Blasting continues at Cantrell, I-430
A contractor will conduct blasting work at the Interstate 430/Arkansas 10 interchange over the weekend, requiring temporary lane closures during 15-minute intervals, the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department said.
The blasting operations will clear the way for construction of a new ramp that will eventually carry traffic from westbound Arkansas 10, also called Cantrell Road, to northbound I-430.
During the blasting work over the weekend, traffic will be slowed and then completely stopped by the Arkansas Highway Police. Each highway will be swept for debris and reopened after the blasts, the highway agency said. There are no detours. The work will be done if weather permits.
Workers will close all northbound and southbound lanes of I-430 near Exit 9 for 15-minute intervals from 6 a.m. to noon today and from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
The eastbound and westbound lanes of Arkansas 10 will close for 15-minute intervals from 6 a.m. to noon today and from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
rable submitted a yellow card saying he wanted to discuss “Gross Abuse of Ark FOI Act.” Deere said that according to documents, he then addressed the board “about a change in city policy regarding maintenance of a storm drainage ditch in his Merrivale community,” and also asked why several Freedom of Information requests “asking for public records relative to this change had not been answered.”
The board listened to Skrable, then discussed his remarks, Deere noted. She said Stodola also asked Moore to prepare a report on the ditch issue.
But in the Jan. 20 meeting, after Stodola refused to let Skrable address the board during the citizen comment period, Skrable slammed his fists on the podium and raised his
voice. A police officer escorted him out of the boardroom at Stodola’s request.
Later that night, Skrable sent an email to Moore saying in part that “your days are numbered,” which Skrable later said only meant that Moore’s days as city manager were numbered.
However, Skrable was later convicted in Little Rock District Court of misdemeanor terroristic threatening, resulting in a temporary ban imposed on Jan. 26, 2015, that prohibited him from visiting city-owned buildings without an invitation. The ban was to remain in effect until his probation ended on Jan. 19 of this year.
Since that time, however, the board has indefinitely denied Skrable’s request to lift the ban.
In Friday’s order, Deere said the lingering dispute about what was said when Stodola and Skrable talked during a break in the Jan. 20, 2015, meeting must be resolved at trial and requires that she leave intact Skrable’s First Amendment complaint against Stodola for blocking Skrable’s comments. But she threw out Skrable’s First Amendment claim against Moore concerning the ban that existed until Jan. 19.
Skrable’s new claim that his rights were violated when the ban was recently expanded must be addressed separately, Deere said. Accordingly, she canceled a trial that had been set to begin May 15 and said she will issue a new schedule to address pretrial issues as well as a new trial date.