Member of the Arkansas Highway Commission raises awareness on infrastructure improvements in Southern Arkansas

The newest member of the Arkansas Highway Commission hopes his role on it will help raise awareness on the need for more vital infrastructure improvements in southern Arkansas.

As a lifelong resident of Texarkana, Arkansas, and as business owner, David Haak intimately knows the transportation challenges facing the southern half of the state. When it comes to issues like infrastructure investment, Haak said there’s a general feeling that the southern third of Arkansas is missing out.

Haak’s appointment to the Arkansas Highway Commission earlier this year marks his third statewide appointment. Other appointments included to the Arkansas Waterways Commission and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. He also served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999-2004.

The Arkansas Highway Commission is the administrative and regulatory board over the Arkansas Department of Transportation. Its five commissioners are appointed by the governor to serve 10-year terms.

Haak is the first commissioner from Southwest Arkansas since Prissy Hickerson of Texarkana completed her term in 2007.

Haak understands that infrastructure investment is closely tied to economic development. Industries, logistic chains, agriculture and tourism all depend on a quality transportation system.

For Southwest Arkansas, Haak said the critical project is, of course, I-49. The decades-long project to connect New Orleans with the Canadian border remains a work-in-progress, particularly in Arkansas. The 1,700-mile interstate is around 80 percent complete.

For Arkansans, the most glaring gap in the completion of I-49 is the stretch from Fort Smith to Texarkana. Lack of funding and soaring construction costs have all but halted completion of those 136 miles. The construction of the bridge over the Arkansas River, by itself, is estimated at $300-400 million dollars. Consequently, no timeline for funding or construction currently exists.

Nonetheless, the completion of I-49 through Arkansas would change the economic landscape of Arkansas, especially in the southwest corner. To see it completed, Haak explains, will require federal assistance. 

I-49 was one of several topics Haak discussed in our interview. He also touched on several other important topics including local highway projects in Sevier County and the future of funding for the Arkansas Department of Transportation. We’ll feature the next part of that interview tomorrow.