Gateway signs nixed by Highway Department
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
BENTONVILLE - A 200-footlong brick sign emblazoned with the city's name won't be part of a major landscaped gateway planned for the intersection of Walton Boulevard and Moberly Lane.
Representatives from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department met with Bentonville Community Programs Coordinator Danielle Semsrott on the site of the gateway project. According to the AHTD, no permanent signage is allowed in the right of way of state highways.
"It's a safety issue," said Jeff Wheeler, District 9 construction engineer with the AHTD.
Initial plans, which were presented to the Bentonville City Council, called for a landscaped gateway that included a large, 200-foot-long brick sign emblazoned with the city's name.
Wheeler and other representatives from the AHTD laid out options for the gateway • Replace the Bentonville city-limits sign on the north side of Southeast Walton Boulevard with a more decorative, aesthetically pleasing sign • Replace the existing wire fence along Moberly Lane with a decorative fence; or • Construct a "Welcome to Bentonville"sign near the location, but not within the highway right of way.
Across the interstate, a gateway into the Rogers city limits is placed outside of the right of way, Wheeler said.
The project is part of a gateway and landscaping program that the Tree and Landscaping Committee is working on to improve the city's entrances and attract visitors to the city. Projects within the program are paid for through a parks bond issue approved by voters in 2007.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
