See below for the Agenda and Video Transcript of the February 11, 2026 for the Arkansas State Highway Commission meeting.
AGENDA:
- Review Minutes Of The December 3, 2025 Meeting
- Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission
- Consideration Of Minute Orders
- State Highway Financial Report
- Updates:
- Federal And State Legislative Issues
- Efficiency Review Recommendations
- Bid Lettings
- Construction And Maintenance Activities
- Recent Department Activities
- Around The Department – Environmental Division
- Looking Ahead To 2026
- Upcoming Events
- Other Business And Discussion
Construction Bid Lettings Scheduled For: Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 10:00 A.M. and 1:30 P.M.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
2:20 – Good morning everyone.
2:23 – Welcome to the February 11th business meeting of the Arkansas State Highway Commission. Our first meeting of 2026.
2:34 – I’m Philip Taldo, chairman of the commission for now.
2:39 – Uh thank thank you all for being here today in person or and andor on our live
2:47 – stream. It looks like we have a full agenda today. As you can see on the screen, there it is. Uh, but before we
2:56 – get started, please stand for the reciting of the pledge of allegiance.
3:02 – I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation
3:11 – under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated.
3:20 – I have some general reminders for everyone who may be speaking or presenting at today’s meeting. We want
3:28 – to make sure everyone is heard as clearly as possible. So, please ensure your microphone is turned on. Is mine
3:36 – turned on? Yeah. Okay. Uh and when you speak and speak directly into the microphone to ensure your audio is picked up well.
3:48 – This brings us to our first order of business, which is approving the minutes from the December 3rd commission
3:56 – meeting. I hope everybody had a chance to review them. Uh Christie sent them out to us. Uh anybody have any questions or anything on the minutes?
4:10 – Make a motion to approve. We got a motion. Do I hear a second? Second.
4:15 – We got a motion and second. All in favor say I please.
4:19 – I I motion passes. Uh this morning we have Mrs.
4:30 – Who’s acting that back.
4:33 – This morning we have uh Mrs. McKenzie Mcmath Cornell,
4:40 – executive uh director of the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission.
4:46 – uh she’s going to uh make a presentation to us and we’re glad she’s here today.
4:56 – Good morning everyone. Thank you so much for having me.
5:00 – Okay, now it is okay. I want to follow instructions. Okay, thank you again so much for having me uh to present to you
5:09 – all this morning. All the work that we do at Keep Arkansas Beautiful would not be possible without your continued support and partnership.
5:18 – Whoops. We’re going forward, not back. Maybe. All right. Here we go.
5:27 – Today I’m going to briefly go over our 2025 impact, touch a little bit on the greatest American cleanup, uh share a
5:35 – little bit of how we have expanded our educational offerings, and talk about how we are bringing Arkansas together.
5:44 – Let’s jump into our 2025 year in review. Lots of impressive numbers. Don’t worry,
5:50 – I will not recite them all out loud to you, but I do want to share that 2025 was a record-breaking year for Keep
5:57 – Arkansas Beautiful. We were able to accrue nearly 25,000 volunteers from every corner of the state. We have
6:05 – participation from all 75 counties twice a year. So, we are thrilled to see our numbers continuing to climb, especially
6:13 – with the incorporation of uh students uh needing to get volunteer hours. we um have worked very hard to be um at the
6:21 – top of their list to come to us to help us for us to help them get those hours.
6:26 – Uh we had over 96 total educational workshops around the state. We also um picked up over 900,000 pounds of litter.
6:35 – All of these statistics will be available in this presentation and we will be issuing a an impact report that will be uh for your reading pleasure at
6:44 – your convenience. But for those of you who are a tad bit mathematically challenged, I can’t really envision what
6:50 – 900,000 lb looks like. So that is about 160 African elephants and 3 to four blue
6:57 – whales. That’s a lot of trash. Um, also I think people in here might understand uh roadways and miles. So I wanted to
7:05 – throw out there that is enough trash for you to drive or enough roadways were cleaned for you to drive from Arkansas to the West Coast and back. That’s over
7:14 – 5,000 miles of roadways that our canons picked up in 2025.
7:21 – Our cost benefit analysis blew it out of the water this year. We um were able to have a total program benefit of about
7:28 – $18 million uh with a total investment of $270,000ish dollars, which to me is fantastic. Um that is about $66 per $1 spent uh value.
7:41 – So, we are very excited to see that while um we work um with not the biggest budget and you all especially help
7:49 – support uh all of the effort and costs that go into our program that we are able to return such value to the state.
7:56 – So, thank you so much for your continued support in helping to make these numbers possible.
8:03 – I’m now going to jump into the greatest American cleanup. Many of you are familiar with our programming and know that we have the American the great
8:11 – American cleanup every spring. This spring is the greatest. We are working um in tandem with keep America beautiful
8:19 – and they are highlighting this as the greatest year in honor of America’s 250th birthday. It’s a challenge nationwide for every American to pick up
8:28 – 250 pieces of litter. As part of this um historic nationwide effort, we are
8:35 – anticipating more Arkansans than ever to turn out for our spring cleanup season. And with the continued support of ARDOT,
8:42 – we will be able to equip um supplies to these Arkansans turning out to do their part to keep both Arkansas and America beautiful.
8:52 – Our wildflower program continues to blossom and grow, puns totally intended.
8:57 – We have distributed over 3,000 wildflower seed packs which are made available during our cleanup seasons to our canons around the state. This is an
9:05 – effort uh to give our canons the opportunity to beautify their um communities and public spaces. So thanks
9:13 – to actually I consulted with the uh Department of Transportation’s team here when I first wanted to get started on the wildflower program and they set me
9:21 – in the right direction. So once again showing that um the Department of Transportation’s partnership has always helped [clears throat] develop lots of
9:30 – our programming and always guided us in the right way.
9:34 – I’m very excited to announce that we have expanded our educational offerings now available for K through 12. We have
9:41 – developed plugandplay lesson plans within our mission areas of litter prevention, recycling and um waste reduction and beautification and
9:49 – conservation. The idea is to make things as easy as possible for teachers,
9:54 – educators to be able to just go download lesson plans that are all in line with state standards and um within our
10:02 – mission areas and are also exciting and give students the opportunity to get hands-on experience within our mission areas. Uh we continue to support the
10:11 – learns act by offering opportunities for students to take classroom learning to real life projects. Um we offer
10:19 – short-term and long-term projects and several of our projects um reinforce uh not only state standards but also AP
10:27 – curriculum so that way that classes um entire classes can do these projects together not just individual students.
10:34 – So we’re really trying to make everything we do full circle. Um let’s see. Um now this is an exciting
10:43 – new piece of news for us. Keep Arkansas Beautiful has always had um Arkansas affiliates around the state. For the first time in 10 years, in a few weeks at the governor’s conference on tourism,
10:54 – Keep Arkansas Beautiful will be hosting our first Arkansas um Keep Arkansas Beautiful affiliate network conference.
11:00 – So, we will be gathering uh groups, all of our 13 affiliates from around the state, plus additional cities that are interested in becoming Arkansas
11:08 – affiliates to get everyone that is like-minded in the same room to work together to have um instructive speakers
11:15 – and uh inspirational testimonies and really just discuss the best way that these people that are working in all of these like-minded missions can support
11:24 – one another and know that the central office of Keep Arkansas Beautiful will be a strong support for them. Um
11:32 – our um outcome and impact is really to make sure that we as a small office are able to have a large footprint around the state and by supporting these
11:40 – affiliates that gives us a foothold in these different regions to help push our programming, have boots on the ground to
11:47 – attend Rotary events and talk to schools and you know really expand our impact.
11:52 – So we’re very excited to have this um coming together for the first time in nearly a decade. It’s very exciting and
11:59 – we are ready to continue expanding our impact and without the support of ARDOT we really would not be able to um have
12:08 – the huge impact that we do have and so your continued support and dedication to as helping us achieve these great goals.
12:16 – Um we are eternally grateful for that and today we do ask you to uh continue to assist us in making these wonderful programs accessible and available to our
12:25 – canons from every corner of our wonderful state doing their best to keep the natural state beautiful. So thank you very much. That’s all I got.
12:35 – Thank you director.
12:37 – Uh anybody have any questions for the director? I want to say one thing that uh we really appreciate your partnership
12:46 – uh with ARD dot. You know, it you can build a great highway and you can have thick asphalt and you can have a lot of
12:53 – things, but if you got trash all over it, nobody notices, but we feel like you’re a a great uh partner with us to
13:02 – to help present something that the citizens are proud of. Thank you for what you do. Thank you very much. Any other questions or comments?
13:14 – Okay, thank you. Now, we’ll move on to the minute orders.
13:20 – Uh, as a reminder, all minute orders will be held for signing until after the meeting concludes. If you have any
13:28 – questions or comments about the minute orders as they are being read, please let me know. for the reading of the
13:37 – minute orders. I will call upon Dave Parker who is head of our communications division. Dave.
13:45 – Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Minute order one. As always, this minute order calls for the approval of the actions by the purchasing committee since our last meeting.
13:57 – Minute order two. As we just heard about this next minute order askked for the approval to make a $100,000 contribution
14:05 – to the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission for their use in strengthening their anti-litter campaign.
14:16 – Minute order three.
14:18 – This calls for authorization to process payment for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, ASHTTO, uh their annual membership dues. The amount is $42,365.
14:33 – That’s for the 2026 calendar year.
14:40 – Minute order four also calls for the approval to make payment in the amount of $40,000 to the Arkansas Good Roads
14:48 – Foundation for the 2026 calendar year.
14:56 – Minute order five.
14:58 – This asks for authorization to request proposals, select qualified consultant engineering and land surveying firms to
15:06 – perform surveying services, and enter into necessary agreements or contracts as needs are identified for a term of
15:15 – three years with the option to extend.
15:23 – Minute order six, similar type minute order. This ask for the authorization to enter into agreements with the Arkansas
15:31 – State Police and other safety partners to proceed with the development,
15:36 – publication, and distribution of a comprehensive media campaign for the move over law as funds become available.
15:48 – Minute order seven,
15:51 – moving to the various districts. This minute order from district 6 calls for the declaration of a certain piece of
15:59 – land to be now considered as surplus property.
16:04 – Men order 8 similar this time in Benton County. Minute order 8 ask for the approval of a piece of land to become surplus property. Uh this is near Highway 112 and West Wallace Road.
