Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Use caution in work zones

It's vacation time for many in the state, and this means travel on Arkansas's interstate highway system.

However, such travel should be planned well in advance because of the construction underway by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.

"The AHTD has an aggressive interstate rehabilitation program underway that will eventually affect 380 miles of Arkansas interstates, said Dan Flowers, AHTD director.

Flowers suggested motorists follow the three S method for safe travel: speed, space and stress.

First, manage speed while driving on the interstates. Slow down when approaching all work zones.

It takes less than a minute more to go through a two-mile work zone at 45 mph than 65 mph  a total of 52 seconds, actually.

Follow posted speed limits, especially within construction zones and don't resume normal speed until signs indicate.

Remember, in Arkansas the fines are doubled for speeding through a work zone with workers present.

Next, manage space, leaving adequate braking room for other drivers and traffic barriers, trucks, construction equipment and workers.

Third on the list is managing stress. While it's a nuisance to drive through construction zones, getting upset doesn't make it any better.

This means allowing extra time when driving, and trying to stay calm.

Drivers should also be aware the AHTD has unveiled the eighth in a series of new roadside signs, primarily on Interstate 40. The signs read, "There's a whole lot of paving going on."

The section of interstate from Little Rock to Fort Smith has been the most troublesome, so far, with several accidents having occurred in work zones.

These new signs are to help remind motorists of the construction, and to slow down.