The Arkansas Department of Transportation estimates that in 2027 and 2028 about $2.2 billion of new projects will be added to its list of highway improvements.
That estimate comes from the department’s chief engineer for preconstruction, in an interview in the summer issue of the agency’s magazine.
Of all state agencies, the Transportation Department has perhaps the most active communications office. For safety reasons, the public has to be kept up to date about the status of highway projects and changes in road conditions due to bad weather.
One example is I Drive Arkansas, an app that is found at @idrivearkansas. It allows you to check road conditions, and plan trips around construction projects or winter weather.
The department sends out more news releases than other state agencies, because of the need to notify the public ahead of time about roadwork that requires the closing of lanes, ramps or sections of highway. For example, already in August the department has sent out 17 press releases.
Department officials hold numerous public hearings to gather input about proposed highway projects and those must be publicized. The department also keeps contractors up to date on projects so that they can submit bids for work. That entails providing contractors with mountains of accurate information, ranging from specifications for different types of asphalt that must be used to the financial requirements a contractor must comply with in order to be bonded.
One of the go-to sources of information for legislators, highway officials and the general public is the department’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
The document outlines what the department is working on, over a four-year period. The federal government, which provides hundreds of millions in grants for highway projects, requires all 50 states to maintain a version of STIP that covers four fiscal years. Federal funds cannot be spent on any highway projects that have not been listed in the STIP.
The STIP is fiscally conservative, because it cannot include more projects than the Transportation Department can afford to complete.
The current STIP covers fiscal years 2023 through 2026 and includes 814 projects costing about $4.4 billion. They cover 4,100 miles of highway and 270 bridges.
In Arkansas the STIP is updated every two years, so the next version will include new projects that will be added in 2027 and 2028.
Traditionally, highway projects fall into three major categories – improvements for safety reasons, maintenance to preserve the integrity of the existing highway system and capital improvements/economic development.
When the new projects for 2027 and 2028 are added to STIP, funding will be distributed with 75 percent going for maintaining the existing highway system and 25 percent going for capital improvement, economic development projects.
A lot of input is gathered before a project is officially listed in STIP. The public and civic leaders offer their opinions. The department’s traffic safety division and local police departments collect and submit data about wrecks and traffic accidents.
Another division submits data about traffic flow, such as the number of vehicles that use a stretch of highway and how many of those are heavy trucks. Staff must consider whether or not a section of highway should be widened, because it may not be able to safely handle the increased volume of traffic.
