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I-69 in AR (and Pine Bluff I-69 Connector/AR 530)

Started by Grzrd, September 21, 2010, 01:31:22 PM

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Grzrd

#50
Quote from: Grzrd on May 24, 2013, 01:05:35 PM
In this article:
Quote
The Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition conducted its annual banquet Tuesday, May 21 on the campus of UAM

AHTD has posted the PowerPoint presentation for the May 21 Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition banquet.  One map indicates that 15.7 miles of AR 530 from I-530 to Highway 212 should open this summer, and that another section should open by the end of the year.  The map also shows future projects that will bring AR 530 up to interstate grade (page 11/49 of pdf):



The above pdf is a little blurry, but I think it provides that the small section of AR 530 from US 278 to I-69 will be included in a 2015 western I-69 Monticello Bypass project.




The PowerPoint presentation also has a map showing the current state of I-69 in Arkansas and a Future I-530 shield on it hints that "Future I-530 Corridor" green signs may be placed on the I-69 Connector (page 41/49 of pdf):



Grzrd

Quote from: Grzrd on June 18, 2013, 04:15:00 PM
AHTD has posted the PowerPoint presentation for the May 21 Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition banquet.  One map indicates that 15.7 miles of AR 530 from I-530 to Highway 212 should open this summer, and that another section should open by the end of the year.

Although this article (paywall) quotes an AHTD spokesperson talking about the upcoming opening of a new section of US 425, I think the article is about the upcoming opening of a section of AR 530 that was referenced in the May presentation:

Quote
Motorists traveling on Interstate 530 between The Pines mall and the Olive Street/Highway 63 exit over the past several weeks undoubtedly noticed a flurry of activity in and around the new interchange with Highway 425.
Danny Straessle, a spokesman with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, said Thursday that the activity heralds the imminent opening of the roadway between Pine Bluff and Star City.
"We are looking at opening the approximately 18-mile stretch of Highway 425 between Pine Bluff and Star City either by the end of this month or sometime after Labor Day,"  Straessle said. "The new highway will intersect with Highway 114 just outside of Star City. The contractor is putting the finishing touches on the interchange with Interstate 530 right now and did some overlay of 2.2 miles of Highway 114 into Star City."
Straessle said signage for the new roadway has already been installed on the interstate but will be covered until the road actually opens to traffic.
"The money was there for the completion of the interchange and the construction of the first two lanes of what will ultimately be a four lane roadway,"  Straessle said. "So for now the new stretch of road will be one lane in each direction."
Straessle said the next section of roadway to be constructed will extend to just past Highway 11.

Is AHTD relocating US 425 onto this roadway?

The article also provides an update on the I-69 Monticello Bypass:

Quote
"Eventually Highway 425 will connect with the yet-to-be constructed Interstate 69 near Monticello,"  Straessle said.
Straessle said the Monticello bypass project is moving along on schedule.
"The current project on the eastern half of the Monticello bypass is scheduled for completion by September 2014,"  Straessle said. "The current work involves construction of two bridges; one over Drew County Road 36 and the other over the Union-Pacific railroad tracks; as well as dirt work and the installation of box culverts. This time next year we plan to let the contract for paving that section."
Straessle said that work on the western part of the bypass is not expected to begin until sometime in 2016.

Grzrd

#52
Quote from: Grzrd on August 08, 2013, 09:25:00 PM
Although this article (paywall) quotes an AHTD spokesperson talking about the upcoming opening of a new section of US 425, I think the article is about the upcoming opening of a section of AR 530

I just received an email from AHTD stating that it was newspaper error:

Quote
This was an error on the part of the newspaper.
The new route will be signed State Highway 530. Highway 425 remains.
We have requested a correction by the paper.

edit

Here's the August 13 correction notice:

Quote
Correction
An article in Friday's Commercial misidentified the designation of the new stretch of highway between Pine Bluff and Star City that is expected to open by Labor Day.
The roadway will likely be designated State Highway 530 and will serve as the future Interstate 69 Connector according to Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department spokesman Danny Straessle.
end edit

Maybe the reporter became confused over comments about the 425 Connector.

Rover_0

Quote from: Grzrd on August 09, 2013, 02:39:04 PM
Quote from: Grzrd on August 08, 2013, 09:25:00 PM
Although this article (paywall) quotes an AHTD spokesperson talking about the upcoming opening of a new section of US 425, I think the article is about the upcoming opening of a section of AR 530

I just received an email from AHTD stating that it was newspaper error:

Quote
This was an error on the part of the newspaper.
The new route will be signed State Highway 530. Highway 425 remains.
We have requested a correction by the paper.

Maybe the reporter became confused over comments about the 425 Connector.


[off-topic rant]
Too bad US-425 can't become a US-x65.
[/off-topic rant]

:bigass:

Is the AR/I-530 construction on time?
Fixing erroneous shields, one at a time...

