I-49 in Arkansas

[rte66man]

AHTD has released a map of proposed improvements to I-49 in the vicinity of AR 112/US 71B on the north end of Fayetteville.

This is an improvement??

[amroad17]

That's the problem when the original freeway bypass is not that anymore.  The whole section around Fayetteville has been built in stages.  First, the original US 71 freeway bypass was built, then AHTD had to figure out where to tie-in former I-540/current I-49 to the existing bypass.  Because of this, there are interchanges looking like the one in the map.  AHTD did well in doing this with the land available at these points, but the current "thru traffic" has to exit itself to continue on the mainline.  The exit in the map looks like the I-695 exit (Exit 36) with MD 702 northeast of Baltimore flipped around.

[yakra]

I thought that was the way it operated for the longest time, but -- holy blap! -- I-49 actually is the thru movement northbound, with the Fulbright exiting. There *is* a left entrance southbound, however...

As for I-695 and MD702, what's with the ghost ramp?

[US71]

I thought that was the way it operated for the longest time, but -- holy blap! -- I-49 actually is the thru movement northbound, with the Fulbright exiting. There *is* a left entrance southbound, however...

If you look at the satellite imagery, you see part of a former lane on NB 49 at Exit 67. This was part of US 71 while the expressway to Bentonville was being built. The exit was originally two lanes of traffic, but was changed after expressway was finished.

[amroad17]

I thought that was the way it operated for the longest time, but -- holy blap! -- I-49 actually is the thru movement northbound, with the Fulbright exiting. There *is* a left entrance southbound, however...

As for I-695 and MD702, what's with the ghost ramp?

This was to be a loop ramp from MD 702 to a proposed extension of the Windlass Freeway to MD 43 in Middle River.  This extension was cancelled in 1978.

[codyg1985]

Will I-49 be four or six lanes through the new interchange with the Fulbright Expressway? It looks like it may only be four lanes from that plan.

[galador]

The City Wire has a new article this morning about the "State of the Region" panel that happened yesterday with the mayors of Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville.

Also involved was Dick Trammel of the Arkansas Highway Commission. I don't think that there's any "new" information, but he gave a quick update on the infrastructure improvements in NWA:

Trammel said the price of progress among the nearly 30 major road projects across Benton and Washington counties is more than $698 million and the work is expected to continue until 2019. Trammel said the orange barrels are a sign "things will get better."  But he added, "it won't be anytime soon."

The much-needed widening of the Interstate 49 corridor that links the region together and to the rest of the state and country entails 25 different projects slated through 2017 for a total price tag of $605 million. Trammel said four of those have been completed at a cost of $40 million and there are seven more underway now with at a cost of $110 million. The biggest expense is yet to come, as 14 more future projects carry an estimated price tag of $455 million.

The $605 million being spent along I-49 in the two counties is broken down as follows:
- Bella Vista Bypass: 14.5 miles of new construction which is complete on the Arkansas side at a cost of $150 million.

- The U.S. 412 Bypass: 4.5 miles of new road construction from I-49 in north Springdale toward Northwest Regional Airport back around to Hwy. 412 out near Tontitown. This project is one of the last to begin around 2017 at a cost of $125 million.

- I-49 widening along 26 miles from Fayetteville to North Bentonville. The cost of this work is $200 million with a expected completion date of 2017.

- I-49 interchange work which is ongoing is expected to cost $130 million and take three more years to complete.

Trammel said there are four other large road projects in the region already underway that are not part of the I-49 work, but notable. Those are the Highway 62 Prairie Grove Bypass at $16 million; Highway 62 widening from Avoca to Garfield costing $24 million; Highway 102 through Centerton of which $5 million of work is complete and $15 million more is committed; and the widening of Highway 265 from North Fayetteville through Springdale that has a price tag of $25 million.

The cities along the I-49 corridor have also anted-up millions of their own from the Fayetteville Flyover to Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale to the $53 million 8th Street interchange coming to Bentonville by 2016.

[bjrush]

Will I-49 be four or six lanes through the new interchange with the Fulbright Expressway? It looks like it may only be four lanes from that plan.

