In the Arkansas infrastructure world, there are frequent dedications of new structures, but it’s still rare to go to an event where it’s obvious it’s not a typical project. Some projects are just bigger and more sophisticated, and you know from the earliest planning that they will be remembered differently.

The Bella Vista Bypass was such a project. So was the massive 30 Crossing project in Little Rock that replaced a lot of damaged pavement and came in ahead of time and under budget. On a recent Friday morning in Barling, the dedication of a beautiful new bridge that will span the Arkansas River as part of the I-49 expansion was a notable project.

It was also an event that reminds those who are paying attention that the infrastructure community and leaders in Arkansas are thoughtful people who treat each other with respect. The work gets done without the type of political anger so visible in so many ways now.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders set the tone. She arrived and immediately started hugging old friends and local leaders she has known since she was a kid, distributing yard signs for her dad’s gubernatorial campaigns. She told stories about her kids that are a reminder she is a mom before all else, and as she started to speak, she began by thanking Governor Asa Hutchinson for the work he did to get this bridge project started.

After years of being on the podium, the relaxed Hutchinson was now sitting in the third row as Governor Huckabee Sanders appreciated his efforts and reminded the crowd that a project like this takes years and takes a state where local, state, and federal leaders are willing to work together quietly. Governor Sanders led the applause for her predecessor. It was a gracious moment, a subtle reminder that we are still all part of a place where we know each other.

Congressman Steve Womack and Congressman Bruce Westerman both spoke without notes. Both talked about why the expansion of I-49 matters a great deal to Arkansas and to the nation. For years, Arkansans have talked a lot about the growth in Northwest Arkansas, but an equally compelling story is that the Fort Smith region is now at the very heart of the American supply chain. The new I-49 bridge will be a key part of the change in this region.

Sanders, Westerman, and Womack were all quick to point out that this bridge will move trucks and cars, but it will also move the economy and the creation of local jobs in the right direction. It is hard to overstate the long-term impact the extension of I-49 from Kansas City to New Orleans will have on our region. The three leaders all talked about this effort with a sense of pride in the people who did the work to get us to groundbreaking day.

Dan Chapman runs the team at HNTB that designed the bridge. A few years ago, the engineering company moved Chapman to Little Rock from his previous job designing new terminals and runways at the massive Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.

His first week at work in Arkansas, we touched base, and I told him I needed to introduce him to the gumbo at The Faded Rose. We talked that day about the need for companies like HNTB to join the Good Roads effort to tell the infrastructure story in Arkansas. Years later, I think of us talking over gumbo as I look at the HNTB national executives who have flown in for this celebration of a $282 million bridge that will help push the state into the future.

Robert Moery, the President of the Arkansas Good Roads Executive Board, is also standing off to the side with his beautiful daughter, who just became a proud new sister. Moery seems to know absolutely everyone in Arkansas, but in this group, he is most remembered for running the Issue 1 statewide campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign led to a resounding yes vote and allowed the state to extend an existing sales tax for infrastructure work. In many ways, large projects like this would have struggled without it, and local road repair budgets across the state would have been slashed by 30%. Every speaker at the event mentions Issue 1.

As the event winds down, and the temperature on the dirt road moves well past 90 degrees, ARDOT Director Jared Wiley keeps his final remarks brief. Wiley has been in his role since January, and it’s clear he is putting his mark on the department. He is always willing to put the bright young men and women who work for ARDOT out front to get the credit and talk about the work. He is thoughtful and just led the department through a legislative session where not once was the department budget put “on hold”. That’s political insider speak, which means everyone is getting along nicely.

Hopefully, Wiley’s career will be a long one that includes many more dedications that send a message that Arkansas is thoughtfully making good decisions, like this bridge, that will leave a better state for our grandchildren. Anyone standing on a dusty road in Barling near the Arkansas River on a sweltering Friday morning could see that this project matters more than most.

We appreciate your support of our efforts to tell these stories. Thank you. And remember to put the phone down when you drive.