16:20 – Minute order nine has to do with a partnering agreement with the city of Swiften so that we can make improvements
16:27 – to the Swiften bypass. This is in Jackson County, northeast Arkansas.
16:36 – Minute order 10 involves another partnering agreement, this time in the city of Springdale to make various intersection improvements within the
16:44 – city. This includes both Benton and Washington counties. Includes portions of Highway 71B.
16:55 – Minute order 11 out of Palaski County calls for the authorization to partner with Metro Plan and to utilize
17:03 – consultant services to conduct a proposed Highway 100, Highway 365 corridor study.
17:14 – Minute order 12 out of district 10, Klay County. This is an improvement project approval to enter into necessary
17:23 – agreements with MODOT, the Missouri Department of Transportation for the design and construction of the
17:30 – Interstate 57 interchange at the Missouri Arkansas line.
17:37 – Minute order 13, districts 4 and nine,
17:41 – Benton and Washington counties authorization to update the Interstate 540 or Interstate 49 improvement study.
17:55 – Minute order 14 out of District 7,
17:58 – Columbia County. This minute order calls for the adoption of the Western Magnolia Corridor Study. This is to be used as a planning guide for future improvements.
18:10 – And finally, minute order 15 out of district 3, Pike County. This minute order calls for naming of portions of
18:17 – highways 19, 26, and 301 as the Glen Campbell Memorial Highway.
18:26 – Now, Dave, aren’t you going to sing that part? I heard I heard Rhinestone Cowboy. That’s what I’m [laughter] going to stand up and lead us in. rhinestone cowboy.
18:33 – Appreciate that.
18:35 – [snorts]
18:37 – That will conclude my remarks, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Dave. Well, uh, yeah, [laughter]
18:47 – if there are no questions, we will move on to our next order of business. For that, I’ll ask Patrick Patton, our chief
18:54 – financial officer, to come to the podium and present our state highway financial report.
19:03 – Patrick, thank you sir. Good morning everybody. Um, we will start out with the if I can go forward.
19:15 – There we go. Start out with our budgeted versus actual operating expenses uh through December. Uh January’s numbers weren’t ready yet.
19:24 – So we’re looking at December’s numbers.
19:26 – Uh director’s expense is flat uh to the budget. Uh chief of admin is flat. Uh or 1.8 million uh below budget.
19:38 – Uh basically uh when we do the budget,
19:40 – we smooth it. So far 5 million has uh been used. More than likely is the timing of the purchases.
19:49 – uh capital outlay expense if you look at it the uh variance there is about $12 million. Uh once again that’s timing.
19:59 – Road and machinery so far has only spent about $3 million. So uh as we get more uh machinery and more trucks, more uh
20:09 – equipment uh that number will will come closer to the budget.
20:16 – Next slide will show you the trend of uh revenues over the last five years. So if you look at motor fuel, uh we’re
20:24 – tracking right at uh 2025 levels. Um we did have u in in motor fuel a reduction
20:33 – in our allocation of about $10 million uh due to a DK trading refunding. Uh
20:40 – same song and dance as last year. Uh we anticipate this being the last one.
20:47 – If you look at registrations, they’re flat. Um the uh natural gas severance,
20:54 – it’s at its 2024 level. Uh it’s raising a little bit over last year. Um amendment 101 is continuing to rise,
21:03 – which is good.
21:06 – Security Reserve. We’ve gotten all we get for uh the Security Reserve fund of 20 million for those. Just to refresh
21:12 – you, that’s the uh first 20 million of interest on state uh treasury cash balances. And uh we we request that in
21:21 – good in interest rate years by September or October.
21:26 – Uh, one thing I want to add, uh, surely some of y’all seen it in the paper,
21:31 – state surplus, uh, they’ve updated their projections. They updated them, uh, February 1st to a projected $334 million surplus. Um,
21:45 – 32 million of that is from that $1.8 billion uh, lottery ticket.
21:51 – Um 3.9 million of what they take home uh is in state tax. Um I want to make sure
21:59 – that’s differentiated from the casino tax that has nothing that’s that’s outside of that that goes into the general revenues, but that helps prop up
22:08 – that uh surplus that we get the first 25% of the first 200,000
22:14 – $200 million off of. So uh I I felt that was worth mentioning. That’s that’s a that’s a good thing for us.
22:26 – If we move on to budgeted versus actual revenue, uh pretty much everything’s fairly flat. Uh as you can see at the bottom, we’re uh 4 million under budget.
22:38 – Uh which is good. Uh it means we we took into account things that we needed to and and things are tracking the way uh
22:46 – that we anticipated. One thing I will point out is on the since I talked about the lottery, I’ll talk about the casino
22:51 – tax. Um the casino tax, the first $ 31.2 million in tax collected goes to the general fund.
23:01 – The uh remainder after that comes to us.
23:05 – Um and right now they are over the 31.2 by $2 million. So we are starting to
23:13 – stack toward that $35 million that we normally get. Um so so that’s also a good a good trend going forward.
23:24 – The next slide is motor fuel consumption. Uh if you see here uh the consumption as of now through December is tracking at the 23 and 25 levels.
23:37 – um still fairly flat and diesel is uh tracking at the 2024 levels uh once
23:44 – again fairly flat and overall we’re 10.9 million gallons under and 1% from where we were last year.
23:55 – Is there any questions? Thank you for that positive report, Patrick.
24:03 – And with that, I’ll turn the meeting over to Director Jared Wy. Uh, Director Wy, the meeting is all yours. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you,
24:12 – Patrick. I wanted to point out uh Patrick’s note about state surplus.
24:16 – That’s good news for us. We budgeted this year. We we planned on getting that $50 million that we’ve been used to receiving as long as that surplus is at
24:25 – $200 million. So, earlier projections were that that surplus is going to be under $200 million, which would have cut into our budget. though this is welcome
24:32 – news. Thank you for that, Patrick. U I like to start us off as become customary with with Kevin Thornton, our chief of administration. He’s going to come up
24:41 – and give us some updates about federal and state legislative issues. And as many of you know, this is Kevin’s uh one of his last few meetings. He’s going to
24:49 – retire in July. So uh Kevin, take it away.
24:54 – All right. Thank you, Director Wy. Um Mr. Chairman, commissioners, I would like to draw your attention to the
25:01 – upcoming Arkansas 95th General Assembly fiscal session of 2026.
25:10 – Now you can focus on it. Uh the primary purpose of the fiscal session is for the legislature to consider appropriations
25:18 – that establish budget or spending levels. This year’s fiscal session will be establishing appropriations for state fiscal year 2027,
25:28 – which begins on July 1st, 2026 and continues until June 30th of 2027.
25:36 – Bills other than appropriation bills can be considered, but twothirds of the House of Representatives and the Senate must vote to allow it to be considered.
25:46 – The fiscal session will begin on Wednesday, April the 8th, and the department’s 2027 appropriation bill
25:53 – will be considered, and we are looking forward to its passage.
25:58 – Our appropriation request for the 2027 year has already been reviewed by the Arkansas Legislative Council back in the fall of 2028.
26:08 – We expect the fiscal session to end on or around May the 7th.
26:17 – Now, I’d like to bring you up to date on activity in Washington, DC. Lately, our federal funding has been just like the weather here in Arkansas, all over the
26:26 – place. We started out this federal year in a shutdown, then we had a continuing resolution or CR, then we were back in a
26:35 – shutdown, and now we have a fullear appropriation bill, and it contains earmarks.
26:43 – The appropriations bill that Congress and the president were able to agree on will provide federal funds until September the 30th.
26:51 – The amount of money we will receive will fully fund the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIGJA for federal fiscal year 2026.
27:01 – The Appropriations Act provides a total of approximately $65 billion for our nation’s transportation needs.
27:10 – Arkansas share is approximately 850 million.
27:15 – There are other changes that I need to update you about in this appropriations bill. Approximately $500 million of our
27:22 – nation’s national electric vehicle infrastructure or NEVI funds have been rescended. This will reduce Arkansas’s
27:31 – share of NEVI formula funds by approximately 9.5 million.
27:36 – This will not affect any projects that are underway, but it will reduce the amount of funding we can award for our competitive NEVI program.
27:46 – Now, while the Appropriations Act reduced funding for NEVI, it created a new truck parking program and set aside 200 million for that program.
27:56 – We will be looking forward to seeing the guidance for this program to see how we can best take advantage of it for Arkansas.
28:05 – Having a full year’s appropriation takes the pressure off until September 30th, which is the end of the federal year.
28:12 – One reminder, the authorization act or the IIGJA itself also expires this
28:19 – September. So going into 2027, Congress will need to approve a new authorization
28:26 – act and a new appropriation bill so that federal funds can continue to flow.
28:34 – Now, as I mentioned before, we will also be receiving community project funding or earmarks in 2026.
28:42 – And let’s take a look at those.
28:45 – [clears throat]
28:47 – [snorts]
28:48 – 15.8 million requested by Senator Boseman and 3 million requested by Representative WAC totaling 18.8 million
28:57 – for the next phase of the future Interstate 49 from Alma to Barling.
29:02 – 6.7 million for the next phase of future Interstate 57 from Walnut Ridge to the M Missouri state line was requested and
29:10 – received by Representative Crawford. 7 million for the Highway 82 railroad overpass requested by Senator Boseman and Representative Westerman.
29:21 – 3 million for the next phase of the Highway 112 widening. This was requested by Senator Boseman and Representative Wulmarmac.
29:29 – 11 million for the Highway 412 corridor improvements requested by Senator Boseman and Representative Crawford and
29:37 – certainly last but not least 59 million for the next phase of the Springdale Northern bypass that was requested by
29:45 – Representative WAC. These earmarks total over $15 million for important
29:52 – transportation projects here in Arkansas.
29:56 – Since 2022, we have received nearly $300 million in earmark funding. When you combine the funding from the
30:04 – Appropriations Act of our regular federal funding with the earmarks,
30:08 – Arkansas will receive nearly $1 billion in 2026.
30:14 – And that will be used, of course, to for our projects, but also directly to improve the quality of life for all our
30:20 – canons. Once again, we want to express our gratitude to our congressional delegation who continue to work through
30:28 – numerous numerous challenges in Washington to be sure that federal funds continue to flow to our state for our
30:36 – transportation system. Director Wy, that concludes my report.
