I-49 in Arkansas

[US71]

So there would only be two exits between AR 22 and Interstate 40? Seems about right. Will any rest areas be constructed along future Interstate 49 between Interstate 30 and Interstate 40? I've noticed that a lot of newer long-distance freeways seem to lack them.

Maybe planned further south?  I know 49 in Missouri doesn't have any, but Louisiana does

[Bobby5280]

If I-49 can actually be completed between Fort Smith and Texarkana I think chances would be decent for at least one or two rest areas. I think a rest area in the Foran Gap area between Mena and Waldron might be decent. There are some scenic opportunities there.

Another possible outcome: one or more commercial service plazas in the median of the Interstate, in the style of Oklahoma's turnpike service plazas. I-49 between Fort Smith and Texarkana will pass thru some very sparsely populated areas, not every town along the way is going to have 24/7 operating service businesses. Rest areas also come in more handy in Western states where roads go thru more desolate territory for the same reasons.

[US71]

If I-49 can actually be completed between Fort Smith and Texarkana I think chances would be decent for at least one or two rest areas. I think a rest area in the Foran Gap area between Mena and Waldron might be decent. There are some scenic opportunities there.

Another possible outcome: one or more commercial service plazas in the median of the Interstate, in the style of Oklahoma's turnpike service plazas. I-49 between Fort Smith and Texarkana will pass thru some very sparsely populated areas, not every town along the way is going to have 24/7 operating service businesses. Rest areas also come in more handy in Western states where roads go thru more desolate territory for the same reasons.

And not all will survive (waving at the Mountainburg BP )

[Road Hog]

If I-49 can actually be completed between Fort Smith and Texarkana I think chances would be decent for at least one or two rest areas. I think a rest area in the Foran Gap area between Mena and Waldron might be decent. There are some scenic opportunities there.

Another possible outcome: one or more commercial service plazas in the median of the Interstate, in the style of Oklahoma's turnpike service plazas. I-49 between Fort Smith and Texarkana will pass thru some very sparsely populated areas, not every town along the way is going to have 24/7 operating service businesses. Rest areas also come in more handy in Western states where roads go thru more desolate territory for the same reasons.

Unless federal law has changed, service plazas on free interstates will not be happening. You'll be lucky to get a vending machine that works half the time.

[abqtraveler]

If I-49 can actually be completed between Fort Smith and Texarkana I think chances would be decent for at least one or two rest areas. I think a rest area in the Foran Gap area between Mena and Waldron might be decent. There are some scenic opportunities there.

Another possible outcome: one or more commercial service plazas in the median of the Interstate, in the style of Oklahoma's turnpike service plazas. I-49 between Fort Smith and Texarkana will pass thru some very sparsely populated areas, not every town along the way is going to have 24/7 operating service businesses. Rest areas also come in more handy in Western states where roads go thru more desolate territory for the same reasons.

Unless federal law has changed, service plazas on free interstates will not be happening. You'll be lucky to get a vending machine that works half the time.

I-49 would have to be built as a toll road for service plazas to be allowed, and I-49 between Texarkana and Fort Smith likely would not generate enough traffic for tolls to be a viable option.

[MikieTimT]

If I-49 can actually be completed between Fort Smith and Texarkana I think chances would be decent for at least one or two rest areas. I think a rest area in the Foran Gap area between Mena and Waldron might be decent. There are some scenic opportunities there.

Another possible outcome: one or more commercial service plazas in the median of the Interstate, in the style of Oklahoma's turnpike service plazas. I-49 between Fort Smith and Texarkana will pass thru some very sparsely populated areas, not every town along the way is going to have 24/7 operating service businesses. Rest areas also come in more handy in Western states where roads go thru more desolate territory for the same reasons.

It would be advisable for at least 1 to be created.  US-71 has one between Mansfield and Waldron where AR-23 ends.  Don't know if there'll instead be an exit somewhere between Elm Park and Booth to get AR-23 access to I-49, but it would make sense to.  If so, they'll just likely put a sign directing I-49 traffic to that rest area.

