It has been a dynamic year for Arkansas Good Roads. In some ways, we are more engaged and visible than the organization has ever been. As the holidays appear on the horizon, the first thing to recognize is that without the support of our members, this work would be impossible. We are not the largest issue organization in Little Rock, but we might be one of the most cohesive. Our members represent different issues within the infrastructure world, but we are all unified by the simple belief that we get more done working together.

This cohesiveness is something we can all be proud of. In an angry, deeply divided political world, we come together not to lobby but to educate Arkansans on the need for quality roads and bridges and to remind people that working together drives economic development and new jobs in rural areas and our cities.

So, what specifically did we do with your membership dues, event sponsorships, and other support this year?

• Good Roads played a significant role in raising $175,000 for ARDOT to build a memorial to over 80 ARDOT workers who have died while working. Other states have had elaborate memorials for years, while Arkansas honored these deceased workers with a modest display of orange cones. Building a meaningful monument is a personal and emotional issue for a department full of people who knew and cared about these deceased employees.

• We hosted our third summer policy meeting. The two-day event in Mountain Home featured a social event that allowed local leaders to have some face-to-face time with highway commissioners and ARDOT leadership. Atlas Asphalt put on an incredible event to show how asphalt is made, including a dynamite blast in a quarry to show how raw material for the process is created. The second day featured an economic development breakfast with local companies and then a policy meeting that focused on the future of Highway 412. Getting everyone out of Little Rock to focus on a specific region and community has become a popular part of the ARDOT annual calendar.

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  The national SASHTO Summer Meeting was hosted by ARDOT in Rogers in Good Roads played a role in the effort by publishing a special edition of our Good Roads Magazine that was placed in the registration bags given to 1,400 people who came to the meeting from 13 states. It was excellent exposure for Good Roads that led to at least two new members joining, and the magazine was a chance to show other states the unique work that ARDOT has done in recent years.

• Another big piece of our success this year is how the 13 Good Roads Executive Board members are day-to-day ambassadors of our brand and always willing to tell the infrastructure development story in the media, at trade association gatherings, at the state capitol, and in personal conversations with influencers. More than ever, our board is a fully engaged group at the heart of who and what we are.

With a strong year behind us, we are strategically looking ahead to 2025. Some of the critical issues we will be discussing include:

• Work will continue on the new I-55 bridge in Memphis, a massive project managed jointly by Arkansas and Tennessee.
• Work will continue to escalate on the I-49 expansion from Alma to Barling.
• I-57 has now reached a point where you will start to see the official federal highway “shield” signs designating the route as I-57. This is a significant moment for any project.
• All Good Roads members will continue the never-ending search for a quality workforce. With $3.8 billion in federal infrastructure money being spent in Arkansas and the funding from the Issue 1 passage, a significant amount of revenue for infrastructure jobs is available. The challenge our members now face is finding the workforce they need to do the work. All our private sector friends are dealing with complex workforce development issues.
• In 2025, Good Roads will roll out a much needed and long planned new membership dues After years of many members paying various levels of membership dues, we are putting a system in place that will make it easier to show potential members what we offer and what it will cost to join at a specific level. While our board works on strategic planning for the public facing side of our mission, we continue the effort to update and modernize how we structure internal day-to-day work.

Thank you again for what you do to help Good Roads grow and thrive. My personal observation about our work together is that people who build, repair, design, fund, or put cargo on our roads respect each other and are always willing to partner for the good of all of us.

That is rare in the world we are living in, and speaking on behalf of our members and board, I want to thank you for what you do.

Have a wonderful holiday season…and as always, put that phone down when you are driving.