Little Rock — More Problems

Rail Transit Online, April  2002

Yet another roadblock has been placed in the path of the delay-plagued $15.86-million River Rail heritage trolley project.  By law, federal construction funds can’t be released until the Central Arkansas Transit Authority (CATA) has signed a lease for use of the Main Street Bridge over the Arkansas River with the state Highway and Transportation Department, which owns the structure.  Serious negotiations began last summer but no agreement has yet been reached.  “We're trying to find a way we can address all parties' concerns and get the thing where we can move on,” Highway Department Director Dan Flowers told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.  There are several arcane legal issues to resolve, including developing language that the FTA will accept and deciding whether the highway department should award CATA a permanent easement or a temporary license allowing streetcars to use the bridge, which connects downtown Little Rock with North Little Rock and is thus the line’s key link.  Once four construction contracts are awarded, the work is expected to take 18 months to complete.  Thus, even if a deal is struck relatively soon as sources close to the talks predict, the 2.1-mile (3.38 km) line won’t start carrying passengers until the end of 2003.  The original opening was supposed to take place last fall.  A $7.5-million extension to the proposed Bill Clinton presidential library in Little Rock is already being planned.