LETTER: Quality of life about to get better

Something really good is about to happen for all residents of Bella Vista! The I-49 bypass is set to open in the fall of this year. This should be quite an upgrade for the quality of life in our little city.

Arkansas road engineers have really brought their A-game for what will be our new I-49 and Highway 71 interchange south of town. The design is going to allow us to move freely in and out of Bella Vista. We won't have to suffer through these tedious delays when heading south.

Even better, our local travel times and our personal safety are going to improve tremendously when big trucks have an alternative to highway 71.

Speaking with a few of the truck drivers I know, over 90% of the trucks currently moving north and south through Bella Vista will choose to take the bypass. Unless a truck has a delivery in BV or immediate vicinity, drivers will choose the bypass to avoid the 7 traffic lights and reduced speed zones that slow their roll today.

No offense intended to truck drivers; they make America great by hooking us all up with the things we need to live! They will celebrate with the rest of us the option to go around BV.

How about car traffic and what might be the impact on our businesses along the highway 71 corridor? Not many of those cars on long trips along I-49 interstate were likely to make impromptu stops in Bella Vista anyway. Local businesses prosper most when local residents can navigate our own roads freely and safely without long delays.

I'm thrilled to give the through-travelers a way around us and leave our community, roads open so we can get to our local businesses without grinding through traffic.

Traffic congestion can be one of the biggest drains on the quality of life for local residents. We're about to see some very obvious improvements in the flow of traffic through BV and that's great news for residents and local businesses!

Steven Bourke

Bella Vista