Eight

[US71]

Will I-49 be four or six lanes through the new interchange with the Fulbright Expressway? It looks like it may only be four lanes from that plan.

Eight

That's going to be hell during construction

[M86]

Will I-49 be four or six lanes through the new interchange with the Fulbright Expressway? It looks like it may only be four lanes from that plan.

Eight

Can you provide anything to verify that?  I know that there was a study done by AHTD in the early 2000s.  That study recommended 4 lanes in each direction for most of I-49 in NWA, but AHTD seems to ignore that.
Saying that, I've viewed the documents for the Garland/Fulbright area... There isn't 8 lanes, but what I saw was good.
Currently, I hate that huge curve, and that I-49 basically reduces to one lane going south.  This will change.

[O Tamandua]

The bridge at Rocky Dell Hollow Road (the final Arkansas exit heading northbound on future I-49/BV bypass) is cement covered at the top now, though at mid-week there was only chat on either side of the bridge.  Talked with a man on the construction team who said the concrete spreader for the section from Rocky Dell Hollow to the new west side of former Hiwasse Arkansas 72 bridge (northern terminus of the first section of the BV Bypass opened earlier this year) starts spreading concrete tomorrow.  Snapped some pictures and I'll try to upload them when possible.

[M86]

The bridge at Rocky Dell Hollow Road (the final Arkansas exit heading northbound on future I-49/BV bypass) is cement covered at the top now, though at mid-week there was only chat on either side of the bridge.  Talked with a man on the construction team who said the concrete spreader for the section from Rocky Dell Hollow to the new west side of former Hiwasse Arkansas 72 bridge (northern terminus of the first section of the BV Bypass opened earlier this year) starts spreading concrete tomorrow.  Snapped some pictures and I'll try to upload them when possible.

Good to hear.  It's just so sad that this very needed bypass took this long, and it's only a 2 laner.  I just don't get it, especially when I look at what other road projects have gone ahead in AR...

They shut down a lane on I-49 today and Saturday... It backed up traffic northbound for miles... Monroe Ave in Lowell to Sunset Ave in Springdale, over 6 miles.  I have never seen traffic backed up that bad... It was just miles upon miles of cars piled up.

Who's running the show here?  Why wasn't this done at night?  AHTD?

[US71]

The bridge at Rocky Dell Hollow Road (the final Arkansas exit heading northbound on future I-49/BV bypass) is cement covered at the top now, though at mid-week there was only chat on either side of the bridge.  Talked with a man on the construction team who said the concrete spreader for the section from Rocky Dell Hollow to the new west side of former Hiwasse Arkansas 72 bridge (northern terminus of the first section of the BV Bypass opened earlier this year) starts spreading concrete tomorrow.  Snapped some pictures and I'll try to upload them when possible.

Good to hear.  It's just so sad that this very needed bypass took this long, and it's only a 2 laner.  I just don't get it, especially when I look at what other road projects have gone ahead in AR...

They shut down a lane on I-49 today and Saturday... It backed up traffic northbound for miles... Monroe Ave in Lowell to Sunset Ave in Springdale, over 6 miles.  I have never seen traffic backed up that bad... It was just miles upon miles of cars piled up.

Who's running the show here?  Why wasn't this done at night?  AHTD?

I know the electric company was hanging new lines recently and had to restrict lanes. Could this have been it?

[The Great Zo]

Here are some pictures I took of the "Hiwasse Bypass" on Sunday, August 24. Just wanted to document the progress while I was driving through the area.

East end of the bypass, looking east:









East end of the bypass, looking west:









Driving the bypass:





West end of the bypass, looking southeast:






West end of the bypass, looking northwest:







Air Force plane in Gravette:

[Road Hog]

I believe that plane is a T-33 from the 1950s.

[M86]

They shut down a lane on I-49 today and Saturday... It backed up traffic northbound for miles... Monroe Ave in Lowell to Sunset Ave in Springdale, over 6 miles.  I have never seen traffic backed up that bad... It was just miles upon miles of cars piled up.

Who's running the show here?  Why wasn't this done at night?  AHTD?

