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Elected officials from across the state as well as members of the Arkansas State Highway Commission joined for a ribbon cutting at Millcreek Baptist Church Tuesday morning to celebrate the completion of a repaving project of Highway 128. Participants in the ribbon cutting included, from left, Hot Springs Mayor Pat McCabe, District 13 Sen. Alan Clark, County Judge Darryl Mahoney, State Highway Commission Chairman Robert Moore Jr., District 14 Sen. Bill Sample, State Highway Commissioner Marie Holder, District 22 Rep. Richard McGrew, Arkansas Department of Transportation Director Lorie Tudor, and State Highway Commissioner Philip Taldo. - Photo by Lance Brownfield of The Sentinel-Record

After months of work, the Arkansas Department of Transportation has completed resurfacing 8 miles of Highway 128 in Hot Springs and held a ribbon cutting Tuesday morning at Millcreek Baptist Church.

County Judge Darryl Mahoney said the road has come a long way from when he was younger.

"Highway 128, Lonsdale Cutoff, whatever you grew up knowing it as, this has been a major thoroughfare," he said. "When the Village started growing, it started growing and received more traffic. I can remember when it was a gravel path through here ... but it certainly needed some help. And we are excited about the way it turned out -- the safety improvements, the overlay, the rumble strips, everything that's been done to it. It's certainly a pleasure to be able to drive down it now and not have the bad areas in it."

Mahoney also praised the continuing work that is being done across the county by ArDOT.

"We've got so many projects around Garland County right now that ArDOT has blessed us with. ... You cannot get to Hot Springs right now without traveling through some roads that's under progress or one that's just been done," he said.

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"And that's a blessing. I want to thank the commissioners for continuing to look at central Arkansas and our community for improvements in roadways because we are a growing community."

State Rep. Richard McGrew, R-District 22, echoed Mahoney's comments about the project.

"I want to thank everybody. All the officials that I've worked with, with ArDOT, have been very forthcoming (with) information and helped me to keep my constituents informed," he said.

"I can tell you the constituents that I have -- this is my district -- and the constituents from Hot Springs Village are very happy about the resurfacing. This is a main corridor through here, and it's going to be very beneficial. So I thank you all for all that you've done to make this project come together."

While McGrew admitted he is not the only elected official to get negative phone calls about roads needing work, he is glad to see projects coming to a close.

"The contractors are doing a good job," he said. "Things are moving along fast as always. As an elected official, you always get those phone calls, but we can always be encouraging that it's going to be much better. 'Just be patient, and it's going to be finished,' and this is an example of that."

State Sen. Bill Sample, R-District 14, also recalled when the highway was little more than a gravel road that would not handle the traffic it sees today.

"I want to talk about this road because I travel this road on a daily basis, and I remember when it was a gravel road," he said. "It was a narrow gravel road, and I've seen these big trucks come through here (earlier). It was never meant for truck traffic, but it got to the point last year, (ArDOT Deputy Director and COO) Randy (Ort) keeps reminding me that I called him a lot about this. It got to be almost like that old gravel road that we had traveled down so many years ago because of truck traffic had just beat it to pieces, but this is a great piece of road now."

Marie Holder, a member of the state highway commission, said the Highway 128 project and the soon-to-be-completed King Expressway project account for over 11 miles of resurfacing in Garland County.

"We now have a brand-new driving surface extending from Highway 70 north to Highway 5," she said. "That is just over 8 miles of new pavement. This project also includes new guardrails, rumble strips and pavement markings.

"All of these are making this highway safer for motorists. The same is going to be true of Martin Luther King Expressway in Hot Springs when that resurfacing is completed. ArDOT is resurfacing selected sections of just over 3 miles of highway, and improvements should be completed in late November," Holder said.

The two projects account for approximately $8.3 million in improvements, she said, with the funds coming from Act 416, which was approved in 2019.

"Funding for these improvements was made possible because of the support our Legislature," she said. "Passage of Act 416 provided additional revenue to maintain and repair highways, streets and bridges in our state, so a big thank you to our great legislature that has worked hard to find ways to find the funding to maintain our roads."

She said the investment in Arkansas highways will increase safety and mobility in Garland County, and "that is a great reason for us to celebrate. With safety as a top priority, this investment in Arkansas highways will go a long way to ensure that motorists get safely to their destination."

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Source: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/oct/12/ardot-completes-hwy-128-work-in-hot-springs/