Grzrd

Quote from: Grzrd on May 24, 2013, 01:05:35 PM
In this article, Arkansas Highway and Transportation Director Scott Bennett is reported to estimate that the current cost for completion of the I-69 Connector/AR 530 is now $603 million:
Quote
Completion of the I-530 connector from Pine Bluff to Highway 278 will cost around $603,000,000.

This Sept. 7 article (behind paywall) reports on a Sept. 6 dedication ceremony in Star City for an eighteen-mile section of AR 530, and further reports that it will open to traffic on Sept. 12 and that the current estimated cost for AR 530 is now $608 million:

Quote
The sun baked the newly laid asphalt on Arkansas 530 just outside Star City on Friday morning where 200 people gathered for the roadway's official dedication. The road will officially open Thursday, and many in southeast Arkansas are eager to drive on it ....
The $120 million Arkansas 530 project is part of a planned 38-mile four-lane highway known as the Interstate 69 connector road. It is to eventually connect Interstate 530 in Pine Bluff to Arkansas 278 near Wilmar and to the proposed Interstate 69 ....
The portion of Arkansas 530 dedicated Friday is 18 miles long and runs to Arkansas 114 just west of Star City.
Another completed portion of the highway stretches between Arkansas 35 and U.S. 278 just west of Monticello.
In 2014, a third section of the highway will be completed between Arkansas 114 and a connector road stretching from Arkansas 11 to U.S. 425. The cost of that project is $32.2 million, Highway Department officials said.
Arkansas 530 is currently two lanes but will be widened as funds become available, according to the Highway Department. A completion date for the entire 38-mile highway has not been set because funds are not yet available to finish it, Highway Department spokesman Glenn Bolick said.
The entire 38-mile project is estimated to cost $608 million, Bolick said.

edit

Two photos from the ribbon-cutting can be found here, one of which includes a banner describing the new road as "The I-530 Connect Road".

second edit

This article reports that the 18-mile section did open to traffic on Sept. 12:

Quote
With the removal of tarps covering road signs and barrels blocking the on- and off-ramps, crews with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department on Thursday morning officially opened to traffic the Exit 44 State Highway 530 interchange with Interstate 530 on the south side of Pine Bluff.
The new highway extends 18 miles between Pine Bluff and the intersection with State Highway 114 in Lincoln County north of Star City according to AHTD assistant public information officer Danny Straessle.

bassoon1986

So what will the existing I-530 from the new interchange to the US 425 last exit be called? Will 530 just be dropped and US 63 and US 79 remain?

bugo

Quote from: bassoon1986 on September 09, 2013, 10:52:25 AM
So what will the existing I-530 from the new interchange to the US 425 last exit be called? Will 530 just be dropped and US 63 and US 79 remain?

US 63-65-79 are signed along with I-530 on this stretch and this stretch only, so I'm guessing the interstate designation will be removed along this stretch.

Grzrd

Several months ago I signed up to receive email updates about I-69 from the Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition. I received one last night with no news that has not already been posted in the Forum, but I thought some might be interested in seeing their "I-69 Updates" banner that includes an I-530 shield:



No fooling around with an AR 530!  :D

agentsteel53

that is a really shoddy attempt at '57 spec I-69.  hint: it's not just the size of the numbers that is different!
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

rte66man

Quote from: Grzrd on October 02, 2013, 10:47:14 AM
Several months ago I signed up to receive email updates about I-69 from the Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition. I received one last night with no news that has not already been posted in the Forum, but I thought some might be interested in seeing their "I-69 Updates" banner that includes an I-530 shield:



No fooling around with an AR 530!  :D

Wonder where the photo was taken?
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

US71

Quote from: rte66man on October 03, 2013, 11:30:31 AM
Quote from: Grzrd on October 02, 2013, 10:47:14 AM
Several months ago I signed up to receive email updates about I-69 from the Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition. I received one last night with no news that has not already been posted in the Forum, but I thought some might be interested in seeing their "I-69 Updates" banner that includes an I-530 shield:



No fooling around with an AR 530!  :D

Wonder where the photo was taken?

Most likely along I-530. There about a dozen or so Subway stores in the Pine Bluff area, so I am using Street View to try to locate the sign (note the blue space from a removed logo sign).
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

bassoon1986

Quote from: US71 on October 03, 2013, 12:07:58 PM
Quote from: rte66man on October 03, 2013, 11:30:31 AM
Quote from: Grzrd on October 02, 2013, 10:47:14 AM
Several months ago I signed up to receive email updates about I-69 from the Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition. I received one last night with no news that has not already been posted in the Forum, but I thought some might be interested in seeing their "I-69 Updates" banner that includes an I-530 shield:



No fooling around with an AR 530!  :D

Wonder where the photo was taken?

Most likely along I-530. There about a dozen or so Subway stores in the Pine Bluff area, so I am using Street View to try to locate the sign (note the blue space from a removed logo sign).

Actually, would it be closer to southern Little Rock? The exit number from the blue food service sign appears to be a single digit. There's a Subway at exits 3 and 7, too

Road Hog

Definitely a photo taken in Pulaski County northbound. Single digit exits are a giveaway. Looks like about noon in late spring, judging the shadows and the greenery. Trying to figure the period when Subway triplicate logo was in use.

