AND ONE IN BENTON COUNTY. LIVE IN FAYETTEVILLE, JACOB MURPHY, 40/29 NEWS. WITH FALL JUST A FEW WEEKS AWAY THAT MEANS CONSTRUCTION SEASON WILL SOON BE WINDING DOWN-- BUT OFFICIALS ARE ALREADY LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT YEAR AND BEYOND. 40/29'S ROBERT SUHR TELLS US TO EXPECT PLENTY OF ROAD WORK OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. TAKE PACKAGE... (OPEN) WE'RE HERE AT THE END OF THE DON TYSON PARKWAY IN SPRINGDALE, BUT IT MAY NOT BE THE END OF THE ROAD FOR LONG, THAT'S BECAUSE THE NORTHWEST ARKANSAS REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION RECENTLY RELEASED THEIR 3 YEAR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND IT INCLUDES THE POSSIBILITY OF EXTENDING THE DON TYSON ANOTHER 2 MILES TO MEET WITH HIGHWAY 412. IT'S JUST ONE OF MANY MANY PROJECTS THAT ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS." BELIEVE IT OR NOT, BUT ACCORDING TO AR- DOT, THIS IS ACTUALLY A SLOW YEAR FOR CONSTRUCTION ACROSS NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. BUT THAT LOOKS TO BE CHANGING MOVING FORWARD. AS THE REGION CONTINUES ITS EXPLOSIVE GROWTH, NEW INFRASTRUCTURE MUST BE ADDED TO MEET THE REGIONS DEMAND... (TIM CONKLIN: ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: NORTHWEST ARKANSAS REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION) "WE HAVE ADDED OVER 100- THOUSAND PEOPLE PER DECADE FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS, INTO OUR REGION. THESE PROJECTS TAKE YEARS IN THE MAKING, DESIGN, IDENTIFYING FUNDING, GETTING THEM READY FOR CONSTRUCTION, SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE CARRY OUT THESE PROJECTS". SOME PROJECTS ARE ALREADY WELL PUBLICIZED SUCH AS BUILDING THE NORTHERN SPRINGDALE BYPASS AS WELL AS THE ACCESS ROAD TO XNA. BUT THERE ARE MANY OTHERS, INCLUDING IMPROVING A DANGEROUS INTERSECTION AT HIGHWAYS 102 AND 279 IN CENTERTON IMPROVING EXISTING CABLE BARRIERS ALONG I-49 IN WASHINGTON COUNTY (SUHR) AND ONE OF THE MORE NOTABLE PROJECTS IN THE LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN IS HERE IN BENTONVILLE, TAKE A LOOK BEHIND ME, WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS THE OVERPASS CARRYING J STREET BETWEEN BENTONVILLE AND BELLA VISTA, CONKLIN TELLS ME THEY HAVE LONG WANTED TO MAKE AN ALL NEW INTERCHANGE HERE BECAUSE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF J STREET AND THAT BENTONVILLE MAY PITCH IN HALF THE COST OF THE PROJECT. ON THURSDAY, TRAFFIC ON THE BRIDGE WAS LIGHT, JUST A FEW CARS AND CYCLISTS, BUT THAT ISN'T EXPECTED TO BE THE CASE FOR LONG... (CONKLIN) "THERE'S STILL SIGNIFICANT GROWTH OCCURRING IN BENTONVILLE, BELLA VISTA, PEA RIDGE AND THAT ENTIRE AREA, SO ADDITIONAL CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS NOT JUST INTO BENTONVILLE BUT THAT ENTIRE REGION IS NEEDED." OTHER NOTABLE POTENTIAL WORK INCLUDES THE INSTALLATION OF SOUND WALLS ALONG PARTS OF I-49 IN ROGERS, JOHNSON AND FAYETTEVILLE NEW PASSING LANES ON HIGHWAY 59 IN SULPHUR SPRINGS AND DECATUR A NEW BRIDGE ON HIGHWAY 71 NEAR WEST FORK AS WELL AS FUNDING FOR TRAIL AND PUBLIC TRANSIT IN THE REGION. (SUHR) "AND IF YOU WANT TO READ THE TRANSPORTATION PLAN WE'LL TOSS A LINK UP ON OUR WEBSITE, BUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS THIS IS A FIRST DRAFT MEANING PROJECTS COULD BE ADDED OR REMOVED FROM THE LIST AS WELL AS PUSHED BACK IF THE FUNDING ISN'T AVAILABLE BUT ONE THING WE KNOW FOR SURE ARE THOSE ORANGE BARRELLS WON'T BE GOING ANYWHERE ANYTIME SOON. IN SPRINGDALE, ROBERT SUHR 4029 NEWS. ROBERT ALSO REPORTS THE GROUND BREAKING ON A NEW STAT