After years of debate and public hearings, a controversial project to widen Interstate 30 through the downtowns of Little Rock and North Little Rock is getting closer to beginning. On the deadline for comments about an environmental assessment, 30 Crossing Project Director Ben Browning joined me on AETN’s “Arkansas Week” to take questions about the $632 million project. A 6.7 mile stretch of the interstate is to be remade, including replacing the Arkansas River Bridge.
I used quotes from Browning and added comments from an opponent of the project in my version of the story for KUAR, which you can read here. Submission of the proposal to the Federal Highway Administration for approval comes at the same time as construction is getting underway on a separate project to add an additional lane in each direction to I-630 in Little Rock.
The Rock Island depot at Perry on July 7, 2018. Unfortunately in the days before this photo was taken, it appears someone stole the depot sign that featured the final “The Rock” logo that had adorned this side of the depot for 43 years. Photo by Micheal Hibblen.
After a year of talks, including what seemed like a never-ending stream of new concerns being raised by different entities, it appears an effort to move and preserve the 100-year-old Rock Island Railroad depot in Perry, Arkansas is on the verge of happening. There are still a few things that will need to be finalized, but it appears we have overcome the biggest hurdle, which has been having enough insurance coverage to allay the liability concerns of the depot’s current owner.
A big thank you goes to the many people who have made donations to our project. At this point we’ve raised $5,230 through our online Go Fund Me account. We have also received checks totaling $2,601 at last report from the treasurer of the Perry County Historical & Genealogical Society. As I explain if you click on the link below, we’ll still need to raise more money after the depot is moved, but this gives us enough to pay for the insurance and make the first installment to the house-moving company.
We plan to move the depot about 150 feet to an adjacent piece of land owned by the city of Perry, which will keep it along railroad tracks and make it more likely to be eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. The goal is to turn the building into a museum to tell the history of the community, and the Rock Island’s connection to it. READ MORE.
The logo for “Rock Island in Arkansas,” which incorporates a 1972 photo taken by Bill Pollard at HH crossing in Little Rock.
For a couple of years I’ve been working on my podcast series “Rock Island In Arkansas,” though I’ve actually been recording interviews with former employees of the railroad for 30 years. The series focuses on the history of the Rock Island in the state, its operations, and features the first-hand experiences of those who worked for the railroad.
The first episode looks at the regular gatherings of former employees which continue 38 years after the Rock Island was shut down in 1980. In 2016 and 2017 I attended the annual picnics held in Sherwood, Arkansas, setting up a table to record as many stories as possible.
I also feature much of a 1988 interview I recorded with former conductor and brakeman L.T. Walker, who also served as local chairman of an employee union. He helped form the Rock Island Club in Arkansas after the railroad was no more.
EPISODE 1: Recent reunions of former Rock Island employees and a look at the career of former conductor and brakeman L.T. Walker are featured on the debut episode. Also included are interview segments with John Henderson, Jerry Oates, Bob Franklin Jr., Joe Rook, Bill K. Robbins Jr., Bill Anderson, and music from central Arkansas duo Fret & Worry.
I hope to produce a new episode of the podcast periodically and envision having a total of about 15 episodes. This first episode is only available here, but with the second episode, you should be able to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
This is the online home of Michael Hibblen, managing editor of Newsroom Ventures, which publishes six Arkansas newspapers. I've worked as a reporter, editor and manager for newspapers, radio and TV stations for more than three decades, with this website telling the story of my career. Also featured are outside interests I've researched. The views expressed here are my own and might not reflect those of my employers.
Preserving the Rock Island Depot at Perry
Since 2017, I've been part of a group working to preserve the former Rock Island Depot at Perry, Arkansas. To keep it from being demolished, we raised money to move the depot to an adjacent lot, still alongside the tracks, which is now owned by the city. The building has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and our group has become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PRESERVATION OF THE DEPOT.
My Book
Released by Arcadia Publishing in 2017, Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas delves into the history of the railroad, which once had a huge footprint in Arkansas. The book features historic photos and tells the story of the Rock Island, which was shut down in March 1980. READ MORE ABOUT MY BOOK.
For 13 years, from May 2009 to December 2022, I worked for NPR station KUAR-FM 89.1 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. That included 10 years as News Director while continuing to anchor and report. You can read and hear reports from that time on Little Rock Public Radio's website.
