Low gas prices spur Thanksgiving travel, construction will cause some traffic tie-ups statewide

Motorists in Arkansas should expect to see a lot of orange highway barrels and traffic strangleholds across the state as low gas prices spur many families to hit the roads to visit relatives on Thanksgiving Day.

According to travel information from the Arkansas State Highway & Transportation, a number of ongoing construction projects on state highways and interstates will slow travel times due to maintenance that will cause lane closures and traffic tie-ups in construction zones.

For example, local drivers and holiday travelers passing through Southwest Little Rock going South were stacked up for several miles in midday traffic Monday on Interstate-30 due to a bridge repositioning project that began on Nov. 7. According to an AHTD bulletin, construction crews have begun around-the-clock paving work that will result in alternate lane closures to resurface a three-mile section of I-30 between mile markers 135 and 138 – roughly between West 65th Street (Exit 135) and the railroad viaduct just west of the State Highway 365 (Arch Street) overpass.

Also, in a decision made by state highway officials late Tuesday night, St. Louis.-based Massman Construction Co. said it has cancelled previously announced plans to float into place the second of two arches that will span the Arkansas River to become the new U.S. Highway 70 (Broadway) Bridge.

“Massman is working with the demolition subcontractor to determine the best method to remove the remaining portion of the footing,” State Highway spokesman Danny Straessle said in a news release. “Although a new date for floating the arch into place has not been determined, it will be sometime after Thanksgiving Day.”

On Monday afternoon, explosive detonations failed to remove one of the two remaining footings that supported the steel navigation arch of the structure. A post-blast review of the underwater debris pile revealed that a certain amount of the structure remains intact, Massman officials said of the $99 million project to replace the 93-year old bridge.

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ENFORCING SEAT BELT LAW
That downtown Little Rock bridge work and other construction zones in Central Arkansas will also bring an increased presence from local and state law enforcement on state highways and interstates. On Monday, Arkansas State Troopers began teaming up with local and state agencies to make sure drivers are obeying the rules of the road, with an emphasis on the state’s seat belt law.

“The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest times for travel across the nation,” said Colonel Bill Bryant, director of the Arkansas State Police and Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. “Our troopers along with other law enforcement officers will be working overtime to ensure the highways and streets are safe by strictly enforcing traffic laws, in particular the seat belt and child passenger safety laws.”

Arkansas state law requires all front seat passengers, not just drivers, to be buckled up. It requires all children under 15 years of age to be properly secured in the vehicle. A child who is less than six years of age and who weighs less than sixty pounds should be restrained in a child passenger safety seat. If the driver has a restricted license, all passengers in the vehicle must be properly buckled-up.

State highway officials said Thanksgiving holiday travel on the nation’s roads and highways is typically one of the most dangerous and deadliest. During the 2014 Thanksgiving holiday period, there were 341 passenger vehicle occupants killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide, and 50 of those killed were not wearing seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to Bryant, Arkansas troopers will also join their fellow troopers from California to North Carolina along Interstate 40 creating a chain of law enforcement presence every 20 miles across the heavily traveled interstate corridor.

ARKANSAS GAS PRICES AMONG LOWEST IN U.S., AVERAGE $1.89 ACROSS STATE
Although highway travel may be tedious and require lots of patience, Arkansas and other motorists across the U.S. visiting grandma for Thanksgiving will see the lowest gas prices in eight years. AAA projects that 43.5 million Americans are expected to take a road trip this Thanksgiving and drivers will pay the second-cheapest Thanksgiving gas prices since 2008, when the national average was $1.85.

Today, the national average price of $2.13 per gallon represents a savings of three cents per gallon versus one week ago and nine cents per gallon on the month. Significant yearly savings persist and pump prices are only five cents higher compared to this time last year.

Retail averages have fallen steadily since Nov. 6 for a total savings of eight cents per gallon, and drivers in 45 states and the District of Columbia are paying less at the pump week-over-week. The national average is expected to near $2.00 a gallon for regular unleaded by the end of the year, AAA said.

Average gas prices are below $2 per gallon in twelve states today including Oklahoma ($1.85), Arkansas ($1.89), Missouri ($1.90), Kansas ($1.90), Texas ($1.92), Mississippi ($1.95), Alabama ($1.95), Minnesota ($1.95), South Carolina ($1.96), Tennessee ($1.96), Louisiana ($1.97) and Virginia ($1.99).

The West Coast remains the most expensive region to buy gasoline in the country, led by Hawaii ($2.86), California ($2.70), Washington ($2.63), Alaska ($2.61), Nevada ($2.47) and Oregon ($2.45).

Pump prices in Arkansas’ metropolitan areas range from a low of $1.76 and $1.79 per gallon in the Fort Smith area and Northwest Arkansas, respectively, to a high of $1.96 per gallon in Pine Bluff. Motorists in the Little Rock and Central Arkansas are paying on average about $1.91 to fill up, and drivers on both sides of the stateline in Texarkana drivers are seeing prices at an average of $1.85 per gallon.

In surrounding states, including Oklahoma, Tennessee and Missouri, the Federal Highway Administration has designated I-35, I-40 and I-44 in Oklahoma as alternative fuel corridors, a special designation announced earlier this month aimed at improving the mobility of passenger and commercial vehicles that run on alternative fuels.

According to FHA spokesman Doug Hecox, there are 55 routes that will serve as the basis for a national corridor spanning 35 states. Though the network is nearly 85,000 miles long, more miles will be added in the future to accommodate electric, hydrogen, propane and natural gas vehicles as additional fueling and charging stations are built.

“Alternative fuels and electric vehicles will play an integral part in the future of America’s transportation system,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We have a duty to help drivers identify routes that will help them refuel and recharge those vehicles and designating these corridors on our highways is a first step.”

This new designation means special signage indicating the nearest alternative fueling station will eventually be placed along these highways in the 33 states that are participants in the FHA program. Hecox said Arkansas is not yet a part of the program, but state highway officials and other agencies in each state can apply to participate in the alternative fuels network.