US71

Quote from: Road Hog on October 05, 2013, 08:16:16 AM
Definitely a photo taken in Pulaski County northbound. Single digit exits are a giveaway. Looks like about noon in late spring, judging the shadows and the greenery. Trying to figure the period when Subway triplicate logo was in use.

Lots of guide signs still use the triplicate Subway logo. I've been unable to find this sign either at Exit 3 or Exit 7, though the date is 2009 on the Googleview, so the signs may have been put up later.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

NE2

The two carriageways appear to follow different vertical alignments in the foreground.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

Pintailkiller

Looks like it is a southbound shot on I530 going towards the Dixon Rd exit.

NE2

Quote from: Pintailkiller on October 08, 2013, 08:49:48 PM
Looks like it is a southbound shot on I530 going towards the Dixon Rd exit.
Doubtful. No shield on the green sign, and that looks like a centered tab. And I just noticed what appears to be an overpass in the far back of the photo.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

Grzrd

#67
If anyone still wants to try to figure out the location, then it looks like you need to take the clues identified above and expand the search on a national scale. The answer I received to an email query:

Quote
It is just a stock photo of an interstate. Not an actually image of I-69.
Thanks for asking!

Zack A. Tucker, Director
Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition
UAM Harris 331
P.O. Box 3084
Monticello, Ark 71656
Tucker@uamont.edu

Happy hunting!

Grzrd

#68
Quote from: Grzrd on June 18, 2013, 04:15:00 PM
PowerPoint presentation for the May 21 Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition banquet ... (page 11/49 of pdf):

AHTD's Nov. 21 Presentation at the Legislative Joint Transportation Committee Meeting indicates that the anticipated opening for the section of AR 530 from Highway 212 to the Highways 11/425 Connector has been pushed back from late 2013 to late 2014 (page 26/51 of pdf):






Quote from: Grzrd on August 08, 2013, 09:25:00 PM
this article (paywall)
Quote
Danny Straessle, a spokesman with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department
.... also provides an update on the I-69 Monticello Bypass:
Quote
"Straessle said the Monticello bypass project is moving along on schedule.
"The current project on the eastern half of the Monticello bypass is scheduled for completion by September 2014,"  Straessle said.

The map from the presentation also indicates that the anticipated completion date for the current project on the eastern half of the I-69 Monticello Bypass has been pushed back from September 2014 to "Mid 2015".  I'm not sure why both projects have been delayed; I had thought this past summer had been a good construction season.

Grzrd

Quote from: Grzrd on November 22, 2013, 10:29:11 PM
AHTD's Nov. 21 Presentation at the Legislative Joint Transportation Committee Meeting ....
The map from the presentation also indicates that the anticipated completion date for the current project on the eastern half of the I-69 Monticello Bypass has been pushed back from September 2014 to "Mid 2015".  I'm not sure why both projects have been delayed; I had thought this past summer had been a good construction season.
Quote from: codyg1985 on January 21, 2014, 07:37:07 AM
The I-69 project around Monticello shows up as US 69 as well.
(bottom quote from I-40 Lonoke County : New Exit? thread)

The iDrive Arkansas website is currently showing an estimated completion date of Late 2014 for the "US 69" project.

AHTD

Quote from: Grzrd on January 21, 2014, 08:44:04 AM
Quote from: Grzrd on November 22, 2013, 10:29:11 PM
AHTD's Nov. 21 Presentation at the Legislative Joint Transportation Committee Meeting ....
The map from the presentation also indicates that the anticipated completion date for the current project on the eastern half of the I-69 Monticello Bypass has been pushed back from September 2014 to "Mid 2015".  I'm not sure why both projects have been delayed; I had thought this past summer had been a good construction season.
Quote from: codyg1985 on January 21, 2014, 07:37:07 AM
The I-69 project around Monticello shows up as US 69 as well.
(bottom quote from I-40 Lonoke County : New Exit? thread)

The iDrive Arkansas website is currently showing an estimated completion date of Late 2014 for the "US 69" project.

Thank you for calling this to our attention! At this time we have removed the route marker designation to avoid any confusion. Here's what we think happened: internally we refer to this job as I-69. In fact it's the first stretch of I-69 to be constructed in Arkansas. However we can't list it on a map as such until FHWA gives approval. Our planners are in the process of reviewing this to determine how this route will be signed once the project is complete. Not sure how the U.S. Highway shield got on there either.

We'll post additional information on this as it becomes available. Thanks again for pointing that out to us!
Travel and construction information available at www.idrivearkansas.com

codyg1985

Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

mgk920


pj3970

Quote from: mgk920 on January 24, 2014, 10:42:12 AM
AR 69?

:nod:

Mike

There already is AR 69...in the North Central part of the state...however any x69 would fit the bill, but as with Arkansas, they always have multiple routes with the same number, so it could happen

dariusb

I was just wondering what are the traffic counts along I-530 in Pine Bluff?
It's a new day for a new beginning.



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