Meeting set for officials to discuss planned medians on Rogers Avenue

Fort Smith emergency services officials plan to meet with the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) in October to learn more about suggested medians on Highway 22 (Rogers Avenue) and their impact on emergency transportation.

Plans for an up to $20 million project to improve sections of Highway 22 (Rogers Avenue) have ARDOT implementing capacity improvements at the Rogers Avenue/Interstate 540 interchange and along the main lanes of Rogers Avenue in Fort Smith. The improvements will include the construction of a raised median along the main lanes of Rogers Avenue, as well as intersection improvements at various signalized intersections along Rogers Avenue.

The raised medians will be constructed along Rogers Avenue on two segments of the project from Waldron Road to the I-540 interchange and from the interchange to 68th Street, according to ARDOT. The medians are initially designed to be concrete, according to Ellen Coulter, ARDOT media communications manager.

Some have questioned the use of raised medians on the stretch of highway saying they could impact emergency vehicle maneuvering in an area rife with accidents. Travis Brooks, ARDOT division engineer with planning and research, addressed the Fort Smith Board of Directors about the improvement project Sept. 10.

Tim Hearn, executive director of Fort Smith EMS, said he has some concerns about the design and how it will impact ambulances.

“It seems like a bad idea,” Hearn said, noting that anything that reduces emergency vehicle mobility isn’t the best solution.

The rebuttal argument is that the project is designed to reduce traffic congestion on the corridor, Brooks said.

“Generally, improving congestion will increase the mobility of emergency services. A lot of these locations will have additional thru lanes, additional travel lanes. That gives additional opportunities for these emergency vehicles to maneuver and additional lanes for people to get into to get out of the way of emergency vehicles,” Brooks said. “But there may need to be some messaging in relation to making sure that the public is aware that they need to get out of the way in a different way in this location than if there is a two-way left-turn lane.”

Brooks said reducing the number of accidents on the stretch of highway also will improve accessibility to the hospital.

“If you are having 1,100 crashes here a year, there are going to be instances where those crashes are obstructing access to the hospital. But also generally the project is creating fewer needs for emergency services by reducing the number of crashes.”

Fort Smith Police Chief Danny Baker said he does not have any concerns about the project.

“Staff from the police department attended the May 30th public meeting about this project and no concerns were reported to me. It is currently our belief that the proposed modifications to Rogers Avenue will help reduce congestion and accidents and have the potential to improve emergency response times along this portion of Rogers Avenue,” Baker said.

He said he does have some questions for ARDOT concerning the project.

Fort Smith Fire Chief Boyd Waters said his staff attended ARDOT’s presentation to the Board of Directors on Sept. 10 and it did raise some questions and concerns for the fire department. There is a meeting with ARDOT and public safety officials set for Oct. 8, where concerns are expected to be relayed, Waters said, noting he would rather his questions be answered by ARDOT before he makes any public statement regarding the medians.

Hearn and Baker also plan to attend the meeting and learn more about the project.

The project is scheduled to be let for bid in September 2026. The improvements will also include widening the road to add capacity to the off-ramps within the footprint of the interchange. There also will be some alignment improvements along several of the left-turn lanes at various signals at intersections along the main lanes of Rogers Avenue, information from ARDOT states.