A tar-soaked road looked like a gooey mess, and Michelinda Smith wants to know what’s going on.
The Guru addresses Smith’s questions first, then offers an update on Rogers’ planned 50-mile system of paved trails.
Question: “Can you tell me what they did to our road?” writes Smith, who lives west of Decatur. “The road starts as Roller Avenue then changes to Falling Springs Road, Carlton Drive and West Mountain Road.
“They appeared to soak it in tar and then dump gravel on it. It turned our highway-like road into a gravel road. You can’t even paint stripes on this stuff.
It throws gravel on cars and is hard on tires. The gravel is so loose that you can’t go safely over 35 mph. Did we not go backwards from pavement to tar and gravel?”
Answer: Benton County used to do asphalt overlays of paved roads, meaning gravel was mixed with hot-mix asphalt and then put down. The mixture had to be compacted by a roller. It’s pricey.
What occurred near Decatur is a less expensive chip-and-seal overlay, said county Administrator Greg Hines.
Decco Contractors of Rogers put down heated asphalt liquid, then spread pea-sized gravel on top.
The gravel sticks in the gooey liquid and the traffic on top of the gravel surface provides the compaction.
Smith said the road is harder now, and she’s able to go 50 mph or so.
The painted center line must wait until the road hardens more. The company hired to paint it will do so in a few weeks when weather permits, Hines said.
Q: “Any update on the people/bike trail in Rogers?” writes Jon Fricke of Cave Springs. “The new bridge looks to be roughly half of what is needed and now totals nine trail stops visible in the Pinnacle area. I rode my bike on all of the dead-end trails except the new bridge - to see whereit will connect.
“The new Rogers halfbridge is of Fayetteville, Bentonville or Bella Vista quality.”
A: The “half-bridge” near Interstate 540’s Promenade Boulevard exit is a whole bridge. The city will build a bridge deck and trails to it. It’ll eventually connect to the Rogers trail system.
Within a year, Rogers should have places where cyclists, runners and walkers can go under I-540 near Blossom Way Creek, Promenade Boulevard and New Hope Road.
The region’s trails got a major boost a few days ago, when it was revealed that the U.S. Department of Transportation will give $15 million to the so-called Northwest Arkansas Razorback Regional Greenway trail project. The 36-mile trail will connect to Rogers trails on its way from Bella Vista to Fayetteville.
All this big-bucks trail stuff makes The Guru wonder if the money comes in lieu of $1.2 billion for a regional light-rail system.
The Guru hopes that’s the case.
Robert J. Smith, aka The Guru, writes on traffic issues in Northwest Arkansas on Fridays. He can be reached at nwaonline.com/guru or [email protected]
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 10/22/2010