The new Red River Arkansas Welcome Center north of Texarkana was dedicated Monday with entertainment from the Ashdown High School band, free hot coffee despite the heat, ice-cold water and lots of advice.
The welcome center has been open for three months but was formally dedicated Monday with local, regional and state dignitaries attending.
"We opened the new center on June 19, and the old center was torn down the next day," said Sheila Nichols, manager of the Arkansas Welcome Center Red River.
The address is still 12555 N. State Line Ave., but the distance is about a half-mile from the Red River.
"The most important role that welcome centers play in the state is the first impression we make on our visitors," she said. "We are the front-line greeters to many who are visiting our state for the first time."
Welcome center staff assist visitors with attractions, lodging and dining information in the area they are planning to stop in or visit.
"The lobby is the main feature of the new center," Nichols added. "The old center was about one-fourth the size of the new one and didn't have the room in the lobby to showcase our hundreds of brochures and literature from all over the state. A lot of our regular visitors are commenting on how much easier it is to find brochures and literature compared to the old center. They are now browsing through the brochures whereas before they barely had enough room to turn around.
"This center is located exactly on the state line. Northbound traffic is in Arkansas and southbound traffic is in Texas. We are also located on the county line. The center is in Miller County but just a few yards north across the bridge of the Red River is Little River County. The actual county and state line are both in the middle of the Red River."
In the three months the center has been open, 7,000 visitors have stopped at the facility, Scott E. Bennett, director of the Arkansas Department of Transportation said.
The traffic count on U.S. Highway 71 is 3,400 vehicles per day, Bennett added.
The welcome center has curb appeal, according to Robert S. Moore Jr., commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
"It invites travelers to come to the state. It gives you a good feeling and visiting here is something worthwhile," Moore said.
Philip Taldo, a commissioner with the Arkansas Department of Transportation, said, "If you think big, good things can happen."
Kane Webb, director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, said Arkansas has 13 welcome centers with 29 million visitors stopping in the centers last year for information. Those visitors spent an estimated $8 billion in the state, he said.
Sash Goyal, commission chairman of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, noted how the welcome centers provide travelers with a good image of the state.
"It projects a positive impression and we have one of the best in the nation. I travel a lot and have not seen any more friendly centers than Arkansas," Goyal said.
The Red River Arkansas Welcome Center fact sheet includes:
The purpose of the project was to reconstruct a welcome center facility and maintenance building on U.S. Highway 71, north of Texarkana in Miller County. This project consisted of earthwork, asphalt driveways and parking lots, minor drainage structure, a welcome center building, a maintenance building, picnic shelters, landscaping, lighting, concrete walks, curb and gutter landscaping and maintenance of traffic.
The contract was awarded to Contech Contractors Inc. from Texarkana, Texas for a total of $2,514,872.02. The job was 567 days with a completion date of July 18, 2017, and a dedication date of Sept. 18, 2017.
The center includes a coffee bar, a computer information desk, seating areas, and information desk staffed by Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism employees to assist visitors and provide information.
The old welcome center was dedicated Dec. 8, 1988, with then-Gov. Bill Clinton serving as the guest speaker. The center served travelers for nearly 30 years and remain in operation until the new center opened in June 2017.
For more information on welcome centers across the state, visit www.Arkansas.com/travel-tools/welcome-centers.