Let's see ... what will it be? Why don't we add just a couple more rhyming words and make it a poem? Huh? This 'cuff was supposed to be about roads, wasn't it? Yep, you guessed it; that ain't gonna be this week because I'm working on a story about the area man who helped win World War II, and it has been a lot more complex than the old 'cuffer thought it would be.
But it is coming along, sort of like those passing lanes on 59 between Decatur and Gravette ... But isn't it great to see and drive over the two bridges in Decatur that have been replaced, which means meeting a semi on them doesn't require holding your breath? Thank you, ARDOT! Are upright sides going to be added?
That's all about roads for this week, except ... bet that quarter he's off in another direction? You win again. I just learned from a story in our Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and heard from another source that a "road" has finally been approved by the federal agency after a couple of years. The road is the one which, back in the late 1800s and until now, has played a great part in Westside Eagle Observer country. The road? It's legal now; the Canadian Pacific railroad purchase of Kansas City Southern Railroad back in 2021 is now complete.
The KCS, back in the days it was the Kansas City-Pittsburg and Gulf, helped make our area in ways that really helped the agricultural part boom and followed in many ways up until today. When the Canadians purchased the KCS for thirty-one billion dollars, the merger could not be finalized until a few days ago. The KCS stocks transferred to a trust which allowed the two firms to operate separately, pending this final approval to make the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Railroad, to be hot on the rails as the only railroad which spans the continent from Canada south through the United States to Mexico.
It can be expected that the number of trains through the area will probably increase daily, particularly during grain transportation days. And someone said to me quite some time ago that the trains seem to have more petroleum cars and are longer than they were just a few months ago. In some towns, it was mentioned the street crossing of tracks might be a concern ... but that probably will not be as bad as it was in Gravette until the overpass was completed a few years ago. Time marches on ... or make that rolls on, and it makes the old timers like the 'cuffer wonder what will be next. More improvements on the highways -- national, state, county, and local -- perhaps? There is always room for improvement at every level, and the cost factor always is the big rock on the road that has to be dealt with.
Let's look a little at another topic that involves wheels. Have you noticed the bicycle routes that are always popping up, or make that laid down, through the area? Do you remember the riding you did on two wheels in those good old days? The last biking for the old 'cuffer was on Gravette's annual celebration in August because it was easier to ride from one activity to another in different parts of town rather than taking a car or walking.
Bikers along highways are sometimes a problem if the pedaler gets a little off base but, generally speaking, most bikers are very careful and recognize the importance of ensuring safety. Frankly, I'd hate to ride a bike on a highway these days ... but there is a bike route that is found in Benton County but nowhere else in the country. It is a very unusual route and, if I were a kid again, I'd be trying to hop over and head up that lane for wheels.
Have you heard about this once-in-a-lifetime bike route? I drove past it the other day when I was in Bentonville, and there it sits, the only six-story office building that can be pedaled from the ground up to the top floor on a bicycle. Well ... just drive down the street where the old Bentonville was located ... and there it is, just waiting for pedaling!
Till next time.
Dodie Evans is the former owner and longtime editor of the Gravette News Herald. Opinions expressed are those of the author.