30 eastbound traffic destined for U.S. 67/167 North to land in the left lanes of I-40 eastbound. This new traffic pattern will eliminate the current necessity of traffic headed to U.S. 67/167 North to weave across three lanes of I-40 in less than a mile.
Phew. In our humble opinion, this is a great idea. That stretch of I-40 in front of The Big Church is a drag race, three lanes of white-knuckle driving.
Dear Mahatma: Is it true that Interstates 430 and 630 are changing their names to the I-430/I-630 Speedways? People still drive way over the speed limit. -- David
Dear David: Ha-ha! That's semi-funny.
Speed limits? Surely you meant speed suggestions.
Enough humor. Speed limits are set by law, and for a reason. A speed limit on any highway is the result of an engineering determination that such maximum speed is safe. The Legislature also has a role in setting speed limits, such as the default 25 mph for municipal streets.
We recently wrote about the sheer number of drivers in these parts -- about 537,000 in Pulaski, Saline, Lonoke and Faulkner counties. This got us to thinking about the number of state troopers whose job it is to patrol the interstates of Central Arkansas.
Would you believe 59 troopers in Troop A of the Arkansas State Police are assigned to highway patrol in these four counties? That means troopers are outnumbered by drivers by roughly 9,100 to 1. We're told any other trooper -- detective, administrator -- can also engage in traffic enforcement, but they would only slightly change the ratio.
Hardly seems fair.
Should there be more, substantially more, state troopers to patrol our speedways -- excuse us, interstates?
That's for the Legislature, in its wisdom, to decide, presumably based on the will of the people.
Vanity plate seen around town: ICU GOD.
Fjfellone@gmail.com