Residents talk highway plans

Many at public hearing say Arkansas 102 widening should have been done sooner

CENTERTON — Residents at a public hearing Thursday night generally supported plans to widen Arkansas 102 with many saying the work should have come sooner.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation hosted a public information session Thursday to discuss the possible widening of Arkansas 102 from two lanes to five lanes. The project would also add a multilane roundabout at North Vaughn Road, also known as Arkansas 279.

If approved, construction for the project is scheduled to begin in 2025.

Centerton resident Ken Shumate said he supports the plan.

“In our world, this street is pretty important,” Shumate said. “There’s a lot of folks turning left onto it without control, so that’s always a concern of mine.”

Justin Moseley, principal of Life Way Christian Junior High and High School, said he supports the project, but he worries about how the construction will affect the school, which is on the highway.

“Most of this construction project will go across our property here, and it’ll affect us mainly in our drop-off and pickup lines for school,” Moseley said.

Many community members, including resident Ima Jean Blazi, said the expansion should have come sooner.

“The roads should have been widened years ago based on the traffic patterns and how many people live here,” Blazi said. “It does need to be done, but I feel like it should have happened prior.”

Residents expressed mixed views about the roundabout on Vaughn Road.

“I don’t know why they’re doing a roundabout,” resident Luke Charlton said. “I think there’s going to be too much traffic. Too many buses, large trucks and dump trucks.”

Charlton’s wife, Tanya, was also at the hearing and said she wishes the expansion stretched to the other part of Arkansas 279 to accommodate more traffic.

“They have it stopping at Vaughn, where it stems off to the junior high, but they need it to go all the way to the other 279,” she said. “Centerton is rapidly expanding in that direction. In five years, everyone’s going to be mad because this isn’t far enough.”

The Charltons live at the cusp of Centerton and Gravette.