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Roads Closed, Bus Routes Altered, Train Becomes A Shuttle For Bikes, Blues & BBQ

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KFSM) — The 20th annual Bikes, Blues, & BBQ motorcycle rally begins in Northwest Arkansas Wednesday (Sept. 25). This year the event take...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KFSM) — The 20th annual Bikes, Blues, & BBQ motorcycle rally begins in Northwest Arkansas Wednesday (Sept. 25).

This year the event takes place not only just in Fayetteville but many other spots across the area.

Tommy Sisemore is the director for the rally and he says the four-day event brings around 300,000 people to the area.

Sophia Triola goes to the University of Arkansas and lives on Dickson Street. She says the extra amount of motorcycles in the area can make getting places difficult.

“For a lot of people, the traffic is a problem and not being able to get around,” Triola said.

Sisemore says areas to expect traffic during the rally include MLK Boulevard in Fayetteville and near the Pig Trail Harley Davidson in Rogers. He says this year the event is more spread out across Northwest Arkansas, so slowdowns shouldn’t be as bad as years past.

“Luckily, the rally is spread out,” Sisemore said. “Because it became so regionalized, you’re not going to expect heavy delays anywhere. Make sure to watch out for more motorcycles on the road sometimes we don’t see them as well as we see cars.”

In addition to added traffic, the Fayetteville Police Department says the biggest complaint they receive each year is loud pipes on bikes. They said they will be monitoring noise levels on all motorcycles closely.

Triola says this can become an issue at times, but she doesn’t mind it for one weekend.

“I actually just live right off of Dickson so it’s really noisy, but I think it’s really fun,” Triola said.

Starting Wednesday (Sept. 25) and through Saturday (Sept. 28) normal traffic will not be allowed down parts of Dickson Street and West Avenue in Fayetteville at certain times.

On Wednesday and Thursday, parts of Dickson St. and West Ave. will only be open to motorcycles from 4 p.m. to midnight. On Friday and Saturday those same areas will only be open to motorcycles from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The A&M Railroad Excursion Train will offer shuttle service from Baum Stadium on Razorback Road to Dickson Street starting at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and 9:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday at Baum Stadium. The train leaves every half hour from each location. Cost is $25 for a first-class pass that covers all days, $10 for a round-trip pass or $6 for a one-way pass. Children 12 and younger ride for free.

Ozark Regional Transit will alter Route 10 during the event. From Wednesday through Friday, the route will leave Hillcrest Towers on Mountain Street to North College Avenue to continue the route northbound.

UA Transit will reroute several of its bus routes. The temporary route maps are available on UA Transit's Facebook page.

Click here to see all of the road closure times and maps.

For residents like Triola, some may need to plan ahead for these closures.

“I usually take a bus that goes down Dickson Street, but I’m assuming it won’t be running I haven’t even thought about that yet,” Triola said.

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