Fort Smith, Arkansas officials meet with Transportation chief Ray LaHood

Mat Pitsch was upbeat and hopeful about better support for Interstate 49 and regional intermodal projects following two days of meetings in Washington with key Members of Congress and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

Pitsch, intermodal project manager for the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District (WAPDD), was part of a seven-person delegation to meet with LaHood and others to directly lobby for funding of I-49 — including the Bella Vista bypass — and Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority (RITA) funding in the Fort Smith region.

RITA was formed in August 2009 with the broad goal to maximize the use of all forms of transportation — rail, barge, air, interstate — so as to reduce shipping costs and increase service options for regional business and industries. LaHood agreed to the meeting earlier this year after being informed of the RITA plans and progress.

On the trip from Fort Smith were RITA board members George Moschner and Jay White, WAPDD Director John Guthrie, and Pitsch. They were joined by Arkansas Highway Commissioner Dick Trammel, Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department Director Dan Flowers and Northwest Arkansas Council Director Mike Malone.

In addition to seeking more I-49 funding, RITA officials also have an $8 million infrastructure plan of which they seek $5 million in federal funds. The $8 million includes $3.5 million to improve roads at Van Buren port facilities and to extend railroad from Arkhola to a Van Buren river port operation downstream. The remaining $4.5 million is for railroad work at Chaffee Crossing. U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., has submitted appropriation requests for the funding.

The plan also includes infrastructure support for a 50-acre economic development site at Chaffee Crossing and a 30-acre site near the Van Buren port.

Pitsch said Malone used his many years of working in Washington in the Clinton and Bush Administrations to help arrange other meetings during the trip to visit with LaHood. One of those meetings was with U.S. Rep. John Olver, D-Mass., who has been in the House since 1991 and now serves as the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and related agencies.

The meeting with Olver was supposed be short, but Olver’s interest resulted in an almost 90-minute presentation.

“We were able to discuss our number one priority (I-49) … and Dan Flowers was able to give an excellent presentation on I-49,” Pitsch said.

Pitsch also praised the efforts of Lincoln, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, during the meeting with LaHood. He said “they were both absolutely and unbelievably supportive” of I-49 and regional intermodal projects. Also, LaHood accepted Lincoln’s invitation to travel to Arkansas and visit the project areas.

“He was more than positive,” Pitsch said of LaHood’s response. “He realizes it is an important national corridor … and we showed him that our population in the four-county, two-MSAs (Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas) is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. We have the right story to tell to support that (I-49 funding.)”

Lincoln’s office issued a statement Friday (June 11) saying the “enormous potential to draw additional industries, residents, and more jobs” to the Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas areas justifies the request for federal dollars.

“I will continue working with state and local officials to seek additional funding opportunities to construct 1-49, which is very important to Arkansas,” Lincoln said in the statement. “I have invited Secretary LaHood to visit Arkansas to see the projects we are working on at home, and to encourage him to help support our efforts.”

How confident is Pitsch that the meetings will result in real dollars? While there are no guarantees, Pitsch said he was encouraged by how positive LaHood and Olver were about the infrastructure projects planned and needed in the Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas areas.

“Basically what we got from them was a commitment to help this more going forward,” Pitsch said. “Now we have a LaHood visit. … I think you have to see that as a positive.”