Here are the excuses I have heard today from AHTD:
- There was rain before the storm and the roads could not be pre-treated.
- There were so many cars and wrecks that trucks could not get to the roads to treat them.
- It was too cold.
- It was sleet, and sleet is harder.
I agree with all of those excuses. All of those are correct, but when I look at the traffic flow tonight on Google Maps which is calculated by the GPS on our smartphones, I have to ask...
What did Tennessee and Missouri do differently?
Click map to enlarge
Have a good night,
Ryan
Ryan
23 comments:
67 around Swifton and Alicia areas is still gridlocked with big rigs and the police can't get them cleared quick enough and some are stranded overnight. Other roads are bad, too, I know.
Ryan, what is being done? What have you heard from the governor's office? Budget office? From state senators or reps? Other excuses from AHTD? Do you have reporters actively investigating this now? Because of the ice and snow this should be the headlines and cameras and microphones should be in the face of the governor and others, demanding answers and asking what they will do to make sure it doesn't happen next year. Is this going to happen?
Please answer in a new blog post or Facebook or something.
Wait the traffic flow is based on them tracking us on our phones? I have to give permission for them to do that right? I did not know this!
You can not compare arkansas AHTD to Modot and TDot because southern Missouris maintenance areas are equipped equally to northen Missouri maintenance department. And western Tennessee maintaince areas are equipped to eastern Tennesses. Both receive significant snow amounts. Arkansas as a whole only receives snowfall that lasts a couple of days. To equipe the entire state to remove snow like Missouri and Tennessee funds would have to be created by tax dollars. AHTD could remove ice and snow at the same pace as Modot and TDOT if tax payers would vote to do so. Can't speak for Tennessee but Missouri Layed off a bunch of their employers because excessive spending for snow and ice removal and preparation. It comes down to do tax payers want to pay more to have roads cleared a day or two faster for snow events that only happen a couple times a year or would they rather pay less taxes and have roads be worse a day or two.
I don't want to pay more taxes! We already pay enough! If they can't find the money in what we already have then we can deal with the roads! People need to be smart and not get caught out in it and if big trucks have to go then they can plan ahead and go around the covered roads!
I agree, Sally.
The interesting part is where the most severe trouble is - I-55 and U.S. 63. When the sleet started falling, the AHTD should have been out immediately blading it off as it fell. By waiting after the storm had passed, the sleet had been packed and blading it off would be harder. Seems to me that they should have been blading hard the last couple of days. While the temps have not been above freezing, whatever they could remove would help in the melting process. It looks bad that every area except NE Arkansas is moving on the major roads. I'm not sure if it is a local division problem or a state level problem but certainly more could have been done.
Ryan I know its bad and I agree with you but what do you hope to accomplish or prove by keeping on tweeting maps showing how slow it is? Somebody needed to bring it up but now is time to talk about solutions and not just on and on about the problem right? Do we know any solutions? Fixes? What are senators saying?
Sally why don't you do something about it too? Call your representative. Geez.
I can't fix it, Sally! LOL I report... you call your State Reps, the road commission, etc. The Governor's office has already contacted me. Your turn.
I will but they are closed right now hahah can you tell us what they said or is that private?
I agree. Everybody wants somebody to do something but its simple. AHTD does not have enough equipment to take care of a storm like this. They are not given the maintenance funds to do so. They have plenty of people to work but do not have the equipment. The only fix for it is to pay more taxes and allow AHTD to buy the equipment needed for it like MODOT has. Yes MoDOT has clear roads a day or two after the storms and the taxes are higher and they have to lay people off. So we have a day or two more of bad roads. Either vote to pay more taxes or don't gripe. Simple as that.
"They are constitutionally independent"
Thank you. And sorry to be of bother!
We are all assuming that the funds are being used correctly now. But, let's assume that... I'll still pay the extra 0.55 per person to have better equipment and chemicals. Ask any manager right now and you will see that this is an economic problem, not just a "road" problem. It slows business.
Legislators tend to listen more when their eyes are opened to the visuals, or if they feel pressure from numerous-and I mean NUMEROUS-sources. Ryan's reporting is opening their eyes and ears.
You can google Arkansas Legislators and you will be provided a phone number and email if you would like to contact them with your concerns.
And no, raising taxes is not the answer. But Missourians and Tennesseeans worked "in the cold" and pretreated even though it rained. There's something just not right at work here.
As a taxpayer, I want my tax dollars used "smarter". Throwing more money at inferior solutions is not my idea of smarter. I want to know what is done differently in technique or timing or equipment or chemicals in MIssouri or Tennessee. And I want to know why we are not doing what is working substantially better in the next state. This business of interstate travelers stranded hours or overnight in frigid conditions is not only a safety and liability issue, it is an issue for trying to attract industry and commerce to our area. We have ice storms too often to accept a lame excuse. Thank you for using your pulpit to speak out.