I know the electric company was hanging new lines recently and had to restrict lanes. Could this have been it?

http://www.4029tv.com/news/highway-department-believes-weekend-went-well-despite-traffic-delays/28980828

The news story speaks for itself.  I sat in that for 45 minutes.  Fix NWA!

[US71]

They shut down a lane on I-49 today and Saturday... It backed up traffic northbound for miles... Monroe Ave in Lowell to Sunset Ave in Springdale, over 6 miles.  I have never seen traffic backed up that bad... It was just miles upon miles of cars piled up.

Who's running the show here?  Why wasn't this done at night?  AHTD?

I know the electric company was hanging new lines recently and had to restrict lanes. Could this have been it?

http://www.4029tv.com/news/highway-department-believes-weekend-went-well-despite-traffic-delays/28980828

The news story speaks for itself.  I sat in that for 45 minutes.  Fix NWA!

OK, I missed that memo
Actually, this part of "fixing" NWA. The road is 25+ years old and no one ever anticipated the growth in the area and need for better roads....until it was too late.

[O Tamandua]

"I have pleaded with him, given the opportunities I see in my own district, I've pleaded with him to come down to the district and see it first hand," Womack said, adding that the process of getting the Pennsylvania Republican to Arkansas began with a series of presentations in Washington highlighting the local infrastructure needs.

Shuster's visit not only gives Womack and local and state officials the opportunity to highlight the infrastructure needs including dredging the Arkansas River to 12 feet, but it gives Shuster an opportunity to see first hand the ongoing work to make Arkansas stand out as a state that is investing more local money in federal projects, such as completing Interstate 49 and highway rehabilitation across the state.

Womack said he and Shuster started the day in Benton County with a flyover of the Bella Vista Bypass that will eventually reroute traffic away from the city and through rural Benton County and McDonald County in Missouri. A vote for an increase in taxes to fund Missouri's portion of the project and several other statewide projects failed to win approval earlier this year, putting into question when the project could be completed.

After meeting with stakeholders in Northwest Arkansas, Womack brought Shuster to the Fort Smith area, where the two were presented with information on infrastructure needs along the Arkansas River, such as the dredging, but also discussed in detail additional I-49 construction. Shuster said he was impressed with the intermodal opportunities he saw in region, noting that highway, water and rail were "the fundamentals for growing an economy and you have all that right here in Fort Smith."

He said the knowledge of the region he gained through Monday's trip would be beneficial when returning to Washington to work on a "surface transportation bill."

"This will be something that we look at and try to focus those dollars really on the major corridors in this country that move freight, that move people, and I-49 is one of those corridors. So (I will be) working with Steve (Womack) in Washington on the next surface bill, making sure we're focusing those dollars to go to places that you see right here, this roadway, that need to be completed from Canada down to Louisiana."

The surface transportation bill Shuster discussed would likely be a five to six-year bill to appropriate funds for as many as 40 different transportation corridors across the nation, of which I-49 would likely be included, he said.

http://www.thecitywire.com/node/35008#.VDQWkPldXUR

[Grzrd]

"I have pleaded with him, given the opportunities I see in my own district, I've pleaded with him to come down to the district and see it first hand," Womack said, adding that the process of getting the Pennsylvania Republican to Arkansas began with a series of presentations in Washington highlighting the local infrastructure needs ....
[Shuster] said the knowledge of the region he gained through Monday's trip would be beneficial when returning to Washington to work on a "surface transportation bill."
"This will be something that we look at and try to focus those dollars really on the major corridors in this country that move freight, that move people, and I-49 is one of those corridors. So (I will be) working with Steve (Womack) in Washington on the next surface bill, making sure we're focusing those dollars to go to places that you see right here, this roadway, that need to be completed from Canada down to Louisiana."
The surface transportation bill Shuster discussed would likely be a five to six-year bill to appropriate funds for as many as 40 different transportation corridors across the nation, of which I-49 would likely be included, he said.

http://www.thecitywire.com/node/35008#.VDQWkPldXUR

This October 8 article indicates that Arkansas is willing to put up 60 to 65% of the funding for I-49 in order to complete it, with an immediate focus on the I-49 Arkansas River bridge and the associated thirteen-mile stretch from I-40 to the section currently under construction at Chaffee Crossing (where is the money supposed to come from?):