30:41 – Thank you, Kevin. Any questions for Kevin?
30:48 – Kevin want to point out on there. I think it’s really important that Arkansas is able to continue working through the shutdowns and um and if you
30:57 – could speak to that a little bit. Our funding is unique in that way and I think it’s important for Arkansas.
31:02 – Yes, that’s a very good point. the the bulk of our funding comes from the highway trust fund which is set aside
31:08 – and so when there is a shutdown that does not shut off the highway trust fund
31:15 – funds and so we are able to continue for our projects that are under construction. We’re able to submit requests for reimbursements and receive
31:23 – those reimbursements. We’re also able to obligate any funds that we have previously received prior to the
31:30 – shutdown coming into us. So we have all of that available to us and it’s just one of the thing that the staff here
31:37 – does a great job of managing that to be able to see what is available and how do we keep everything running just the way
31:45 – it is while those in Congress and the president are able to work out their differences and so far it’s worked very well.
31:54 – Excellent. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Kevin. Next up,
32:01 – I’ll ask Crystal Woods, our assistant chief of administration, to come up and talk about our efficiency review,
32:07 – recommendation, implementation. We’ve made a lot of good progress and we’re drawing near to the end of those.
32:13 – Good morning. It’s nice to see you all again. At your last few meetings, we’ve been showing about a 95% or higher uh
32:21 – completion rate of uh most of the efficiency review recommendations uh completed. I’m happy to report more progress today on the remaining recommendations.
32:34 – So, recommendation number three called for publishing the status of construction projects and maintenance activities. The dashboard for maintenance activities has been reviewed
32:43 – by leadership and is now undergoing some final tweaks to make sure that it’s as userfriendly as possible to the public.
32:51 – It’s expected to be finalized very soon.
32:54 – Recommendation number five directed us to implement efficiencies in procurement and purchasing. The change order study
33:02 – has now been reviewed and approved by leadership. So this recommendation is now considered complete. The study found
33:09 – that overall performance in this area was already strong. But to optimize change order management and improve
33:16 – project efficiency, our construction division is implementing a few refinements in the project design and
33:22 – administrative procedures as a result of the change order study. And recommendation number seven uh focused
33:30 – on implementing portfolio management and frameworks. That’s the one that’s uh closely related to recommendation number three. Our maintenance management system
33:38 – is used to report on those maintenance activities. And again, that dashboard is expected to be finalized very soon and we plan to show it to you at our next meeting.
33:51 – So that brings us to our final slide. 11 now of the 13 recommendations are fully implemented. 88 of the 90 individual
34:00 – actions are considered complete. That’s a 98% overall completion rate, which is a 2% increase since your last meeting.
34:09 – The two remaining recommendations are literally days or weeks of being uh considered complete. Are there any questions?
34:20 – All right. Thank you, Crystal. Thank you.
34:23 – Look forward to that. Steve Frisbee is going to give us a demonstration of the dashboard at the April meeting. So,
34:28 – that’ll be great. Uh, next up we have Jesse Jones, chief engineer for pre-construction to come talk about our recent bid letting.
34:39 – Thank you, director.
34:42 – Good morning, Mr. Chairman and commissioners. In January, we had a successful biting.
34:51 – 53 projects were awarded for a total of 152 $150.2 2 million.
34:59 – 153 bids were submitted by 41 different contractors. All bids were rejected on one project,
35:07 – which is a STA project. To continue our 2026 payment preservation program in this leting, we awarded 18 projects
35:16 – totaling over $72 million that will resurface over 151 miles of state highways.
35:27 – The first project I would like to highlight from this leting is the improvements at interstate 57 interchange with highway 5 in cabbage.
35:38 – This project will res replace the current bridge and reconfigure the interchange into a single point urban interchange
35:46 – to improve traffic flow at this congested inter location. It was awarded to Weaver Bailey Contractors for $53.9
35:55 – million and the estimated completion date is mid 2028.
36:03 – The next project is a pavement preservation project that will rehab 54 freeway ramps between Cabbat and Newport
36:12 – along Interstate 57. The project was awarded to Rogers Group for for $13.9
36:20 – million and the estimated completion date is late 2026.
36:28 – The last project I would like to highlight is a partnering project with City of Jonesboro to widen a portion of
36:35 – Highway 1B south of Interstate 555 to five lanes. This project also includes intersection improvements,
36:44 – sidewalks, and a multi-use path. The project was awarded to Rogers Group for
36:51 – $5.9 million, and the estimated completion is late 2027.
36:58 – Our next leting will be held on March 4th. We currently plan to let 27 projects estimating at approximately $79 million.
37:09 – Director Wy, this concludes my report.
37:12 – Thank you, Jesse. Any questions for Jesse?
37:17 – No. Appreciate you. It’s been a a busy 2026 already for our operations team.
37:23 – Rex Vines, our chief engineer of operations, is going to come up and give us an update about what’s been going on.
37:32 – Thank you, director. Uh good morning, Mr. Chairman, commissioners.
37:36 – uh for our construction update this morning. I’ just like to u
37:43 – highlight a couple projects. Uh overall across the state, we’ve got 180 active projects. That’s down 29 uh from our
37:51 – last meeting. And those that’s a value of $2.4 billion in work.
37:57 – We’ve had 22 jobs go substantially complete since the last meeting uh representing $82 million worth of work
38:04 – and we have paid out $97 million um to contract estimates.
38:11 – This activity, this interesting picture shown here is uh actually salvaging a bridge uh one of our projects to uh give
38:19 – to Independence County, one of our counties. we have that program available to some of those and we have the u
38:26 – the right structures available. So that’s something that the the counties and cities get to benefit from.
38:33 – For our first uh project highlight, we like to the scope of this project is to replace 10 existing bridge structures
38:41 – across 15 miles between Alicia and Bono um out west of Jonesboro, replacing four bridges and six box covers that was
38:50 – awarded to Robertson Construction in November of 2022 for $20.6 million.
38:57 – The estimated completion date is uh mid this year. So they should be opening it up. Four of the bridges are already open to traffic. Traffic’s in full alignment.
39:07 – Uh and then five of the six box covers are there. So they’re they’re making good progress on that on that job.
39:16 – And here’s something we don’t normally talk about um with highway work, but uh we’ve got a project going up uh near
39:24 – Bella Vista, constructing the new welcome center.
39:28 – Uh the purpose of this is to construct uh the welcome center adjacent to the new I49 section we opened a couple years
39:35 – ago going into Missouri. Uh then and we’ll con also construct maintenance buildings, picnic shelters, and uh
39:43 – provide travelers with a safe place to rest and to take a break from their drives and to get access or get uh materials on travel through the state.
39:54 – This job was uh awarded to Construction Services Group in July of 2024 for $7 million and we expected them to finish this summer.
40:04 – Uh just some interesting facts on this.
40:06 – It’s uh the design of this is different than most of ours across the state. Uh this was inspired by the work of a renowned architect FA Jones due to his
40:15 – popularity and influence of his architecture in the region. Um Mr. Jones early success led him to working with as
40:23 – an apprentice for Frank Lloyd Wright and in 1973 uh FA Jones became the first dean of the University of Arkansas architectural
40:31 – architectures program uh later named the FA Jones School of Architecture and Design.
40:39 – So they are moving along with that project and should be completed this summer. Yes, sir.
40:45 – While you’re on that, I I just like to say that I’ve been uh involved in from the beginning on how this came about and
40:54 – I want to compliment our uh uh the way we go about coming. We had uh public
41:00 – meetings with architects and engineers and we could took input from the public
41:07 – uh stakeholders and everything on on on what they wanted. We took it into consideration. The the uh architect gave
41:17 – us designs and it was just really a a neat process that and and that’s how
41:25 – this this uh structure design came about and I just want to compliment
41:33 – uh our team for uh listening to the people and coming up with a great product. Thank you.
41:40 – Yes sir. Thank you.
41:45 – Now, moving on to our uh maintenance update.
41:49 – As y’all well know, uh we had winter storm Fern brought some heavy snow, sle,
41:55 – ice, freezing rain, the whole gamut, and extremely cold temperatures uh last week of January. Uh and you can see here it
42:02 – tracked across the entire US from the Texas Mexico border all the way up to the east coast.
42:10 – You can see um the map depicts the winter storm warnings in pink and then the storm advisories in purple and
42:18 – watches in blue. Uh it’s a pretty massive storm system that went through here. Uh the crews, our crews prepared
42:27 – for this storm by pre-treating our primary highways,
42:31 – placed 3.7 million gallons of brine, and treated 90% of our state highway system in just in preparation for this storm.
42:42 – The storm struck Arkansas beginning uh Friday, January 23rd, and it immediately uh affected the travel across the state,
42:50 – dumped several inches of sleet, snow, and ice as it moved across over 3 days.
42:57 – North North Arkansas received 12 ines of snow. Central Arkansas received 11 in of sleet and snow. And then southern Arkansas received 7 in of sle and ice.
43:09 – uh the extremely cold the extremely cold temperatures immediately followed that precipitation uh with lows across the
43:16 – state near zero and well below freezing uh for a few days. Uh this makes it very
43:23 – difficult as as you saw u ice and sle is the absolute worst combination we can have for blading roads. It’s really hard on equipment. It’s hard on the roads.
43:39 – So, uh, our top left corner here, we see some of our our crews, um, out working.
43:46 – And, uh, just during the snow, you see some of the numbers, some of the stats, uh, to the left there of of what this,
43:54 – uh, what all was entailed. But despite the major challenges, ARDOT met the storm headon, battling it night and day
44:02 – uh, till the roads were clear. By the end of the day, Monday, January 26,
44:07 – that’s the first day after precipitation stopped, we had our interstates and many of our major primary highway networks mostly clear with traffic moving at
44:15 – normal speeds and just a few in few with just a few ice patches,
44:22 – excuse [clears throat] me. Despite uh the super cold temperatures, crews worked 24 hours a day for 24-hour
44:30 – operations throughout the week, working to clear primary and secondary routes,
44:34 – addressing trouble spots due to refreezing and ice melt. All primary routes were reported 100%
44:42 – clear at 11:21 p.m. on Friday, January 30th. So, some of our districts did work into in a
44:50 – little bit on Saturday uh to get some particularly hard spots. Uh but the overwhelmed majority of the roads were clear by Friday.