I agree with a lot of what you guys are saying. It's time for change.
I live in Paragould. I have been to Jonesboro to the hospital four times in the last two days. This afternoon highway 49 from Jonesboro to the Greene County-Craighead County line was virtually clear with traffic moving 55-60 mph. Traffic at the county line immediately slowed down to 30-35 mph. The highway into to Paragould was still 35-40% covered with only 2 drivable lanes in several places. Apparently this is not just a Northeast Arkansas versus Missouri and Tennessee problem.
Bravo to all of the people that are wanting to ask questions. I watched the evening news and all I heard from the AHTD was excuses. Yes, being proactive when it comes to clearing roads (like before the sleet was frozen solid) would have made a world of difference. Like I mentioned in my comment on the first blog post regarding this topic, roads should be plowed/scrapped during the day when/if there was melting thanks to daytime heating.
Some comments here and on social media mention just waiting it out and people should have been prepared. People should definitely be weather aware and "prepare for the worst and hope for the best."
However...
I'm sure the folks that can't afford to miss work would love to stay home when the roads are treacherous. That doesn't exactly pay the bills though, does it? I'm sure area business owners love the loss of revenue when everything shuts down for days. Lastly, anyone needing medical assistance should really have known to require emergency help before or days after a winter weather event. Schedule your falls which you cannot get up from and other medical emergencies for when the roads are passable. Don't be one of THOSE people.
To all that say that they pay too many taxes...let's be real. Arkansas is on the low end of the property tax scale. I'm not saying that taxes need to be raised. I think there needs to be a state audit and I think that audits must be made at the local level. The sales tax is ridiculously high in some areas (when you factor in state, county, and city taxes.) and I agree that increasing that with no results isn't needed. I feel strongly that we really need to question where money goes in this state.
Once that is answered...
Money could be earmarked for dealing with winter weather. If at the end of the winter, there is money left, it could go back into the general fund. It would have to be done in a way where state/local officials couldn't simply claim they needed/used all of the money without proving it. Checks and balances.
What I have seen time and again since I have moved to Arkansas is that no one wants to ruffle feathers or challenge the status quo. That's why there is such low voter turnout for issues such as increasing a county/city sales tax. A lot of complaining but no one wants to do anything.
It reminds me of this commercial I saw where everyone was exclaiming about a piece of litter on the street near a waste bin. Clucking like chickens but no one would do anything about it. Suddenly, one person walks through and picks up the garbage and throws it away. Amazing. There was a problem and a solution. The question is whether Arkansans want to be those clucking chickens or want to be the type of people that say/do something. Call your representatives folks! Demand answers.
I want to thank you, Ryan for being one of the few meteorologists in the state to speak up about this. It's awesome to see how your posts about this topic are opening a dialogue and getting folks talking. Good on you, sir.
Now if you live in a city/county where they put in the effort (especially with a shortage of equipment and resources) and your roads have been cleared much quicker than the rest of the area...be sure to also give credit where it is due. Your city/county officials are obviously not part of the problem.
Monday my daughter who has cancer had to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital because since she lives near Harrisburg, her husband didn't want to take a chance on a wreck. I needed to be there for her, but at my age I can't do much driving and Paragould does absolutely nothing to clear the main highways.
Ryan, my dad actually works for the highway dept so I asked what was going on. He informed me that his truck is made to cover 125 miles while one truck in MO is made to cover 25 miles. Big difference so just know they're trying but it doesn't help that they don't have what other states do.
Okay, I have been reading this blog about the roads and I am seeing that some folks talk about raising taxes while other folks mention the poor job AHTD is doing. I live in Jonesboro and work in Memphis. I am considered "essential personnel" so I do not have a choice to stay home- I must go to work. Of all the years that I have been driving back and forth, I have never seen the roads in this condition. And yes, we have had winter storms equal to or worse than this. I must agree that the AHTD dropped the ball on this one and refuses to pick it up!
This morning, it took me two hours to drive on hwy 63 to I-55. I left Jonesboro and the roads outside of the city limits were very hazardous. After driving that amount of time going between 5 to 10 miles per hour, I get to hwy
63/I-55 junction to find traffic stopped. Apparently, 2 big rigs had jack-knifed on the ramp to get onto I-55, and another big rig had jack-knived on the overpass that leads to hwy 77- blocking both the main route (I-55) and alternate route (hwy 77) to Memphis. I'm sorry, but there is no excuse for this! How do emergency vehicles such as ambulances travel between Jonesboro and Memphis with emergent patients? Every member of AHTD should be ashamed- especially upper
management and governing officials. This storm came through on Sunday, and today is Wednesday- really?
I understand schools closing because the bus routes are considered unsafe but explain to me why daycares are closed - parents still have to work and we're responsible for transportation. I can understand the first day but all week? Plus we pay each week for daycare to keep our children EVEN if they are closed for inclement weather
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