Bypass On The Horizon

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Let the celebration begin.

Well, maybe it isn’t worth much of a celebration exactly; but the promised start on the Bella Vista bypass is on the horizon.

Work could conceivably begin next month. In case you missed it, what’s coming is a 3-mile segment of what will be the larger bypass someday.

The full project is an 18.9-mile route to relieve congestion on U.S. 71 through Bella Vista, eventually tying into Interstate 44 in Missouri.

What we’re getting now is a bypass of Hiwasse just west of Bella Vista.

The truth is that this little segment, which will cost $19.8 million, is what the state Highway and Transportation Department could find to meet specifications for using available federal funds for this project.

Moreover, dedicating even this much money toward the larger bypass project makes its eventual completion more likely.

Several months back, plans were announced for this use of a $10 million federal grant for the Bella Vista bypass. In all, about $53 million in federal and state money has been pledged to the route; but the $19.8 million in spending announced last week is for a contract for the Hiwasse bypass.

The bid from a Fayetteville company is under final review, but a contract really is about to be let.

The reason the money will be spent at Hiwasse is that the state had to find some part of the larger bypass to build that would gofrom one place to another, not just end abruptly, to satisfy federal requirements. Bypassing Hiwasse, which would be part of the larger route, fits the bill.

Keep in mind that a promise came with the announcement of this small step.

“We’ll get it done one day,” said Dan Flowers, state highway director back in August. He and others emphasized that, once the state starts a highway, it will eventually be finished.

Don’t take any bets on when that might happen. The state is struggling to find money for existing highway obligations.

Witness the talk again last week in the Legislature of a proposed highway program to be funded with a diesel-tax hike and a sales tax.

Speaker of the House Robert Moore, D-Arkansas City, said he’ll ask lawmakers to put sales and diesel tax increases on the 2012 ballot to pay for $2.8 billion in highway improvements over the next decade.

He’s talking about a five-cent hike in the diesel tax to go toward an existing bond issue forhighways. Separately, he wants voters to consider a half-cent sales tax to pay for building a four-lane system statewide.

Apparently, he shopped the diesel tax hike around the Legislature, thinking lawmakers might vote that one in. But the antitax climate there has persuaded him to propose referring both issues to voters.

The sales tax proposal would be part of a constitutional amendment the people would have to approve.

The anti-tax sentiment among lawmakers apparently does not extend to referring tax proposals to the people, who could accept or reject them.

Moore reportedly has secured some key support, including from the Arkansas Trucking Association whose members would obviously be hit by the diesel-tax hike.

He does not yet have Gov. Mike Beebe’s backing. Beebe’s waiting to see the actual legislation before judging its worth.

As to whether the idea could get public support, that’s a huge question, even here in Northwest Arkansas.

People here are certainly among those most often asking for highway improvements. But a lot of people in this corner count themselves in the anti-tax community, too.

Would you vote to raise taxes, even sales taxes, to get road money? Weigh in on the issue with your comments online or by sending a note by mail or e-mail.

BRENDA BLAGG IS A COLUMNIST FOR NORTHWEST ARKANSAS MEDIA.