"A lot of states including Arkansas have been saying "˜We don't have time to wait for this, so we're going to put up 60 or 65 percent and take a 40 percent piece from the federal government and move forward,'" Shuster said. "I think we ought to be rewarding states that are doing that and get those projects moving quicker."
Womack and Shuster said their goal is to get a five- to six-year Highway Trust Fund bill passed next year to create some "certainty"  for large ongoing projects like a 13-mile stretch of Interstate 49 and a bridge across the Arkansas River at Alma, which have a combined estimate of $550 million. The longer it is put off, the more it will cost, Womack added.
"We have to figure out the funding, and there are a number of different options on the table, and that will determine the five- to six-year bill,"  Shuster said. "Once we do that, states can say "˜OK there's X amount of dollars in that trust fund, now let's start allocating.'"

This TV video clip features responses from Arkansas U.S. Senatorial candidates Mark Pryor and Tom Cotton to an I-49-specific question, "How will you ensure federal funding for Interstate 49, and do you support earmarks for Arkansas highway projects?"  With Shuster's above-quoted comments hinting at a movement towards quasi-earmarks for major corridors (such as I-49) and stepped-up funding by Arkansas, I wish the panelists and/or moderator would have used Shuster's comments as the basis for a followup question regarding what type of Senatorial earmark reform each candidate might deem acceptable to help finish I-49 (or whether the current MAP-21 provisions regarding freight corridors already sufficiently serve that purpose), whether Arkansas should put up 60 to 65% of the funding, and whether they have any idea where Arkansas would find the money to pay that share.

[adventurernumber1]

There is no general topic for I-49 as a whole, so I decided to create one, also along with a question:

Have they done any work or preparation at all for the future section of I-49 between Texarkana and Fort Smith in Arkansas? I personally haven't thought that there's a lot of activity going on with that section at this point in time.

[NE2]

Between the ends of the new Fort Smith and Texarkana bypasses? Nothing on the ground, but somewhere in https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=3324 is discussion of the alignment details.

[Grzrd]

AHTD posted links to relevant FEIS documents here:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=3324.msg279459#msg279459

Just ignore the post's Reply Number.   

edit

AHTD has also posted information about I-49 logs and exit numbers in this post:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=3321.msg293262#msg293262

... which served as a basis for a thread about the exit numbers:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=13010.0

[US71]

I've been out of town for a few days, so I apologize is this has already been announced:

There will be a ribbon cutting for I-49 south of Doddridge at Noon on November 10, 2014 at the Louisiana-Arkansas State Line, officially opening the roadway.

[Grzrd]

Have they done any work or preparation at all for the future section of I-49 between Texarkana and Fort Smith in Arkansas? I personally haven't thought that there's a lot of activity going on with that section at this point in time.

Nothing on the ground

AHTD posted links to relevant FEIS documents here:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=3324.msg279459#msg279459
AHTD has also posted information about I-49 logs and exit numbers in this post:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=3321.msg293262#msg293262
... which served as a basis for a thread about the exit numbers:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=13010.0

Also, in this post, AHTD described how the remainder of I-49 in Arkansas might play out:

... The current gross estimate for completing everything is $2.8 Billion .... Currently we are estimating 24 months for the U.S. Highway 70 (Broadway) bridge over the Arkansas River at Little Rock to be out of service while the old structure is demolished and the new one constructed. That is an estimate based on a fast-track schedule. A bridge over the Arkansas and Red Rivers on new location is not likely to be fast-tracked .... So how would this all play out if the money were available? While nothing is written in stone, it's reasonable to assume that as money does come available, we would start by constructing bypasses around several of the communities along the route — Mena, DeQueen, Waldron, etc. Then as more money becomes available, we would begin to link those bypasses. Eventually we would have a highway.

Who knows?  If Missouri takes a long time to complete their section of the Bella Vista Bypass, and if the Arkansas River bridge runs into severe funding challenges, then in a few years we might see work begin on one of the bypasses that AHTD mentioned.

[O Tamandua]

City wire article on the roundabout at Bella Vista/Bentonville.