Highway officials announce plan to help prioritize Arkansas projects

The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department has worked for 18 months to update the state's Long Range Intermodal Transportation Plan to predict and prepare for a variety of scenarios, according to the highway department.

The draft plan is now available for review and comment.

"This is the state's first performance-based long range transportation plan. This means that for the first time, system performance will be evaluated annually to measure progress toward meeting LRITP goals and objectives. Performance-based planning will help the state as it evaluates and prioritizes projects, develops performance reports to track progress, and prepares for the future," said Krista Sides, public information officer.

"The LRITP is a comprehensive document detailing goals, objectives, policies, investment strategies, and performance measures to guide future transportation decisions moving Arkansas forward. It examines all aspects of the state's multimodal transportation system, including highways, bridges, public transportation, rail, bicycle, pedestrian, ports, waterways, and aviation," she said.

"Public and stakeholder outreach has been an important part of the plan development process. Those efforts have included creating a project website, forming the Transportation Plan Advisory Group, holding two rounds of regional public/stakeholder meetings, presenting to various organizations around the state, and using an online engagement tool to gather feedback on transportation priorities, preferences, and opinions," Sides said.

The draft LRITP takes into account comments received throughout the planning process and is now available for review and comment.

Comments should be sent by March 31 either to [email protected] or Transportation Planning and Policy Division, Multimodal and Project Planning Section, P.O. Box 2261, Little Rock, AR, 72203.

The draft LRITP is available online at wemovearkansas.com and the AHTD District 3 headquarters at 2911 Arkansas Highway 29 North at the Interstate 30 Exit #31 in Hope.

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