Fort Smith, state closer to interstate median/interchange maintenance plan

Fort Smith city and Arkansas highway officials will meet within the next few weeks to develop a plan on how to better maintain the medians and interchanges of Interstate 540 through Fort Smith.

Joe Shipman, a district engineer for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, met Tuesday (Jan. 26) with the Fort Smith board of directors during a noon study session to talk specifics about mowing and landscaping.

The issue of tall grass, litter and unkempt interchanges has been brewing for years, with  Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker sending a letter of complaint in mid-October to the five members of the Arkansas Highway Commission.

“The Rogers Ave./Arkansas Highway 22 interchange is one of the gateway entrances to our city. The deplorable condition of the medians greatly detracts from Fort Smith’s appearance and creates an unfavorable image of the state and city,” Baker noted in his letter.

In the city’s 2010 budget is about $30,000 for frequent mowing and basic upkeep of the I-540/Rogers Avenue interchange.

Shipman said Fayetteville pays to maintain large sections of I-540, and Springdale raised donations to maintain and landscape the I-540 and U.S. 412 interchange. Also, Springdale mows the I-540-Elm Springs Road interchange, Shipman explained.

The state has the interstate system mowed three times a year, and any mowing a city may do should be coordinated with the state schedule, Shipman said.

Fort Smith City Administrator Dennis Kelly said the city is interested in a “manicured type” look for the I-540-Rogers Avenue interchange that would go beyond more frequent mowings. Shipman said all the city will have to do is present its plans as part of an “Adopt-A-Spot” program. However, Shipman said the state is planning reconstruction of the interchange, meaning the city should not conduct extensive landscaping in areas that may be destroyed in the reconstruction.

Kelly informed the board that he and Shipman will develop a plan that would be brought back to the board for consideration.