45:04 – So, I’m going to next going to show a video unless you have some questions before I show this. Okay,
45:11 – Rex, everybody just did an incredible job. Um, I was here in central Arkansas and we were watching our cities and counties try to battle the same ice
45:20 – without the resources of Art and the preparation that you guys are able to put in with your teams with the practicing that happens back in the
45:28 – summer and so much goes into it and we really saw all that preparation pay off and we appreciate that so much that um I
45:35 – know this ice was particularly hard on the equipment. Does is that something that gets absor are we going to see a budget bump on that or is that something
45:43 – that gets absorbed in your normal wear and tear calculations or how does that kind of fall out?
45:48 – Usually it gets absorbed into it. I don’t think we had any significant uh damage. Uh maybe one or two, but it’ll be absorbed in.
45:56 – Good. Well, they did an incredible job.
45:58 – I I just can’t say enough about it. They were working, as you said, around the clock and in very cold temperatures. So, we appreciate it.
46:04 – Very hard, very hard storm. Uh the crews were outstanding. just, you know, to go seven days 24/7, that’s that’s rough on
46:11 – the cruise and and I’m just really couldn’t be prouder of them. Couldn’t be prouder of it. Thank you.
46:18 – Let’s see.
46:21 – And that major winter weather event is expected to move into Arkansas by the end of the week, bringing [music] with it snow, dangerous cold, and potentially unsafe conditions.
46:31 – And the Arkansas Department of Transportation says its crews, plows,
46:35 – and even salt supplies are ready. It’s kind of like that big game. Get everything ready, get everybody on the same page. Uh and then once it’s uh starts falling, kind of go time.
46:45 – Our crews will be working 24 hours until the storm is over and the roads are clear.
46:51 – Once they clear the lanes, they’ll be laying salt down and then the brine trucks come through and soak over the salt. That just helps keep any new
47:00 – snowfall from sticking immediately to the road.
47:04 – When we come together, we we come together as one. We a team no matter what.
47:12 – It’s going to be a long weekend. The District 6 is brined up, fired up, ready to go.
47:19 – It’s 10°. We’ve had crews out since about midnight. Still a lot of snow coming down.
47:29 – So, let’s bring in Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabe Sanders. We’ve had amazing teams that have been working around the clock. The Arkansas Department of
47:36 – Transportation has done heroic work to help prepare. They were able [music] to pre-treat about 90% of our state
47:44 – highways. That’s nearly 16,000 miles [music] of road ahead of the storm. We’ve got 700 plows out working. [music]
47:55 – After getting anywhere between six inches to close to a foot of snow in parts of northwest Arkansas, I truly get it now. Watching that snow get tossed up
48:04 – by the plow is a sight that is simply hard to look away from.
48:09 – So, I’ve been doing this 22 years. I love everything. I do love the snow. So,
48:14 – the snow itself is hypnotizing, but clearing off a road and seeing a rooster tail is mesmerizing.
48:29 – We plow and plow and then you turn around and it’s covered right back up.
48:35 – Well, efforts to clear the major interstates [music] and highways have been going on statewide. A second round is about to start. What kind of challenges are your crews facing right [music] now?
48:44 – You know, tonight we’re going to get the second wave. Uh, you know, it’s a lot of what we did today is going to be uh covered. I think the bitter cold is going to be our biggest challenge.
48:53 – Tomorrow’s going to be even colder.
48:57 – Half our crew’s out plowing. The other half is in here being mechanics, working on everything we got.
49:04 – This part of the job is important to keep our uh equipment maintained. We have to keep the road open 24/7.
49:13 – All the hard work we done yesterday,
49:14 – mother nature struck back and took some of that back from us last night. A lot of the roads that we had cleared are covered again, but we’re working hard to get them back clear again. It’s about
49:23 – 22°, so not a whole lot is melting right now, but we are blading and and putting salt down and making pretty good
49:32 – progress and the sun is finally shining in
49:42 – southeast Arkansas. Just [music] wanted to thank all my staff for their hard work. They’ve put in a lot of time, a lot of hours over the last two or three days.
49:52 – We’re in the fourth quarter. Uh how about your crews? How are your crews doing?
49:56 – I think this is the officially the seventh day when you count that we [music] pre-treated starting last Wednesday. This the seventh day of the storm. So yeah, but we can see the end.
50:06 – So morale is pretty good. [music] I wanted to commend all the men and women with ARDOT that have worked through this winter weather event put in those long hard hours.
50:15 – From the maintenance shops to the emergency operations center to the traffic management center to those working out here on the roads and
50:23 – everyone behind the scenes, the ARDOT family banded together to fight winter storm fur.
50:29 – Thank you crews for all you did and all you continue to do to help keep our roadways safe and serviceable out there.
50:43 – [applause]
50:47 – That concludes my report. Director,
50:50 – thank you, Rex. Um, you know, I’m I may be a little biased, but um I feel like we have some of the best public servants in all state government here at ARDOT.
50:59 – And uh events like this really give us a chance to showcase their grit and determination. And I’m too very proud of
51:06 – them. Proud of the way they handled the storm, worked so hard for days on end.
51:11 – Proud of our communications team for the way they told the story out there. We got ahead of the message and I think it set really a good expectations for the
51:19 – public. Great job on that, Parker. And thanks to everybody who worked behind the scenes who who gets no glory or credit for this. There’s a lot of those
51:26 – men and women here at Art who are doing that very thing. So, we appreciate them all. Thank you for that great update,
51:33 – Rex. Um, I want to talk a little bit more about what what we’ve been doing aside from snow and ice, too. Just hit that uh briefly for you. Um, you know,
51:43 – after we had our last commission meeting, we we dove right into service awards. It was such a fantastic month for us to be able to get around the
51:51 – state. I I really appreciate your attendance at those meetings. It means a lot to our staff uh for you to be there and support them. We were able to to
52:00 – celebrate milestones and careers. We gave out those certificates of service for 25, 30, 35, and even some 40 years
52:07 – of service over here. Kevin to my right got his 40 year at this round. We also presented certificates of retirement and
52:16 – uh the director’s diamond award, safety leadership awards, and um and several other awards to recognize our talented
52:24 – team, our 4,000 staff’s uh efforts and hard work they put in day in and day out. And we appreciate you guys being
52:31 – there for those. Um in December, I also met with Mr. Jeff Schmidt. Jeff’s here with us today. Jeff, would you stand up?
52:40 – Jeff is our acting division administrator of the federal highways division here in Arkansas. So Jeff came
52:47 – on board here in Arkansas last year. Um he’s done an outstanding job of leading in a in a little bit different
52:54 – circumstance. U typically we have a division administrator here in the state. He’s in Mississippi and he’s leading the Mississippi office and the
53:01 – Arkansas office. And I’m telling you right now, he’s been fantastic at keeping things moving and getting results. And I really appreciate that,
53:09 – Jeff. It’s been really a breath of fresh air to work with you. Um Jeff began his career in ‘ 92 in the federal highways
53:16 – training engineer program. He’s held many positions uh in the agency, but he’s worked in Alabama, Georgia,
53:24 – Kentucky, Indiana. He’s also worked with federal lands. Um he began uh he came back to Mississippi in 2019 after working there previously a couple times.
53:35 – his family has some ties there in Mississippi. Uh in 2024, he was appointed to be their division administrator and then again last year he he became our acting administrator.
53:45 – Uh Jeff is married with three grown sons and next month he’s got a big a big event coming. He’s going to be a firsttime grandpa to twin boys. So
53:54 – congratulations Jeff and we appreciate all you do to help keep transportation moving for our citizens here.
54:02 – [applause]
54:06 – On uh on January 8th, I was invited to speak at the Arkansas Asphalt Pavement Association’s quality conference in Little Rock. Park was here. I think he
54:14 – had to step out, but executive director Park Estus invited me to speak. I was glad to present. Uh Vice Chairman Gibson
54:23 – was in attendance and Commissioner Hollyy, he was also there. It was a full house. It was quite a crowd. talked about what’s going on around the
54:30 – department, some ways we’re making roads safer for everyone, employees,
54:34 – travelers, and our contractors. Uh it was really good to brief the group on that. We’ve made some great progress with the commission support for sure. We talked about our construction programs,
54:44 – pavement preservation projects, and upcoming projects for the next couple years. Um, also on the docket from AR dot, Derek Wyatt, our state maintenance engineer. He presented to the group,
54:55 – Tisha Reynolds, our materials specifications coordinator. She’s working hard to build better asphalt and she’s doing great work with that.
55:03 – Sopharas Odin from our research group. He also presented to the group. So, appreciate them and their support. Uh,
55:10 – we were also blessed. You can see these uh nice awards beside me and I’ll talk a little bit more about those in a few minutes. But uh we were bestowed three
55:20 – more perpetual pavement awards by the association. Uh you can see on the screen uh Park Estus and Bobby Kennedy,
55:27 – the president of the association. They presented those awards to Rex, Jesse,
55:31 – and I. So I’ll get into those details in a few moments. Late uh last month, I was honored to speak to our Associated
55:39 – General Contractors of Arkansas at their lunch and learn session. Uh I present to that group in 2025. It was my first
55:46 – presentation as director and I was good to it was good to be back in town with them. We talked about some of the same things we talked about at the Asphalt
55:54 – Paving Association ways we’re making things safer uh our construction programs uh and a look ahead. But we
56:01 – also sat down with them after that meeting and had a partnering meeting. We sat down with their highway group and talked about ways we could all collaborate and be better to build a
56:10 – better product and a better highway system. So those conversations are always good and I always look forward to those. [clears throat]
56:18 – On February 2nd, uh, Van Beern County Judge Dale James came to see me. I was glad to host him for a few minutes. He
56:26 – is head of the governor’s America Arkansas 250 uh, coalition here in our state. Uh, he is leading the effort to
56:34 – get the word out about the 250 and he’s doing great work. He and his group donated nearly 200 flags to us to fly at
56:42 – all of our facilities. I hope you saw out front today. Today’s the first day the America 250 flag is flying at our facilities. It’s going to be below our
56:50 – state flag and those will be distributed around the state and you’ll see those flying throughout the year. We are partnering with them by producing those
56:58 – signs. You can see there I presented him with the first sign that we made. Uh but we’re presenting or we’re going to be putting those signs up at strategic
57:05 – locations around the state welcoming people into Arkansas and uh showing our support for the America’s 250th
57:13 – birthday. So all in all, we’ll produce about 300 signs for that event.
