My remarks first: This is relevant to my local VFD because of the implications of having interstate highways connecting to the Northern and Southern ends of what is mostly a rural two lane state road.
Highway 71 is a winding road with some very sharp curves and relatively steep inclines going through the Ozark and Ouchita mountains. There are alternative 'improved' routes available if the drivers are willing to go an additional 200 miles (approximate) East through Little Rock or nearly as far West through Tulsa.
Look at the map. Highway 71 shows to be part of the most direct route from Shreveport to Kansas City. What drivers of private owned vehicles or commercial tractor/trailers are going around if they don't already know the roads?
As far as I know there aren't any DOT check stations or even regulations that govern what cargo can be transported on Highway 71. When I asked about where the closest authorized and certified Hazmat Response teams were located I was told Little Rock. I know that various VFDs have hazmat trained individuals. My department does. We don't have the environment suits, test equipment, or an organized team though. It's a team sport for sure. Someone should look into this subject further.
Highway 71 is a nice scenic route that connects small rural towns and communities that mostly depends on volunteer fire/rescue services that has to struggle and compete with more densely populated regions for funding and equipment.
I believe the VFDs in this region do a heroic job with the man-power and resources they have available. I'll limit my focus to my region to give examples of the problems.
If you stop to consider that Volunteer First Responders have to work to support their families, and most available jobs are from 10 to 40 miles away, it don't take a rocket scientist to see the problems involved in getting more than a few trained responders on the scene.
Allocation of funds equates to equipment available to do the job. I'll narrow down to a specific location. Booth Hill, on Hwy.71, just North of the intersection with Hwy.23. My department has had an easy half dozen calls for accidents there recently.
The speed limit is 55 mph, and the recommended safe speed for the curve at the top of the hill is 45 mph (I think). Assuming the drivers aren't speeding (yeah right!). At 55 a vehicle don't 'catch air' when it tops the hill, but it will lift up on it's suspension. Add decreased road contact to the fact that you have to turn as well and it's easy to understand why Booth Hill is the scene of wrecks with entrapments and fatalities.
My department was told not to invest in 'jaws-of-life' because Sebastion County has one in Mansfield, ten miles to the North, and Scott County has one in Waldron, ten miles to the South. Both are manned by volunteers who have to go from their jobs to their stations and then to the scenes of accidents.
Ambulance services being 'for profit' enterprises is another consideration. My county has a centrally located amublance on call with back-up from the next county, and Air Evacuation available out of a nearby metropolitian area. We also have certified Volunteer Medical First Responders in all the fire districts. I won't go into it further because this is already getting long and I think I've made my point.
Ten years is a long time, and steadily increasing traffic is constantly increasing the odds of tragic consequence. I realize that it's not very politic to approach this topic this way. I'm a fireman though, and not a politician. My concern is for the potential victims and the folks that will be called on to take care of them.
"TheHometownChannel.com - News -
Leaders from three states met in the River Valley Monday to give an update on the new Interstate 49, part of which will go through the Hometown area.
Most of the interstate has been completed already, but the highway is missing a link between Texarkana and the Missouri border. It will start at the Port of New Orleans from the South, and connect all the way to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to the North.
Officials with the I-49 coalition said Monday's meeting was called to discuss how to pay for it all. The estimated cost to complete the project is almost $2 billion.
This coalition of leaders is comprised of congressmen, highway officials, and state and city leaders from Louisiana, Missouri and Arkansas. They received $380 million as part of the major federal highway bill that recently passed.
'And because of all those efforts, we were very successful and able to actually get a couple pieces built,' said Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) 'So now we'll come back, and try to get some more pieces built and just chip at it.'
Construction is set to begin near Fort Chaffee early in 2006. Officials with the I-49 coalition said they hope to have I-49 finished within the next decade."
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