RESOLUTION NO. ___ A RESOLUTION URGING CONGRESS TO DESIGNATE US-412 FROM I-35 IN TO I-49 IN ARKANSAS AS AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY

WHEREAS, INCOG, local communities, area chambers of commerce, and the Oklahoma and Arkansas Departments of Transportation value the importance of transportation connectivity within and between geographical regions to promote economic growth and transportation safety; and WHEREAS, the multi-state regions of Northeast Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas include the (7-county MSA) and the northwest Arkansas metropolitan area (3-county, Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA) and are connected by US-412, a designated High Priority Corridor and a part of the National Highway System (NHS); and WHEREAS, the vast majority portion of US-412 from I-49 to I-35 has been designed and constructed to interstate standards, most of the route is not designated as a current or future interstate; and, WHEREAS, securing a designation by Congress as a future interstate route utilizing much of existing US-412, from Interstate 49 in northwest Arkansas to Interstate 35 in north central Oklahoma will enhance the connection with three interstate routes of I-35, I-44 and I-49, and will remove bottlenecks in the inter-state commerce, improve safety for all modes, reduce travel time, and improve economic opportunities for both regions; and, WHEREAS, of the sixty largest MSAs, Tulsa, a region with one million residents, remains virtually alone as a non-coastal metropolitan region of that size with only one current or future interstate highway and no direct Interstate highway connection to fast growing northwest Arkansas region; and, WHEREAS, US-412 directly serves the major inland ports of the Tulsa Port of Catoosa and Oakley’s Port 33 on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, and provides access to both Tulsa International and Northwest Arkansas Regional airports; and, WHEREAS, incorporating Oklahoma turnpikes in the interstate system clearly has a precedent with the Turnpike, and H.E. Bailey Turnpikes all being designated as I-44 and signed with the Interstate shield; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the INCOG Board of Directors hereby encourages Congress to designate the US-412 corridor from I-35 in Oklahoma to I-49 in Arkansas as a future Interstate highway at its earliest opportunity. FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be sent to the entire Oklahoma Congressional delegation, the Governor of the State of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation, the Director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, the Director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, and the Oklahoma Transportation Commissioners. APPROVED by the INCOG Board of Directors this 11th day of May, 2021.

______Karen Keith, Chair INCOG Board of Directors

Top MSAs based on Population and Number of Interstates

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I- 315 I- 82 ¨¦§ I- 205 ¨¦§ ¨¦§ ¨¦§I- 95

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