57:18 – On February 3rd, I spoke to leadership class uh 31 in uh Little Rock. They came down in Little Rock so they could talk to state leaders across the the state.
57:30 – uh they’re in one central location. So we we got together at the state chamber and I was happy to inform them about ARDOT and the commission’s history, the
57:39 – successes that that structure has brought us over the years. Uh we talked about some initiatives we’re focusing on this year and some important projects
57:48 – that Chairman Taldo may be familiar with. Highway 112, the Springdale bypass and XNA connector. They really had a lot of questions about those. It was a great
57:56 – dialogue. We also talked about Interstate 49. that was a topic of great interest to that group. So, I appreciate them having me and the dialogue we had
58:05 – together. Um Kevin and I went last week to the Southern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
58:12 – midyear meeting, sashto midyear meeting where all the CEOs, executive directors from our southern states get together
58:19 – and talk about transportation issues. Uh it was in uh in Charleston, South Carolina. We flew in and flew out the next day. Um, we heard from Jim Thyman,
58:30 – Ashtto’s executive director. He gave us a Washington update. It was really informative. He talked about the progress that we’re making on the
58:37 – federal legislation to renew the highway bill that Kevin talked about earlier. Uh, they’re working on that in DC. Uh,
58:45 – we will see how far they get. I want to make sure this group knows though there is a real chance that we don’t see a highway bill come October. So, if we
58:53 – don’t, what what happens then? Well, we may be under a CR. we may see an extension of the IIGJA. Um those
59:00 – asurances that we have now of government shutdown, uh we’re we’re operating as usual. Those will all come into question as we look at reauthorization. So, it’s
59:09 – really going to depend on what Congress does in September to see what things look like here for us in October. So,
59:15 – just stay tuned for that. We’ll be watching that as things progress. One takeaway though from the meeting I wanted to brag on our our staff. We
59:23 – talked about winter weather. As you can imagine, it hit most of us pretty hard.
59:27 – Um, a big takeaway I saw from that meeting was the way that we have strategically uh placed our salt houses around the state. We have 113 saltous.
59:38 – There’s a bit of trivia for you guys.
59:40 – Around the state, it really makes us efficient and able to access that salt quickly. They may not be huge, but they’re they’re all over the state and
59:48 – we’re able to get salt out of those and treat the roads in the vicinity. And I think that yields some big wins for us.
59:55 – Some states stockpile those in areas and they have to truck them uh many miles and the way we’ve built our system is just working well. And any another word
1:00:03 – of thank you to our operations team for that. All right. Uh any questions about that?
1:00:10 – I’m going to move on to our around the department segment. This is uh been really good for us to be able to showcase some of the interesting things and the talents that our staff has. Uh
1:00:19 – today, Josh Seagra, the division head of our environmental division, is going to talk to you about what his group does.
1:00:26 – Josh has been here, he started when I started here in in ‘ 05. He’s been here 20 years now, and he’s been his role about two years. So Josh, if you would
1:00:34 – come update us on environmental division. Thank you, Director Wy. Mr. chairman, commissioners.
1:00:49 – So, as we work together to deliver a modern transportation system, enhancing safety and the quality of life in Arkansas, our division’s primary
1:00:56 – responsibilities are to ensure that ARDOT’s compliance with environmental laws, regulations, and policies in the planning, construction, and operation of Arkansas’s transportation system,
1:01:08 – to complete the environmental approvals to move projects forward in the project delivery process, and to manage environmental programs to ensure the stewardship of Arkansas’s environment.
1:01:18 – Our environmental division is part of the planning branch of pre-construction and
1:01:25 – we’re physically located in the annex across the courtyard.
1:01:29 – Our leadership team is shown here on the screen and there have joined us this morning as well. Uh beginning at the top
1:01:37 – left, we’ve got Katie Ewing. She leads our natural resources section. Christina Boyin is our assistant division head.
1:01:46 – Linda Deacy. She uh leads our GIS and data management section. Also have Matt Strong who leads our public involvement
1:01:55 – team and Don Nichols leads our assessment section. And then Jason Eids uh there to my left. He oversees our culture resources section.
1:02:06 – Supporting these sections, we also have three administrative and office assistants. And supplementing our efforts, we also have on call services
1:02:15 – contracts that aid in the preparation of NEPA documentation, noise impact assessments, cultural resources surveys,
1:02:23 – and endangered bat surveys.
1:02:26 – My presentation this morning will briefly cover uh NEPA or the National Environmental Policy Act, each section
1:02:33 – and their staff responsibilities, and a few programs that are under our responsibilities.
1:02:43 – So again the environmental division proceeds uh under their work under the uh guidance and regulations of NEPA.
1:02:51 – NEPA was enacted to ensure that federal agencies consider the environmental consequences of their activities through informed decisionmaking.
1:02:59 – The NEPA decision-making process is generally referred to as umbrella uh under which all applicable environmental laws and regulations are considered.
1:03:10 – A partial list of those uh more well-known laws are included here on the right of your screen.
1:03:20 – So the assessment section they have a staff of five environmental impact specialists who coordinate the SNEPA process for the department. They also conduct studies to assess traffic noise,
1:03:30 – air quality, hazardous materials, parks and recreation and visual quality. The section determines the appropriate NEPA
1:03:38 – class of action, assess the impacts of the environmental resources previously mentioned, and coordinates with other sections, divisions, and agencies to
1:03:47 – compile the final NEPA document for approval. Shown here on the screen are examples of that documentation for the three different NEPA classes of action.
1:03:57 – Uh the top left there is the categorical exclusion.
1:04:01 – Uh environmental assessment is there on the top right and then the largest of which is the environmental impact statement there on the bottom. We also
1:04:09 – have examples of those documents there on the table at the front as well.
1:04:15 – The determination of the class of action depends upon the scope complexity and the potential impacts of the project. A standard project may take around three months to complete.
1:04:25 – Uh however, more complicated projects like environmental assessments may take up to a year and environmental impact statements 2 years.
1:04:37 – The vast majority of our projects are processed by categorical exclusions. Um and for instance, in 2025,
1:04:45 – we completed 120 categorical exclusions and seven EAS while also conducting 16 re-evaluations.
1:04:53 – For us, environmental impact statements are exceedingly rare. We’ve only completed one in the last 10 years, that being for I-57, uh, that segment between
1:05:02 – Walnut Ridge and the Missouri state line. Next is our cultural resources section.
1:05:10 – They consist of a team of seven archaeologists and three architectural historians.
1:05:15 – They work to fulfill the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act.
1:05:19 – This act requires that federal agencies assess the effects of an undertaking on historic properties. Historic properties can include things like prehistoric and historic districts, sites, structures,
1:05:31 – buildings, and objects that are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, just National Register for short. The National Register also
1:05:39 – outlines the educational and experience requirements that our staff must um have in order to work on these projects. This
1:05:48 – includes uh the completion of a master’s degree. Cultural resources staff complete evaluations determine if these
1:05:55 – resources qualify as historic properties and if they’ll be impacted by our projects. Their findings are submitted to the state historic preservation
1:06:02 – office. Um and additionally they assist the Federal Highway Administration in consulting with federally recognized Native American tribes.
1:06:14 – on the screen. We’ve got a few examples of a couple different types of cultural resources surveys. Uh they’re on either
1:06:20 – side. Um and then also a historic barn that was determined to be eligible on one of our projects.
1:06:30 – Next up is our GIS and data management section. They consist of a team of six uh GIS and data management specialists.
1:06:40 – They serve as the central hub for the environmental spatial data and analysis.
1:06:44 – They manage and integrate our data sets from federal, state, and internal sources, ensuring that our staff are working from consistent and reliable information.
1:06:54 – By providing accurate mapping, analysis,
1:06:57 – and decision supporting tools, our teams can make informed decisions faster and with greater confidence.
1:07:03 – The team also plays an integral role in our public involvement process, creating our project websites and interactive maps that have become an invaluable
1:07:11 – component of our public involvement meetings. Next is our natural resources section.
1:07:20 – They’re a team of 10 botonists,
1:07:22 – biologists, wetland scientists, and storm water specialists. Their primary responsibilities involve complant with the Endangered Species Act as well as
1:07:30 – the Clean Water Act. The section’s diverse skill set isn’t apparent in their daily fieldwork.
1:07:37 – Some examples are provided here,
1:07:40 – including surveys for protected species such as the Jefferson County cray cave or Jefferson County crayfish, habitat
1:07:48 – for the monarch butterfly, and the northern longer bat. The section also has a dive team that conducts uh
1:07:55 – freshwater muscle surveys, as well as stream and wetland assessments. storm water staff work with our construction
1:08:03 – and maintenance facilities advising um those staff the best management practices for any sediment and erosion control issues.
1:08:14 – Lastly, our public involvement section is a team of five uh public involvement specialists whose primary purpose is to
1:08:22 – ensure that transportation decisions are informed by the public in compliance with FHWA’s NEBA regulations.
1:08:31 – ARDOT’s public involvement success depends on collaboration across the department meetings are conducted in assistance with communications the districts rideway and roadway staff.
1:08:44 – Um results of those efforts build stronger community engagement by building trust and credibility within the community.
1:08:53 – uh provides smoother project delivery resulting in early resolution of concerns and reducing delays.
1:09:02 – In 2005, we conducted 29 public meetings, including hearings and neighborhood noise meetings.
1:09:10 – Additionally, we also conducted 17 public officials meetings.
1:09:15 – Those meetings were attended by more than 2,000 individuals and we received over 800 comments on our projects.
1:09:22 – Before moving into our programs, um I think it’s important to note how incredibly blessed that we are to have such a
1:09:30 – knowledgeable and experience and capable staff. Much of the work highlighted here was completed by ARDOT staff. Um, while
1:09:38 – it’s not unusual for DOT staff across the country to conduct things like categorical exclusions, it’s exceedingly
1:09:45 – rare for those staffs to complete things like environmental assessments, cultural resources surveys, and endangered species surveys.
1:09:57 – So, the first program I’d like to highlight this morning is our historic bridge program.
1:10:02 – Historic bridge program is uh coordinated through our culture resources section. Uh it was established in the 1980s.
