Several years ago, my wife and I were having dinner at the AQ restaurant in Springdale Arkansas. For those that are from this part of the country, that is a fairly well known and established, even historic restaurant in this area of the country. Unfortunately, it ceased operations a couple of years ago for a brief period of time. It is soon reopening under new ownership.
While we were having dinner, we struck up a conversation with a friendly couple who were sitting across from us at the restaurant. As we talked, it became obvious to me that we were speaking to the name sake of the Bobby Hopper tunnel.
He was the long time , secretary of transportation in the state of Arkansas. His roots were from Southern Arkansas, I think maybe Dumas Arkansas. I can't recall for sure, but he talked about it and he talked about an auto dealership that he had owned for many years in that part of the country. He was friends with Bill Clinton long before Bill Clinton became the president of the United States.
Bobby Hopper and Bill Clinton worked together in various endeavors state of Arkansas to help improve the economy, transportation and other aspects of Arkansas life.
Among those probably the most famous thing known about him would be the tunnel named after Bobby Hopper. Prior to the interstate 49 from , the Fort Smith, Arkansas corridor up to the Fayetteville Arkansas corridor the only way to get here was on a 2 Lane Rd. that had some options for passing along the way. It was a treacherous highway and known for accidents. So the opportunity to have a four-lane interstate system was amazing progress for the state of Arkansas to be able to approve transportation access and also improve safety for residents and travelers, along this corridor in the state of Arkansas.
To make this happen, a tunnel was needed to get through the mountains. It was determined that it would be in or near Winslow Arkansas.
it took many years to blast through the mountain and build the interstate which also includes long spans of very high Elevated interstate across the deep valleys below. The introduction of I 49 in this part of the state absolutely changed travel and allowed this part of the state to explode in population.
Today over half a million people live in Northwest Arkansas. 25 years ago it was less than half that if not less. When I moved up here for college many years ago there were not even 100,000 people who lived in the entirety of the northwest Arkansas corridor.
Thanks Bobby Hopper (RIP) for your legacy and for helping us get this great interstate linking western Arkansas with Northwest Arkansas and for improved traveler safety. read more