Both progress and problem solving often come with small steps. Presto, it is fixed only happens in storybooks and in magicians' shows.
So it is with the opening of the new Interstate 40 entrance and exit in the northern edge of Conway. This was a long time coming with the accompanied construction slowdowns for drivers, the dust and the orange cones and the flaggers.
But Exit 124 is here and operational, and it will have benefits for our community. It won't cure the choking congestion of our roads and streets.
Mayor Tab Townsell and others have pointed out, accurately, that this interstate project is the necessary first step in a multi-phase improvement on that north side. To follow are the extension of Salem Road to U.S. Highway 64 and to connect with the new Exit 124. Also in the planning is the rerouting of Arkansas Highway 25 from the Beaverfork Lake vicinity to the new exit. This is to eliminate those dangerous curves in the Tin Can Hill area.
One immediate benefit of the new exit is giving some folks a quicker access to I-40 for the drive to Little Rock. For many, the morning commute to work starts off with frazzled nerves resulting from driving through the congestion at Washington and Donaghey and at Harkrider and Old Morrilton Highway.
For travelers heading west on I-40 from most anywhere in western Conway, the new facility will be a significant help.
That old east-bound-only off ramp is closed now, and it makes you wonder why it was built that way in the first place back in the late 1960s or whenever. Maybe there was a logical reason then, but it has been lost with passage of time and the astounding growth of Conway.
As welcome as we find this new Exit 124, Conway's traffic dilemma is not going away. It's not going to be solved next week or next year or for many years to come. It can be modified and alleviated to some extent, and just how much depends largely on us. The various local and state and federal officials are people working for us, as much of a stretch as that appears at times.
The precise location of this new exit was a compromise, and some folks are unhappy that it was not (1) at the site of the old off-ramp Highway 25 link or (2) farther west in the Hogan Lane vicinity. We had favored the latter at first but understand the problems it would have raised by requiring a new railroad crossing.
Eventually there will be a western loop for Conway.
It's been talked about for some years now. And there may be a drawing or two in files at Conway City Hall and at the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department in Little Rock. But it's not a solid plan, not even a proposal here in May 2008.
Conway is going to continue to grow. This growth will be out, not up, and the out will remain to the west to a large extent until it butts up against the Arkansas River. It only stands to reason that somewhere in time to come, a major artery will be developed from I-40 near Cadron Creek south then east around the west and south sides of the city to link with I-40 somewhere near Lake Conway. Yes, that will mean two more exits.
Closer to the present will be the commercial developments on Old Morrilton Highway, between the Harkrider-Donaghey junction past this new Exit 124. This is under discussion and planning now, and that's good. Plans are for four-laning this stretch of Old Morrilton Highway which is U.S. Highway 64 West. It will need four lanes in the very near future.
It is all under the umbrella of progress, and, of course, not everyone is pleased about the various aspects involved. But it is inevitable.