1:10:11 – Uh and it’s overseen with two specific goals in mind. To keep a statewide inventory of the public roadway bridges
1:10:20 – eligible for listing in the National Register and to rehabilitate, preserve,
1:10:24 – and document historic bridges scheduled for replacement or improvement in accordance with those laws and regulations.
1:10:32 – Established with the program is the department’s historic bridge analysis committee which reviews historic bridge jobs for the possibility of
1:10:39 – rehabilitation, preservation or replacement. They also review activities that may impact historic bridges such as lighting requests.
1:10:53 – Next up is our mitigation program.
1:10:56 – Hard has one of the most robust mitigation programs in the country.
1:11:01 – This is because most of that work is done in-house. While there are some commercially available mitigation sites,
1:11:09 – um we are by far the largest in the state. Um we oversee 12 approved
1:11:16 – mitigation banks, six proposed mitigation banks, and over 30 mitigation sites totaling more than 7,500 acres.
1:11:26 – Mitigation site um is an area where wetlands or streams or sometimes even endangered species habitat are restored
1:11:34 – or enhanced to offset unavoidable impacts due to our projects.
1:11:39 – Mitigation bank may be used to offset multiple projects where sites are generally project specific.
1:11:46 – After a mitigation area is established,
1:11:49 – we typically partner with other state or federal agencies to manage those properties to allow public access.
1:11:57 – Five mitigation areas are currently managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Seven are managed by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and
1:12:05 – two are mar managed by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. Ardo is unique in that our um department handles
1:12:14 – not only the uh planning and programming of these sites but also uh the construction and monitoring uh actions that occur there.
1:12:24 – We also have a nursery located here on the central office campus down by um the equipment procurement division and uh
1:12:33 – that’s where we um grow out wildflower plugs and containerized trees to help support our efforts at these mitigation areas.
1:12:43 – And lastly, I’d like to highlight our wildlife um or wildflower programs,
1:12:47 – excuse me. Natural resources section also oversees this program. We’ve got um several programs on in this category
1:12:55 – that include our wildflower routes, our native wildflower areas, and our operation wildflower program.
1:13:02 – Signage signage is installed in the rideway for wildflower areas. Currently,
1:13:08 – we have over uh 1,200 miles of designated wildflower routes on our state highway system.
1:13:15 – Similarly, we also uh erect signs for large showy stands of naturally occurring wild flowers. These are
1:13:22 – usually nominated by groups like the uh native plant society, uh local garden clubs or master naturalist groups. And
1:13:32 – then our operation wildflower program uh allows for citizens and um municipalities
1:13:40 – um other civic organizations they can donate seed uh to the department and then we provide the um technical
1:13:50 – expertise and the manpower to get those uh sites planted and then maintained.
1:13:57 – For anyone uh interested in learning more about you know our wildflower programs, we have some wildflower brochures available on the table up
1:14:05 – front and then we also have a QR code that will take you to the department’s website for that.
1:14:11 – That Mr. Director that concludes my presentation and I’d be happy to any questions answer any questions that you may have. Thank you Josh. Any questions for him?
1:14:20 – I have a question sir.
1:14:22 – uh when you went over the uh about the uh bats and the crayfish and and that on the crayfish when you relocated them,
1:14:32 – how are they doing now?
1:14:34 – Uh they’re doing well. So there’s been a lot of sign of uh some reproduction and and uh continued um growth of that
1:14:42 – population. So Okay. So So are you mandated to keep up with those and if so how long?
1:14:48 – Yes, sir. We do uh yearly monitoring. uh the monitoring periods uh uh for that particular one I think extend for like
1:14:55 – five years uh yearly and then after that we do um more reduced long-term monitoring so usually every few years
1:15:03 – after that and that’s again through a partnership with our Arkansas game and fish commission so they help with the the monitoring of that site.
1:15:10 – Okay, thank you sir.
1:15:13 – I got one question. What what kind of education does it require for you and your staff uh to do this? Is it biology
1:15:22 – or engineering or what kind of education?
1:15:27 – Sure. Absolutely. It depends upon the um specialty, but yes, most of our staff have a degree in the natural sciences,
1:15:35 – so biology, ecology, that type of thing.
1:15:37 – Um, our cultural resources section, most of their degrees would be in like anthropology or archaeology. Um, we also our GIS and data management staff,
1:15:47 – theirs would be more on on that side of things. Um, so you know, IT type degrees uh or or data management type degrees.
1:15:57 – Thank you,
1:15:59 – Josh. You’re doing a great job with this very diverse department and uh the team you brought with you. I’d love for them to stand and be recognized if that’s
1:16:06 – okay. Sure. Please say
1:16:11 – [applause]
1:16:18 – Josh, are you still certified diver yourself?
1:16:21 – Yes, sir. I still Yes. maintain that certification and still dive from time to time, especially on our bigger river projects. So,
1:16:28 – yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for the update. Again, they have such a a great and diverse team. uh they can do it all over there and I’m I’m really proud of
1:16:36 – what they accomplished for us. If you get a chance, do take a look at this table, everybody in the room, uh when you when we get done at the meetings today. There’s a lot of great materials
1:16:45 – here and his team will be here and and hang around a little bit if you have any other questions you want to ask them offline.
1:16:51 – All right. U in December, we did a a look back wrapping up 2025. It was a big year for us. Uh we we had a a lot of
1:16:59 – things to celebrate. Today I want to talk to you about what we’re working hard on this year. Uh some of this you you’ve heard before, but I want to make
1:17:08 – sure that we we talk about it here. Uh this year we’re going to be working on making sure that we are doing everything
1:17:15 – we can as an agency to combat this human trafficking epidemic we see in our state and our nation. Uh and and we’re doing that through training and education.
1:17:25 – We’re uh we started the year off uh with a nod to that human trafficking prevention month which is in January. We
1:17:33 – encouraged our employees to wear blue on Wednesdays. You can see on the graphics behind me they did and we uh appreciate their support on that. Uh we had a lunch
1:17:43 – and learn session for uh our staff here by Into the Light. They hosted that. Uh they talked about some firsthand
1:17:50 – accounts of human trafficking experiences. It was a good a good session for our team. Our executive group was trained by uh our staff. Uh we
1:17:59 – saw the human trafficking training that all of our crews will receive over the next few months. And so we are going to be equipped to know the signs and know who to call should we see those signs.
1:18:10 – Uh we’re also going to be working on outreach by posting information in our public spaces for those traffic victims.
1:18:16 – should they cross paths with one of our facilities, uh they’ll have some resources there that they can call or reach out to. They’ll there’ll be QR
1:18:24 – codes and numbers they can text too if they are worried about being overheard.
1:18:29 – So, we’re doing everything we can to be uh a part of this effort to fight human trafficking. And on Friday, uh Chief
1:18:36 – Holmes and I will sign a renewed pledge for our agency to fight human trafficking uh and commit to that at the
1:18:44 – US DOT level. So looking forward to that event on Friday. Um this year we’re also focusing on on litter. McKenzie’s
1:18:53 – presentation was very timely. Um you know litter is such a blight on our on our state. We spend $8 million a year
1:19:00 – combating litter and uh these litter letters that we’re working with now uh putting those around the state. We’re going to move those around the state
1:19:08 – this year. Every couple months they’ll be moved to a new location. You’ll see on the screen on the top, they were in Jonesboro and in Northwest Arkansas for
1:19:15 – the first month they were out and they got a lot of good publicity. It generated a lot of buzz nationwide. My office received several calls about what
1:19:24 – we’re doing about litter and uh we got some really new fresh ideas from some of our uh partners, too. So, I’m looking forward to doing more in the space this
1:19:33 – year. And I think I’ve told some of you this, but we have had some legislators reach out to us and they want to sponsor some legislation for us to help next
1:19:41 – session. So, we’re looking forward to developing that with them.
1:19:45 – Jared, that keep Arkansas beautiful the 100,000. Is my memory right? Were we at like 40,000 last year? Um, and I I think that’s a great job to increase that.
1:19:56 – though. Can you speak a little bit to how much we spend on picking up litter ourselves and how the Keep Arkansas Beautiful can offsetting that?
1:20:04 – Yes. So, yeah, it was 40,000 last year.
1:20:07 – Uh it’s been 40 for a couple years before that 35. It just grew over time with with inflation. But yes, we spend about 8 million. That’s that comes from
1:20:15 – our staff picking up litter, contract mowers picking up litter, some supplemental pickups that we engage in.
1:20:22 – uh we help uh some uh inmates pick up litter and we pay a little bit for that.
1:20:27 – So, we’re trying to tackle it uh in many ways. Our adopt a highway program is another way we’re able to do this where individuals or organizations can adopt a
1:20:36 – mile of highway and help us fight the litter problem. But this investment with Keep Arkansas Beautiful just enhances that in a in a very strategic and
1:20:46 – organized way. That funding goes to a group that knows what they’re doing and knows how to use that funding well. So,
1:20:52 – I’m really excited about that and and looking to see those fruits of those labors. It actually ties into my next slide, Commissioner Holder. Um, in uh
1:21:00 – March last year, we did a spring cleanup day. We wanted to do all hands- on deck day where all of our operations team
1:21:08 – came out and made a show of force to pick up litter to to number one clean up the place, but also to make sure
1:21:16 – everybody who’s driving the highway sees us out there and knows what the effort is. And so we did that. We picked up 6,500 bags of litter that spring cleanup
1:21:25 – day last year. So we’re going to keep that going this year. McKenzie and I have visited. We’re going to try to co co-brand some of this and do it as a
1:21:32 – team uh in conjunction with our great greatest American cleanup. But on March 17th, you’ll see that spring cleanup day
1:21:40 – again. Uh we’re also doing a a larger spring cleanup week. It’ll be March 14th through 21st. so that anybody else out
1:21:48 – there who wants to help us take part in that, they can co-brand with us on that.
1:21:52 – But our staff will be out again March 17th picking up litter. We’re going to try to make it available to a lot of our office staff who wants to help as well.
1:22:00 – So you’ll see a big show of force again for AROT people. And I can guarantee you we’ll pick up more than 6,500 bags this year. It’s going to be a big day for us.
1:22:12 – Something else that’s exciting and new that we’re working on now, uh,
1:22:16 – Commissioner Gibson saw these roller barriers somewhere and and, uh, pitched this idea, said, “Hey, would you look into this?” And, of course, we we looked
1:22:25 – into it and we saw there are some potential benefits to roller barriers.
