30 Crossing work should halt in wake of funds ruling, lawyer says

Richard Mays, an environmental lawyer involved in litigation seeking to halt the 30 Crossing highway construction project, says the Arkansas Department of Transportation should stop work immediately on the nearly $1 billion project because a “reasonable assurance” no longer exists that the department has the money to complete it.

In a letter to lawyers for the department and the Federal Highway Administration, he also said work should stop on a $187.3 million project to widen a section of Interstate 30 in Saline County and other projects that lack the assurance of funding as a result of an Oct. 29 ruling by the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Federal regulations require that projects have such assurances in order to be on an approved list of projects for Central Arkansas called the Transportation Improvement Plan.

The projects no longer have those financial assurances, Mays asserted in his letter, because the Arkansas Supreme Court found that Amendment 91 to the Arkansas Constitution prohibits taxes collected under the amendment to be used on highways wider than four lanes.

Mays wasn’t directly involved in the lawsuit that led to the Supreme Court decision. He made his request on behalf of a coalition of downtown Little Rock neighborhoods and residents who oppose the 30 Crossing project and have been pursuing separate litigation in federal court.

Work is just beginning on 30 Crossing, the most expensive and complex project the Transportation Department has undertaken. The project is designed to improve the 6.7-mile corridor through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock, including replacing the Arkansas River bridge, upgrading the interchanges and widening the corridor to 10 lanes in places from six lanes.

The work also includes improvements to a section of Interstate 40 between I-30 and U.S. 67/167 in North Little Rock.

The Saline County project on I-30 is widening a 5.5-mile section of I-30 to six lanes from four between Sevier Street in Benton to U.S. 70.

The project also includes improvements to the I-30/U.S. 67/167 interchange.

Both projects rely significantly on proceeds from a 0.5% statewide sales tax authorized by the amendment voters approved in 2012.

“As a result of the Supreme Court decision … that funding is no longer available,” Mays said in his letter. “Therefore, not only would the use of Amendment 91 tax funds for these projects be illegal, but the inability to use those funds results in the projects not being financially constrained as required by the above-cited federal requirements.”

He noted that work is proceeding on both projects.

“Unless ArDOT has made arrangements to develop and complete these projects by use of non-Amendment 91 funds, the continued work on these projects is in violation of the Supreme Court’s decision, and full funding for those projects to completion cannot reasonably be anticipated to be available,” Mays said.

Therefore, he demanded that any work being conducted on the any project exceeding four lanes and being funded in part by money from the Amendment 91 tax be halted “until it can be demonstrated that such work can be conducted and completed without restore to or use of funds generated by the Amendment 91 tax.”

Asked for a response, Lorie Tudor, the Highway Department’s director, issued a brief statement Wednesday afternoon through a department spokesman, Dave Parker.

“Counsel for FHWA and ARDOT have received and are reviewing the letter,” she said. “We have no further comment.”

Casey Covington, deputy director of Metroplan, the long-range transportation planning agency for Central Arkansas, said that while Mays’ citation of the federal regulations was accurate, those same regulations contain another clause that would allow work on projects to continue if a revenue source is later removed or significantly reduced.

The transportation improvement plan is a product of Metroplan.

“It is my belief that federal regulations do not require an immediate stop to a project’s construction due to a change in financial considerations,” Covington said in an email.

He also said it would be premature for Metroplan to act.

“It is my understanding that the Arkansas Department of Transportation is currently considering options for moving the 30 Crossing project forward, and therefore it is neither judicious nor beneficial for Metroplan to take actions on the project at this time,:” he said. “Once the department decides how it intends to move forward with project funding, Metroplan, in consultation with ArDOT and FHWA, will decide if additional actions by Metroplan are necessary.”

Work is just beginning on 30 Crossing, the most expensive and complex project the Transportation Department has undertaken.