LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Department of Transportation announced more than $19 million in federal funding going toward 65 projects across the state this week.
What’s unique about each one? They are not geared toward drivers, but people using other ways to get around. It shows sometimes the road to progress doesn’t have to be a road.
For Leviticus Wright, a senior at Searcy High School, progress would be a safe path to and from school.
“I got a walk a while man. I’ve got to walk a while,” Wright said.
Wright also noted that his path to school doesn’t include any sidewalks
That is soon going to change. Because of $500,000 from ARDOT, Arch St. will start construction on a sidewalk and sidepath for bikes. Searcy City Planner Richard Stafford said it will be the spine connecting multiple schools to Downtown.
“We’re so far behind in our sidewalk systems and pedestrian and bicycle systems that trying to connect those is important, and then you can spur off of each of those,” Stafford said.
April Fatula’s children walk from their home to three different schools in the districts. She instructs them to use back roads when possible to avoid traffic and said the Arch Street project is exactly what her family has been hoping for.
“Transportation isn’t just about highways. It’s also about bike trails and sidewalks, and it’s great that we can encourage our kids to do that for recreation, but also to be safe when they are walking home,” Fatula said.
All of the 65 projects are federally funded through the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) and Recreational Trails Program (RTP). Each requires a 20% local match.
ARDOT engineer Minghua Qiu Miller says many factors can go into selecting who gets the money.
“Recreation. Connectivity, Safety. (An) educational program is also another thing that we will also fund,” Miller explained.
For 2024, a total of 54 TAP projects were awarded for approximately $16.7 million and a total of 11 RTP projects were awarded for approximately $2.5 million.
Both TAP and RTP have been around 30 years Miller added. Other rounds of funding are already fueling acting projects through 2026, but another act of Congress is expected to continue the path to progress.
“They’re going to be lucky, man. It’s going to be a lot easier going to school,” Wright said.