1:22:29 – So, that’s a guardrail uh, replacement tool. So, we’re testing this out. We work with that company that develops those. They agreed to do a a freeof charge installation for us to test out.
1:22:40 – in our state. So we it’s kind of interesting. We are the only the second place in the country to install these
1:22:48 – and the first on on a highway. So this is in Benton uh near Highway 5 and Interstate 30 there just uh south of the
1:22:56 – the Walmart where we’re seeing a lot of people bumping into that guardrail. U the claim of this product that it provides, you know, better visual
1:23:05 – delineation of the roadway and a barrier. It doesn’t require concrete foundation. Repairs are supposed to be quicker and easier and they don’t damage vehicles as badly or the product. So,
1:23:16 – we’re excited to try this out. It’s in place now. We have cameras on it. Uh we’re monitoring that and we’ll be watching those impacts to see if this is something we can use in the future. So,
1:23:27 – vice chairman, thank you for bringing us to our attention. We’ll see what it looks like.
1:23:33 – At a rodeo, huh?
1:23:37 – Okay. Yeah. So, we’ll see. I Yep. Yep. So, I’ve been watching it as I drive through there and I haven’t seen any damage yet. So, that’s a good thing.
1:23:48 – That’s a um moving ahead to something big for us this year. You know, safety is always top of mind for us. As we
1:23:55 – talked about last year, we showed that with our legislative session with the push for so many safety improvements. uh
1:24:03 – on January uh 2nd, I believe, we put out a press release notifying the state that we would start using our speed
1:24:11 – enforcement cameras to also start working on automated cell phone enforcement. So, we wanted to create a buzz, get the word out, and we did. We did that. It was very successful.
1:24:22 – Um I think Parker’s done over 20 did over 20 interviews about that around the state. And it was really interesting to see the tide turn from some skepticism,
1:24:34 – healthy skepticism to a lot of support.
1:24:37 – People want safe work zones. They want to be safe. They want everybody to go home at night. And so, uh, just to reiterate this, when I’m talking to
1:24:45 – people around the state, this is not a ticket by mail system. You know, when you exit the work zone, if you will be ticketed or receive a warning, these
1:24:54 – images are deleted. They’re not stored unless a ticket is issued. If somebody is issued a ticket, we do retain that
1:25:00 – image for court purposes. We started u going live with these after we made that announcement a couple weeks later. Uh
1:25:09 – we’ve issued 94 warnings in Interstate 57 in that uh Jacksonville Cabat area and four citations in the last month.
1:25:18 – and we’ve issued 59 warnings and three citations on Interstate 49 at the MLK interchange in the last month. So, these
1:25:27 – are kicking off. Appreciate Highway Police taking care of that for us. It’s really going to make an impact on safety. Uh you’ve heard me talk about
1:25:34 – it. We are leading the way u amongst the southern states here. We have uh Oklahoma came to see us. They wanted to learn about this technology.
1:25:43 – Mississippi, Missouri have asked as well. So, it’s another way that ARD dot is pushing and and on the forefront of of great things.
1:25:50 – Jared, I have a question. Yes, sir.
1:25:53 – I know we’re you and the department are placing a great deal of emphasis on this and safety. What will be the measurable
1:26:01 – for that u to determine if your efforts are successful?
1:26:07 – What how’s that going to work from those cameras? Well, not just from the cameras, I guess, but may maybe that, but from the efforts in general
1:26:16 – that you’re making to try to make these zones safer. Um, will it just be the measurement of fewer accidents, fewer
1:26:24 – things or there are there other measurables that you can tell for instance that yeah, that the cameras are working?
1:26:31 – That’s a that’s a great question. Um, so our program is data driven. We make safety decisions, investment decisions
1:26:38 – based on the plethora of available data that we have. So the proof will be in the pudding there. The data will show
1:26:46 – what what the improvements. So if you think about the I30 work zone down in Benton, we were seeing 300 crashes a
1:26:53 – year there. Before we started using those speed enforcement cameras afterwards, we saw that fall by 100 to 200, which is still a lot of crashes,
1:27:00 – but that was the only change, the enforcement of the camera there. So we’ll see it in the data. Hopefully we’ll see it in the reduced number of
1:27:09 – crashes and fatalities, but that is some of the that is the challenge with safety data. Sometimes it there’s a lag. So
1:27:16 – when a when a officer works a crash, he reports that he or she reports that through a system. It goes through a checking process and we have access to
1:27:23 – that data, but we aggregate that data typically at year end. So there’s a little bit of a lag, but the data is where we’ll see that. Yeah.
1:27:33 – [snorts]
1:27:34 – And uh last year, Jesse, I’m putting you on the spot. Uh fatalities statewide fell off dramatically again.
1:27:42 – Correct. How much? We see 15 20% reduction. What was it?
1:27:54 – Yes, that’s correct. Um at the end of um 2025, a crashes below 600. previous year it was quite a bit higher.
1:28:03 – So we’re we’re really excited to see that downward trend. We’re our traffic safety staff is doing an analysis
1:28:11 – over the years what that trend looks like. So like the director mentioned about the data data is the issue. So
1:28:20 – those are some of the things we’re looking at as well. Yeah.
1:28:23 – Do you have or captured data that for instance says shows that overall people
1:28:30 – are slowing down? Do are you measuring speeds? Yes.
1:28:36 – Do you collect that data and and can you use that to see if people are actually slowing down?
1:28:41 – We do measure speeds and it’s easier today with the telemetric data that are in cars and on phones. Uh that’s more
1:28:49 – widely available. We do have traffic counters that collect that too. So yes,
1:28:52 – we can look at that. Uh speeding is a challenge everywhere and it it remains a challenge. But I want Jesse reminded me
1:29:00 – so the the roller barriers that you were seeing, we we talk about three E engineering, education, and enforcement,
1:29:06 – right? That’s how we that’s how we make an impact with safety. So those barriers, that’s engineering, that’s the technology that takes us to the future.
1:29:14 – This enforcement helps with that as well by making sure people understand we mean business. And the next slide I got is about education. [clears throat] Uh,
1:29:23 – Street Smart, you guys authorized that last year. We rolled it out to sixth through eighth graders. This year, we’ve talked about it. We’re targeting high
1:29:31 – school students with education. We’re trying to get the word out about what it means to be a safe driver, a safe passenger, not to distract someone, what
1:29:39 – the dangers are of those things. This this material this year will be a little more poignant for those uh those older kids. Uh we’ll hit them on safety. will
1:29:48 – hit them on cell phone use, on avoiding blind spots for trucks so they don’t get in a situation that they’re not aware of. So, our team’s working hard to hit
1:29:57 – all those three E and we’re blessed to have Howie police here on staff with us to help us enforce these laws. Um, I want to brief you on street smart. So,
1:30:06 – again, this year we’ll target the high school age kids, but our team has been working hard to get the word out to
1:30:13 – school districts. So, Dave’s team uh is meeting with co-ops. They’re scheduling meetings with school districts. I ask them to focus on those five school
1:30:22 – districts from the from the talent that acted in the uh in the uh videos. So,
1:30:27 – we’re doing that and we’re seeing that effort grow. So, if you know of anybody who needs more information about Street Smart, we have a nice brochure. We’d
1:30:35 – love to come talk to their schools. That that door is always open for us. So,
1:30:39 – please let us know if there’s any way we could help support that in your in your area. Jared, are you pushing it on Poplio? Populo.
1:30:48 – [laughter] So what’s the what’s the what’s the right one? The in the internal website.
1:30:53 – Yes, that’s popularo. Yes. Yeah, we’ll be doing that there too. Absolutely. Yeah. Everywhere we can. That’s great.
1:30:59 – Yes. And then the minute order you approved today for the move over uh move over law. That that goes hand in hand with my next slide. So you’re slow down,
1:31:09 – phone down. We’re in our fifth year.
1:31:10 – It’s been impactful. We talk about enforcement. We talk about education. and slow down Phone Down’s education,
1:31:15 – too. Uh, year five, we’re going to get a more uh in-your-face, a hard-hitting approach. This year, going back to that
1:31:22 – original theme of the worker, uh, the family. Uh, so this year, we’re going to tell it from the point of view from someone who committed a an offense who
1:31:31 – hurt somebody or killed somebody in a work zone. We’re going to tell it from their story. We’re going to tell it from a worker who witnessed a co-orker be hit
1:31:39 – or killed in a work zone. And we’re also going to tell it from the perspective of an individual who was injured in that work zone. So, um, you know, we’re
1:31:47 – trying to be a little more direct, a little more forceful because this is serious. This is serious stuff. And, uh, these incidents change lives. And so,
1:31:55 – this year, we’re going to hit that one hard. And then after this year, slow down, phone down will come to an end. And the mid order you approved today,
1:32:04 – our next focus, we’re going to shift towards that move over law. Uh, we see that happening with the green lights.
1:32:10 – I’m pleased to see that is still fresh and people seem to be moving over when they encounter green lights. Um I’m encouraged Speaker Evans has taken up
1:32:19 – the mantel and he wants to lead the charge and help work on move over education. He’s got a coalition of supporters and we are one of those. And
1:32:28 – so we’re going to be meeting with him off and on. I think we have a meeting next week. But we’re going to throw our weight behind this campaign and get the
1:32:36 – word out about what it means to not only put the phone down, but move over when you encounter an emergency vehicle on the side of the road. So, that’ll be our
1:32:43 – our next push into next year. Thank you for approving that earlier.
1:32:50 – All right, upcoming events uh coming around the state. We got a fresh look,
1:32:54 – too. I meant to mention I appreciate uh Hannah and Parker’s group for putting a new fresh spin on these uh these slides.
1:33:02 – I like the the way they look today. The calendar moving ahead uh for the next couple months. Tomorrow uh we’re having
1:33:10 – an operations staff meeting. Rex and Steve schedule that I’m going to attend with our district folks and our operations people to talk about all
1:33:18 – those unique operational challenges they have. I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve learned a whole lot from that team over the last year. As I mentioned
1:33:28 – earlier, on Friday, we’ll be signing the human trafficking pledge. Uh, our office will be closed on Monday for President’s
1:33:35 – Day. Uh, at the end of next week, I’ll go to Tennessee along with some of our key staff members to talk to them about
1:33:42 – the Interstate 55 bridge, King’s Crossing. We’ll have an update meeting there. We’ll look at the progress of that project, talk about scope and
1:33:49 – estimates, and it should be a good chance to catch up on that project.
