Good roads

The Arkansas Highway Commission, created in 1913 to manage the state’s road construction and maintenance, traveled a lengthy and challenging route to becoming powerful, prestigious, and effective. An

I'm riding through what once was Fort Chaffee with Keith Gibson, a west Arkansas business leader and member of the powerful Arkansas Highway Commission. We're looking at land that eventually will be part of a 13.7-mile stretch of Interstate 49. The new road will connect Arkansas 22 in Barling with the Interstate 40-49 interchange at Alma.

The first contract for the Interstate 49 bridge over the Arkansas River will probably be signed by late 2024.

Though the project is expected to cost at least $800 million, it should supercharge what's already a growing logistics and distribution hub in the Chaffee Crossing development.

Gibson is chairman of Lavaca Telephone Co., which serves rural areas of western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma with broadband and telephone services. He's also president of Pinnacle Telecom, which provides broadband and voice services in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Gibson was appointed by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson to a 10-year term on the five-member commission.

"I just hope to see this stretch of I-49 completed before I leave the commission in December 2029," he tells me.

Having once worked almost a decade in the governor's office, I can confirm that there's no board or commission appointment more prestigious than one to the Highway Commission. With only five members and a decade to do the work, it's a way to make a difference.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of implementation of the Mack-Blackwell Amendment to the Arkansas Constitution. That amendment is the basis for the modern Highway Commission. Voters approved the amendment in November 1952.

Its implementation, beginning in 1953, began a new era for road construction in Arkansas. What's now the Arkansas Department of Transportation became an independent agency, removed from day-to-day politics at the state Capitol.

Controversy had surrounded the commission since the early 1930s, focusing on the distribution of bond money and payment for old improvement district bonds.

Robert Scoggin wrote for the Central Arkansas Library System's Encyclopedia of Arkansas: "In 1933, two factors combined to cause the sitting commission to be replaced: the loss of revenue because of the Great Depression and the need to pay the debt for the improvement district bonds acquired in 1927. This dire financial situation caused the Legislature to pass Act 3 of 1933, which dissolved the existing commission and instructed the governor to appoint commissioners from the state at large for four-year staggered terms.

"While this may have played well in the politicians' home districts, it did nothing to solve the problem. The controversy over bond payments continued until the bonds were retired in the mid-1970s. Also during this time, serious questions began to arise regarding whether the commission was equally representing all areas of the state."

Because commission members were now at-large representatives, many voters felt their areas of the state weren't represented. The Legislature enacted Act 318 in 1935 and instructed the governor to appoint seven commissioners with one from each congressional district. Terms were to coincide with the governor's term.

Meanwhile, Act 328 of 1935 allowed the governor to appoint a department director with powers equal to the commission chairman.

New Gov. Ben Laney had yet to select Highway Commission members in early 1945 when the Legislature passed a bill enlarging the commission to 10 members. One was to come from each of the state's 10 highway districts.

"In 1948, Sid McMath was elected governor on his promise to finance a huge highway construction program with bonds," Scoggin wrote. "The Legislature increased the size of the commission (this time to 12 members) in 1949. Ten members were to be selected from the 10 highway districts with another two selected at large from the state to serve as chairman and vice chairman. ... The terms of the 12 commissioners and department director were to coincide with the governor's term.

"The increase in the size of the commission during these years was mainly to ensure that the commission represented all areas of the state. McMath sent his bond program to the people for a vote. Although there was considerable opposition to the program, it passed. The commission began the largest construction and maintenance program in the state's history."

Controversies engulfed the department on seemingly a weekly basis.

"Allegations arose over improprieties ranging from road construction for political favors to purchasing procedures to hiring practices," Scoggin wrote. "McMath proposed that the commission be reorganized under a constitutional amendment. Two state senators, Young Milton Mack and Lawrence Blackwell, sponsored Amendment 42. The amendment stated that a five-member commission was to be appointed by the governor for staggered 10-year terms with no two from the same congressional district. ... This ensured that the entire state was represented on the commission.

"The amendment also stated that the commission would select the department director. Before the amendment was voted on, the Legislature created the Highway Audit Commission to look into allegations. The commission found the allegations generally to be true. Many instances involved members of the governor's administration."

In 2003, the Highway Commission published a book to mark the 50th anniversary of Mack-Blackwell Amendment implementation. According to that historical review: "Even though the Highway Audit Commission report wasn't favorable to McMath or his administration, McMath was quick to point out that no one in his administration was convicted of a crime.

