Legislature questions AHTD response towinter road conditions
It’s interesting how fast the Arkansas Highway and
Transportation Department and legislators can respond when something happens in
the Little Rock area, or in this case east of Little Rock.
Scott Bennett, director of the Highway Department, found
himself in front of a joint transportation committee Tuesday to explain what
happened when last week’s round of snow, sleet and ice struck, and motorists
were stranded for hours on Interstates 40 and 55. One instance of slow response
by the Highway Department in eastern Arkansas prompted calling the highway
director on the carpet before a legislative committee.
What about the slow response in northern Arkansas where
people were stranded at their homes and unable to get to work, medical
appointments and other important engagements? What about schools having to
close because buses couldn’t even run snow routes and, even if they could,
parents couldn’t get their children to the buses? Or businesses closed because
customers couldn’t travel?
And this wasn’t just for a few hours; this was for days on
end through storm after storm since the week after Thanksgiving. Why wasn’t the
Legislature concerned about how the Highway Department handled that?
I at least hope Rep. Scott Baltz of Pocahontas and Rep. John
R. Payton of Wilburn, who represent small parts of Baxter County and others
counties in this region and are on the House Public Transportation Committee,
expressed concern to Mr. Bennett about the winter road situation here in the
northern part of Arkansas. Actually, I hope they were aware of the situation
here, even if their local constituency is only a small part of their overall
districts.
For us, this has been a harsh winter with storms disrupting
normal activity in our area of the state. The weather’s affected other areas as
well —75 school districts are trying to get snow-day waivers from the state —but
being a bit provincial I’m concerned about our area.
There’s no doubt Arkansas is unprepared for such weather. The
traditional argument has been winters aren’t that bad in Arkansas, even though
we seem to be getting a lot more snow and ice. Mr. Bennett told the committee
members the Highway Department has spent about $18 million this fiscal year
clearing ice and snow, compared to $5 million last year.
This may be an unusual winter, but it’s better to have
adequate equipment and personnel on hand to deal with the problem and not need
them than it is to need the equipment and personnel and not have them. That
goes for city and county government, too.
Apparently Mr. Bennett has seen photos displaying the
contrast between Arkansas highways where they crossed into Missouri —their
pavement clear, ours nowhere to be seen beneath the ice and snow —and heard
complaints about the differences. His response was that Missouri has more snow
plows and more employees “to cover a smaller area than does Arkansas.”
He told the committee the Highway Department needs more snow
plows and more people for snow and ice removal. That’s an understatement. I saw
where a wife of a local Highway Department employee commented that there were
nine men on a crew responsible for clearing 400 lane miles here, so more
personnel is a definite necessity.
The department needs more than just a couple of snow plows
and removal equipment, too, and it needs equipment and additional personnel
somewhere besides just the Little Rock area. Perhaps the Highway Department
could take a lesson from Entergy or North Arkansas Electric Cooperative and
dispatch crews and equipment from areas unaffected by winter storms to those
areas where more help is needed.
In addition to learning from Missouri, the Highway Department
needs to find out how states where ice and snow are a way life keep everything
functioning throughout winter. They don’t close everything down and let out
schools just because it snows; they keep their roads clear and life goes on
normally.
I’m not going to criticize the road crews —state, county and
city —because they did the best they could with what they have. They cleared
the roads their bosses told them to clear. They worked long, cold hours and
deserve more than a pat on the back. It’s up to the bosses to account for the
decisions of why some roads were ignored and others were cleared, of how and
why the priorities were set.
Meanwhile, let’s hope the Legislature acts to better equip
the Highway Department before a winter like this happens again.
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