1:33:55 – late February, uh, some of us will go to Washington DC to the Ashtto meeting, the Washington briefing. It’s always a good
1:34:03 – place to hear from lawmakers and policy makers about what the next piece of legislation is going to look like. And so, we’ll go to that. We’re also going
1:34:11 – to meet with our congressional delegation while we’re there to tell them what we’re working on to ask for their support on certain initiatives and to talk about our push for safety. So,
1:34:20 – that should be a good discussion with them late this month.
1:34:24 – March 3rd, I’ve been invited to speak at the uh Sylm Springs CEO roundt to talk to them about projects and and work in
1:34:32 – that area in that part of western side of Benton County. So, looking forward to that. Have a PE board meeting on the 10th of March and then spring cleanup
1:34:42 – day as I mentioned, March 17th. And uh also on March 17th, Vice Chairman Gibson is going to be presenting to the Alma
1:34:50 – Chamber of Commerce. Um, so we’ll put you together another another packet for that and get you all ready to go late
1:34:57 – March spring break and then on April 1st we’re back here for the next highway commission meeting.
1:35:08 – [clears throat]
1:35:08 – So what do we do on spring break?
1:35:12 – I don’t know about you, but I’m going I’m going to crappie fish. [laughter]
1:35:16 – I’ll be down in Milwood. Yeah, you come to the fish fry. What are you cooking?
1:35:24 – You name it, I I’ll have it ready. Yeah, as long as they’re biting.
1:35:29 – [laughter]
1:35:30 – All right. Um, a couple other things I want to brief you on. U last October. We missed it in December. U Arkansas State
1:35:39 – University Alumni Academy inducts new members u every year. Some of us were in attendance for that. We were there and
1:35:47 – uh one of our own was inducted this year. He’s actually inducted last year,
1:35:51 – but due to some health issues, he was unable to make it, but he was there this year. Shane Wood, our District 10 engineer, was inducted into the academy.
1:35:58 – Shane’s a fantastic man. He’s doing great work in Northeast Arkansas, and Jesse and I and others were glad to be there and support him on his induction.
1:36:08 – The Perpetual Pavement Awards I mentioned earlier, um want to brag on our team for these for a moment. These
1:36:15 – perpetual pavement awards are are given out by the ashvalt asphalt pavement association alliance. Um and we arot is
1:36:24 – one of the few that’s that’s gotten three awards each year. So we used to it was one award and we would always apply for it and get it which is a is a great
1:36:33 – thing. But I think we’re one of only one maybe two states that’s gotten all three awards every year since they expanded to three. So uh we’re proud of that. Uh
1:36:42 – these awards honor long life and lasting pavements all across our country and they really give a nod to outstanding
1:36:50 – construction design. So briefly want to run through those with you. Some of those may be at a highway near you. Um the first one was award for performance.
1:36:59 – So this uh award it has to be a a two-mile segment at least. This was a two-mile segment of Highway 7 in Union County to qualify the for this award.
1:37:09 – This is quite amazing to me. The pavement has to be 35 years old, never have experienced a structural failure,
1:37:17 – and the average interval between the resurfacing uh can only be 13 years or less. So, it can’t be resurfaced more
1:37:25 – often than every 13 years. This piece was built in 1951. It was built on a gravel base with a chip seal. It started
1:37:33 – out as a chip seal, and it required very minimal maintenance over its 73y year life so far. In 1987, lanes were widened
1:37:42 – from 9 ft to 11 1/2 ft with new binder and surface. So, we added a little surface there. And then the only other treatment on that highway was in 2014
1:37:51 – when we milled off and put back some material. So, that pavement has performed well, and I’m glad that they recognized that piece of Highway 7. The
1:38:00 – next reward we received was for the category of conversion, and it’s for that piece of I530 you see on the map there in Jefferson County. It’s a It’s a
1:38:09 – hightraic corridor. To qualify for this award, it has to be a a pavement that’s been converted from concrete to asphalt,
1:38:16 – which we did here. We we rubelized that old concrete, used it as a base,
1:38:20 – completed that project in 2017, broke down that 10 inches of concrete and and put asphalt over top of that. But that
1:38:28 – conversion happened in 2017, and it also won an award.
1:38:33 – Lastly, we uh won an award for a piece of Highway 62 in Northwest Arkansas for
1:38:40 – a good a strong design. So, this was awarded for a strong pavement design. Uh for this project, the asphalt pavement
1:38:48 – must have a mixture of binder and asphalt in the surface and again must be 2 miles long. This project transformed
1:38:55 – uh a two-lane highway into a five-lane thoroughfare with 11 foot pane of media. I’m sure you’ve driven that a bunch,
1:39:01 – chairman. Sections of this road were newly constructed and other sections were improved by notching and widening that pavement. But this new highway now
1:39:10 – handles the increased capacity that stem from the growth in the region, but really performing well and we’re honored to receive these awards.
1:39:20 – The last item I have on the agenda for you today is uh we have an announcement from Federal Highway Administration from
1:39:27 – US DOT uh about the 2026 build grant program. So you’re familiar with this.
1:39:34 – This grant program was tiger. It was raised is build. Now we’ve been successful through the years with several grants.
1:39:41 – You may recall the maximum grant award is $25 million. Uh so we staff looked hard to see what projects in our program
1:39:50 – would be good candidates for for this grant. So today I’m coming to you with a request for approval and a motion to uh
1:39:58 – allow us to apply for a build grant for the Interstate 30 IT buildout. So this project’s in our stip. It’s in our STIP
1:40:06 – for about $70 million. Uh there’s a deficit. The project’s expected to cost about hundred million. So this raise grant or build grant, pardon me, would
1:40:15 – help us bridge that gap. This would bring that same technology you see us installing on Interstate 40 between
1:40:22 – Little Rock and Memphis to I30 from Little Rock to Texture Canana, all the message board, camera enhancements, and the wrongway detection. So with that,
1:40:32 – I’ll answer any questions you have about that proposal. And if you’re happy with that, then we’d like to have a motion to proceed.
1:40:45 – So, what do we need? A motion from the commissioners. Yes, sir. I’ll make that motion. I’ll make that motion. Thank you.
1:40:52 – Second.
1:40:54 – Okay, we have a motion in second. All in favor say I. I. I. Oppose. Same sign. There you go, director.
1:41:01 – Thank you. Appreciate you. All right, that concludes my report. Chairman, thank you for your time,
1:41:06 – Director Wy. Um uh are there any is there any new business to come before us today? Does
1:41:14 – any of the uh I do have one um uh little bit of business here? Mr. Joe Quinn, the
1:41:22 – executive director of the Arkansas Good Roads Foundation is here and would like to uh address the commission. I just
1:41:31 – wanted to take a moment to thank you for the I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the minute order, the support of
1:41:38 – the organization. I think we had a a great year. If I have a memory, it’s that three years ago we started talking about the memorial and on dedication day
1:41:46 – which was a beautiful event. Um the people etching their loved ones name and the largest assembly of orange vest I
1:41:54 – think we have ever seen. Uh Jared felt and it it was there’s no other word. It was beautiful. It’s a piece of solace and reflection and that the families can
1:42:04 – come there and uh it was a project we are proud to have helped you with. Uh we drove 1.5 million Facebook impressions
1:42:11 – last year in large part because of the funding you share with us. Um more than ever uh we are looking forward to another good year with you. The summer
1:42:19 – meeting has really become something of an institution. The relationship we have is seamless. I have all your cell phone numbers. You know, Marie spent a ton of
1:42:27 – time uh on the day-to-day strategy of raising the funding for the memorial. I called Philip a couple of weeks ago. We spent like 45 minutes talking about next
1:42:36 – summer’s meeting. That’s the type of integrated relationship we have. Dave keeps pushing me to rate Dave and I grew up in TV. Um I have more hair left, but um [laughter]
1:42:47 – but watching what you were doing during the winter storm was phenomenal. Midway through the weekend, I went, “Man, he’s finding the time now to drop district
1:42:55 – engineers videos into the game.” And the snow coverage was just flawless what you did. It makes me want to raise the Good
1:43:03 – Roads game. Uh this year, in part with your funding, we’re coming with a new more interactive web page. We want to tell more of the highway police story.
1:43:12 – We are dramatically upgrading the technology we will use to email updates to people who don’t belong to Good Roads. So, and and a great example, I
1:43:21 – said to the director a while ago, those beautiful dog, drug dogs, I’d like to ride along with a police officer. And then Christie jumped in and this week,
1:43:29 – and we’re going to do that. Uh, but now Dave’s going to put a video camera on it. So, in terms of generating content,
1:43:37 – but then maximizing it where I can help,
1:43:39 – we’ll do paid Facebook advertising to push that video and then show it at our summer meetings. So, maximizing content is really the name of the game. and and
1:43:48 – Rusty constantly takes gorgeous pictures of everything you do, which gives me picture content uh for my magazine that
1:43:54 – is strictly not off my camera. So, we’re as you raise your game every year, we’re trying to raise our game to assist. But
1:44:02 – again, thank you uh for the uh $40,000 minute order. And you’re great to work with and I mean that very sincerely.
1:44:10 – you’re you’re easy and you’re fun and you’re smart and and I did notice like during the snowstorm this year, I read the Facebook comments and there’s a lot less grumbling
1:44:18 – and and a lot more, wow, those people are working 12-hour shifts and they started rehearsing this in July and they’re using, you know, 800,000 tons of
1:44:27 – brine. So, it’s great. Thank you so much. And I just really wanted to take a moment to officially thank you.
1:44:34 – Thank you, Joe.
1:44:36 – [applause] Any other business from the commission?
1:44:44 – Dave, he’s he’s right about the great job you guys did on social, particularly on social media. And I’ll tell you, I’m
1:44:52 – I couldn’t agree with you more, Joe. I’m I’m seeing observing a shift in the
1:44:59 – public’s approval or lack thereof that used to be is beginning to shift toward
1:45:06 – wow those guys really do a great job and I think a lot of it is attributed to the information that you guys are putting
1:45:13 – out particularly on social media and people are actually instead of just reading comments by complainers they’re
1:45:21 – actually getting to see what’s actually being done. So you guys did a great job particularly this storm season.
1:45:29 – Anybody else?
1:45:32 – Hearing no other business, uh we will stand adjourned.