10/11/16   Dallas County Holding It's On

 

It was recently pointed out in a news release from the County Judge's Association that the counties across the state need a total of $750,000,000.00 for the repair of roads and bridges. The association says maintaining the 70-15-15 funding formula in Amendment 91 for new revenues for state, counties and cities is paramount to all Arkansans.

The report from the judges indicated that 11,096 county road bridges in the state are obsolete and deficient. We asked Dallas County Judge Jimmy Jones if there was a problem in Dallas County.

It's interesting to note 48 percent of the counties' obsolete and deficient bridges are weight restricted to 15 tons or less. The average school bus weighs 11 to 14 tons when empty, add 84 passengers and weight can climb to 18 tons.

We then shifted our conversation to the recent ribbon cutting ceremony commemorating the completion of the widening of 167 to four lane from Fordyce to Little Rock. The judge says every citizen of Dallas County should be pleased, not only in the time saved in driving the new road, but the economic impact the improvement will have for Dallas county and Fordyce.