A Brief History of the North Belt
| 1941 | Concept of a northside freeway is included on the Pulaski County Master Plan of County Roads and Highways. |
| 1956 | Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (Metroplan) includes a "northbelt" freeway as part of its planned circumferential freeway system. |
| 1966 | North Belt Freeway (NBF) corridor crosses SH 107 near Lee Avenue (south of Kiehl Avenue). |
| 1972 | Metroplan is designated the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the Little Rock-North Little Rock metropolitan area by Governor Dale Bumpers to carry out federally mandated cooperative transportation planning. |
| 1977 | Sherwood adopts its Master Street Plan showing the North Belt Freeway alignment along Kellogg Creek. |
| 1980 | PATS Level II plan update recommends Sherwood alignment for North Belt Freeway after considering other alternatives. |
| 1984 | First draft of the NBF Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is completed, and recommends both the Kellogg Creek alignment (Alt. 2A) and the alignment south of SH 107 (Alt. 1) for the western leg of the freeway. |
| 1991 | NBF is included in the 15-year Highway Improvement
Program funded
with increase in state gas and diesel taxes.
Second draft of NBF EIS is completed, which recommends the alignment south of SH 107 (Alt. 1). Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) is passed by Congress; greatly increases responsibilities of MPOs. |
| 1992 | MPO Board refuses to endorse EIS/Alt. 1 alignment.
PATS 2010 Update reflects Kellogg Creek alignment for NBF. |
| 1994 | Final EIS is completed, still recommending Alt. 1 alignment, and FHWA approval is received in November. |
| 1995 | Draft METRO
2020
plan from Transportation Advisory Council (TAC) recommends immediate
ROW
purchase and delaying construction of NBF for 25 years.
Strong public comment unanimous for prompt construction of North Belt Freeway. MPO Board rescinds TAC recommendation. METRO 2020 is adopted in August; functional classification map shows Alt. 1 alignment with caveat that local and regional plans must be consistent. Governor Jim Guy Tucker proposes a 25-year highway bond program, promises immediate construction of NBF. |
| 1996 | Governor Tucker's highway program proposal is crushed at polls. |
| 1997 | August:
Sherwood reaffirms
city master street plan alignment for NBF along Kellogg Creek.
August: AHTD requests approval to spend federal funds on North Belt Freeway ROW. MPO Board does not consider the request because of inconsistency of plans. September: AHTD requests a definitive statement of MPO Board of North Belt alignment. September: MPO Board adopts resolution supporting an alignment consistent with Sherwood Master Street Plan, but "to do so in a way that seeks to minimize negative impacts on the natural environment and on the Kellogg Acres community". November: North Belt EIS expires, triggering a mandatory, formal "reevaluation" of alignment and environment issues. |
| 1998 | Staffs of
AHTD, Metroplan, Sherwood,
and Pulaski County meet to discuss the process for reevaluation.
Sherwood offers additional alternative. Initial Public Hearing is scheduled to inform public of the status of the project and seek suggestions. July-December: Conduct reevaluations of EIS. Review all previously studied alternatives plus any new ones that might be suggested. Review conditions in the corridor for change and reassess impact if change is present. |
| 2006 | Click here for the newest maps. |