Resolutions seek completion of Interstates 49 and 69
by February 23, 2009 9:57 am 69 views
Early in the 87th General Assembly of the Arkansas Legislature, a Senate resolution — SCR 4 — was filed and adopted that recommended “a significant portion of funding for transportation infrastructure be committed to complete construction of I-49 between” Texarkana and Fort Smith.
Sens. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, Barbara Horn, D-Ashdown, and Ed Wilkinson, D-Greenwood, sponsored the resolution which was first filed Jan. 27.
The resolution was sent to the office of Gov. Mike Beebe. However, that move is a formality because such resolutions do not require a gubernatorial signature. The resolution also was sent to the presiding officers of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, to each member of the Arkansas Congressional delegation, to the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, and the director of the Federal Highway Administration.
On Feb. 19, Reps. Garry Smith, D-Camden, John Lowery, D-El Dorado, and Willie Hardy, D-Camden, filed HCR 1009 that recommended “a significant portion of funding for transportation infrastructure be committed to complete construction of I-69 in Arkansas.”
HCR 1009 was referred to the House committee on Public Transportation, where it was placed on the committee’s Feb. 24 (Tuesday) agenda. If approved by the House, the resolution would be sent to the same elected and appointed federal officers who received the I-49 resolution.
The resolutions include several points explaining the importance, costs and benefits of the two interstate projects.
SCR 4: Interstate 49
• The United States Congress designated I-49 as a High Priority Corridor 1 under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.
• Approximately $970 million in federal and state dollars have been spent on the I-49 corridor, which stretches from Kansas City, Mo., to Shreveport, La.
• Some of the money spent on I-49 include numerous environmental studies and location studies that have been completed.
• The estimate to complete I-49 is $3.5 billion.
HCR 1009: Interstate 69
• I-69 was designated as High Priority Corridors 18 and 20 under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.
• The estimated cost to complete the 185 miles of I-69 through Arkansas is $2.4 billion.
• The entire length of I-69 from Michigan to Texas is 2,730 miles and the cost to complete the entire route is estimated at $22 billion.
• Early studies show that for every $1 spent on I-69, the economic benefit is $1.57.