Ken Patrick, a Bella Vista resident who attended Monday's roundabout informational meeting in Bentonville, said he's hoping this development will help him during his three or four trips in and out of Bentonville each day.
Between meetings and lunch, he said, he makes the drive repeatedly.
"I think it's a unique answer to a challenge here," he said. "I think people need to educate themselves, and the keyword I heard here was, 'Take it slow.'"
The Arkansas Highway Transportation Department met with the general public Monday and Tuesday nights to discuss the upcoming temporary traffic circle that will connect Interstate 49, North Walton Boulevard and Arkansas Highway 549 ( better known as the Bella Vista bypass).
Danny Straessle, public information officer with the AHTD, said this project is not the final interchange. The final incarnation would not be feasible at this time because it would simply be adding another stoplight to the line of stoplights along I-49 in Bella Vista, which would actually make traffic worse.
"This is in no way meant to be a permanent solution," Straessle said during the meeting at Bethel Baptist Church in north Bentonville. Tuesday night's meeting was at Bella Vista Baptist Church. "It is the most efficient and effective solution to provide access."
It's important to note, he said, that this roundabout is not actually on the interstate. It will use portions of existing on- and off-ramps for access to the interstate, and will create an interchange between Walton Bouleavrd, I-49 and the bypass.
Navigating a roundabout, he said, isn't terribly difficult, even if it looks hectic on a map.
The important things to keep in mind, he said, are to always yield and wait for an opening when entering the traffic circle and to never change lanes within the circle.
Beyond that, one needs to pick their lane on the way in. If someone is turning right or going straight, he said, they should be in the right lane, while someone making a left or a U-turn needs to get into the left lane.
The end result, he said, should flow better than a traditional signalled intersection. While lines may form, he said, the waits should be far shorter because traffic is constantly moving through the circle.
Straessle said he heard some concerns about large vehicles, but that is already addressed in the traffic circle's design, which features an area called the truck apron in the center. This area is designed specifically for trucks and buses to be able to drive over, allowing the inside wheels of a trailer, for instance, somewhere to go.
He added that drivers should still be aware that big rigs and buses may need to use more than one lane at times.
Patrick said he was glad to learn the interchange will not be directly affecting I-49.
Steve Lawrence, the AHTD's engineer for district 9, which includes Benton County, said that he was glad to have the meeting because it gave the department an excellent chance to educate the public about this project and gather some input.
"It got them thinking about it," he said. "I think that's about the best thing that we can do."
Additionally, he said, portions of this interchange are likely to become parts of the final product, though others will have to be removed.
Straessle said he expects the roundabout, as well as the portion of the bypass it provides access to, to be open sometime in spring 2017.
An exact time, he said, could not be discerned this early because the winter weather can't be predicted.
"Because it's right in the middle of U.S Highway 71B," he said, "a certain amount of it has to be done under live traffic, and that's always challenging."
There are portions, he said, that can be done without affecting existing roads. The plan is to tackle those things first, then reroute traffic as existing roads are modified to become the connector.
Straessle said that the AHTD held off on doing this as long as possible to give Missouri as much time as possible to meet Arkansas at the border, but because there could be a significant wait on that, AHTD staff wanted to ensure the highway can actually be used.
"We don't want to throw our friends in Missouri under the bus," he said, "because we've been on that side of it, too."
General News on 11/16/2016