"'I would like to establish that all the highway revenue hasn't been stolen, misused, wasted or sent down the rat hole,' McMath stated in what the Arkansas Gazette described as angry tones. 'Believe it or not, the Highway Commission has spent some money on the roads in Arkansas.' He further defended his highway program, contending that the Highway Commission was building or contracting at a rate of $1.6 million a month."

McMath chose to run for a third two-year term in 1952. The least heralded of the five men in the Democratic primary, Francis Cherry of Jonesboro, forced McMath into a runoff. Boyd Tackett was third, Jack Holt was fourth and Ike Murry was fifth in that primary. Cherry won the runoff and then defeated Republican Jefferson Speck in the general election. It was an era when Democrats always won easily in the fall. On that same November ballot, the Mack-Blackwell Amendment passed by a vote of 231,529 to 78,291.

The first five members of the reorganized commission were Willie Lawson of Little Rock, Cecil Lynch of Pine Bluff, Raymond Orr of Fort Smith, Dan Portis of Lepanto and Glenn Wallace of Nashville. An organizational meeting was held in the governor's office on Jan. 19, 1953. Griffin Smith, chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, administered the oath of office. Orr was selected as chairman. The commissioners then drew lots to stagger their terms.

The commission accepted the resignation of Orval Faubus of Huntsville, who had served as department director. Two years later, Faubus upset Cherry in a Democratic primary runoff and won the general election in the fall of 1954 against Republican Pratt Remmel. Faubus went on to serve six two-year terms as governor.

This year also marks the 110th anniversary of the Arkansas Highway Commission.

"At the beginning of the 20th century, rumblings about the condition of Arkansas' roads came to a head," Scoggin wrote. "Converging factors were the growth of the so-called Good Roads Movement, mass production of the automobile and the issues of funding, construction and maintenance of roads. By 1913, the Good Roads Movement had become a national force that advocated for better roads across the country. This and the explosive growth of automobile use in Arkansas between 1910 and 1920 added pressure to the already hot issue of improved roads and their maintenance.

"In 1913, an attempt was made by the Legislature to create road improvement districts. Issues regarding the use of bonds to finance these improvement districts negated the effort. Under this act, the Arkansas Highway Commission was created. The commission's first responsibility was to furnish advice and assistance to road improvement districts."

Scoggin noted that the state's roads in the early 1900s "weren't designed for the arrival of the automobile. They were rough and dusty in dry weather and were impassable during the rainy season. There was no statewide authority to plan or direct road construction. Construction was handled at the local level with county courts in charge. Most roads were built to serve specific neighborhoods or even individuals. A statewide system of roads was far from a reality."

There were three members of the original Arkansas Highway Commission. The commissioner of state lands, highways and improvements served alongside two members appointed by the governor to serve staggered two-year terms.

"The main responsibilities of the new commission were general supervision of road construction and maintenance, advising and assisting counties and improvement districts, and distributing available funds for the construction of public roads," Scoggin wrote. "Unfortunately, the first commission had little power, little funding and no organized statewide system of roads on which to focus.

"By 1916, the federal government had become involved in road construction by giving money to states. After a few years of dispensing such money, the federal government felt no progress had been made. In 1921, it required that states meet certain standards to receive money. By 1923, Arkansas had failed to meet the requirements and lost its share of the funds."

During a 1923 special session, the Legislature enacted the Harrelson Road Law. It increased the number of commissioners to five. Four were appointed from the state at large by the governor from the four agricultural districts. The chairman was the commissioner of state lands, highways and improvements. Terms were extended to four years and continued to be staggered. Construction and maintenance activities were to be supervised by the commission.

The act also created a system of state highways. By 1927, the year of the Great Flood, most road improvement districts were nearing bankruptcy. The Legislature enacted the Martineau Road Law. District bonds were taken over by the commission. The commission was allowed to finance road construction through the sale of bonds backed by the state.

"By 1929, the commission and department had become so large that the Legislature enacted Act 65," Scoggin wrote. "This act separated the commission from the Department of State Lands, Highways and Improvements, making it a separate state agency. Also, as part of the act, all commissioners were to be appointed by the governor for 10-year staggered terms."

Some state highways remained unpaved until the 1970s. Financing programs approved by the Legislature and voters have allowed the system to improve dramatically during the past half century.

"From its creation in 1913, the Arkansas Highway Commission has increased its transportation responsibilities to include full authority over planning, construction and maintenance of Arkansas roads," Scoggin wrote. "This transition from local needs-based road construction to statewide and interstate connectivity has brought with it an economic expansion that has improved the quality of life for all Arkansans."

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