WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2022 State says will appeal ruling on I-30 funds

30 Crossing’s 6 lanes seen at crux of amendment issue

The Arkansas Department of Transportation said it will appeal a ruling that bars the agency from spending money from Amendment 101 on 30 Crossing, the $1 billion project to remake the 6.7-mile I-30 corridor through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock.

“ARDOT will comply with the Order, but plans to appeal regarding the use of Amendment 101 funds on future phases to improve 30 Crossing,” the agency said in a three-paragraph statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

The department allocated $350 million from Amendment 101 proceeds to put toward the first phase of the project even before voters approved what is now Amendment 101 to the Arkansas Constitution in November 2021.

The amendment, which takes affect on July 1, 2023, makes permanent a 0.5% statewide sales tax devoted to road and bridge improvements. It replaces Amendment 91, which authorized the same tax.

But it was designed to expire in 10 years after helping finance the $1.8 billion Connecting Arkansas Program. The construction effort focused on regionally significant projects around the state of which 30 Crossing was the largest.

A 2020 Arkansas Supreme Court decision barred the department from spending any money on roads that already had more than four lanes. The I-30 corridor being improved as part of the 30 Crossing project is six lanes.

That prompted the department to commit the Amendment 101 money to the project.

However, Pulaski County Judge Mackie Pierce said the later amendment also lacked language specifying work on roads exceeding four lanes.

“The high court’s interpretation of a constitutional provision becomes a part of the provision, so the use of money from Amendment 101 is subject to the same restrictions that apply to Amendment 91,” Pierce wrote in the Feb. 8 ruling in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of downtown Little Rock residents and neighborhood associations.

Pierce did side with the department on other projects that were widened from four lanes to six lanes. The lawsuit sought to have the agency reimburse the Amendment 91 bond account for those projects, which included a completed section of Interstate 630 in west Little Rock that cost $87.4 million and an ongoing $187.3 million project on a section of I-30 in Saline County.

Adding a lane or lanes constitutes improvements to a four-lane highway, the judge

said.

“Accordingly, defendants did not spend Amendment 91 funds improperly by widening fourlane highways,” he ruled.

In the statement, the department described the Amendment 101 money as important to helping pay for the 30 Crossing project.

“ARDOT respectfully disagrees with the Court’s Order that prohibits Amendment 101 funds from being spent on 30 Crossing,” the agency said. “30 Crossing is the highest traveled corridor of the State, and when

the project is completed, it will significantly improve mobility for the 120,000 vehicles that travel on it every day.”

Work on the first phase of the project — estimated to cost $632 million — began in September 2020. It includes replacing the I-30 bridge over the Arkansas River. The eastbound portion of the bridge is expected to be completed this year.

The department statement suggested that voters, in approving Amendment 91 in 2012 and Amendment 101 in 2020, were aware of the reasons they supported them.

“Amendment 91 and Amendment 101 were passed by the voters in Arkansas to provide

additional funding to the state highway system,” the statement said. “These sales tax measures will ensure Arkansas has the needed infrastructure that will help create jobs, aid in economic develop, and improve quality of life for the citizens and traveling public.”

While the department said it would appeal the ruling to preserve the option of using Amendment 101 money to pay for future phases of 30 Crossing, it might not be essential. For that, the department can thank Congress and President Joe Biden.

Both delivered on passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill last November. The legislation

includes $3.6 billion for Arkansas highways over five years.

A top department official told the Arkansas Highway Commission earlier this month that likely 70% of that amount will be discretionary, or about $500 million annually, giving the agency leeway on putting money toward the project.

Agency spokesman Dave Parker alluded to that money when asked Tuesday afternoon if an unsuccessful appeal would jeopardize completion of the project.

“If the ruling is not reversed, it will be a combination of Federal and Regular State funds” that will pay for the project, Parker said in an email.