[MikieTimT]

Looking at the 1997 FEIS to see where the route has an exit near Elm Park, it looks like there'll be an exit on AR-378 within a mile or so of US-71, so with that being the case, I'd bet they actually don't build another rest area, but instead put signage directing traffic to the already existing one that will be within 2 miles of the exit.  Incidentally, I spent the first 5 years of my life on a cattle ranch less than 3 miles from that rest area, so I'm pretty familiar with the area.  There's nothing for services whatsoever between Mansfield and Waldron on US-71 other than that rest area.  Gorgeous drive, but there'll need to be yet another move by businesses in Waldron from the core of the old US-71 through town to the "bypass for the bypass" as folks will need some fuel/food services by that area.

Consult Pg. 20 of the 1997 FEIS to see the area in question.  Or the pages before and after if you want to see the alignments selected back in the day when things were originally proposed.

https://www.ardot.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/001747_1997.08.07_aFEIS.pdf

[sprjus4]

Looking at the 1997 FEIS to see where the route has an exit near Elm Park, it looks like there'll be an exit on AR-378 within a mile or so of US-71, so with that being the case, I'd bet they actually don't build another rest area, but instead put signage directing traffic to the already existing one that will be within 2 miles of the exit.

That's too far of the highway to be a viable rest area for interstate traffic. If a rest area were to be located off an exit, it would have to be in the immediate vicinity. An easy on-off situation. That doesn't appear to be one, having traffic drive a mile or two each way.

Easy solution is to close the existing US-71 rest area, and either construct two new ones on the mainline (one northbound, one southbound), or construct a single rest area off one of the exits that's accessible by both directions. The latter would have less cost and still be viable if it's immediately off the exit and well signed.

[MikieTimT]

Looking at the 1997 FEIS to see where the route has an exit near Elm Park, it looks like there'll be an exit on AR-378 within a mile or so of US-71, so with that being the case, I'd bet they actually don't build another rest area, but instead put signage directing traffic to the already existing one that will be within 2 miles of the exit.

That's too far of the highway to be a viable rest area for interstate traffic. If a rest area were to be located off an exit, it would have to be in the immediate vicinity. An easy on-off situation. That doesn't appear to be one, having traffic drive a mile or two each way.

Easy solution is to close the existing US-71 rest area, and either construct two new ones on the mainline (one northbound, one southbound), or construct a single rest area off one of the exits that's accessible by both directions. The latter would have less cost and still be viable if it's immediately off the exit and well signed.

I don't know that a new rest area has been built in Arkansas in the last 30 years.  They've closed down a few, though, due to crime in the Morrilton and Maumelle areas.  There used to be one on US-71 in the Brentwood area, but they turned that over to the town for use as a park.  There isn't one yet on I-49 anywhere in Arkansas, much less roughly equidistant along the route where one existed/exists on US-71.  We'll see how long it takes to put Welcome Centers on I-49, which would certainly come before any plans for any rest areas midstate.  They have redone some of the Welcome Centers in recent years, so there's hope.

[sprjus4]

^

IIRC, a welcome center is planned at the AR-72 interchange off the new I-49 Bella Vista Bypass segment.

[US71]

^

IIRC, a welcome center is planned at the AR-72 interchange off the new I-49 Bella Vista Bypass segment.

Just south of  CR 34/ Highlands Blvd.

[apjung]

Google Maps now has Bella Vista Bypass imagery

[US71]

Google Maps now has Bella Vista Bypass imagery

Took 'em long enough

[vdeane]

Google Maps now has Bella Vista Bypass imagery

The imagery I'm seeing has been there for a while.

[Bobby5280]

I noticed the update last week in Google Earth. The imagery is dated 9/7/2021, with the Belle Vista Bypass very near completion.

[CoolAngrybirdsrio4]

That is nice to hear that google finally updated their imagery of the bypass.

[abqtraveler]

That is nice to hear that google finally updated their imagery of the bypass.

Just went to Google Maps and I'm still seeing the old imagery that shows the BVB under construction from US-71 south of BV to the Missouri state line. How do I see the latest imagery in Google Maps?

[MATraveler128]

He is exactly correct. None of that imagery is even close to being new. The last time the Street View car passed through was almost 4 years ago in May 2018. Google is long overdue for a trip to Northwest Arkansas.

[mvak36]

That is nice to hear that google finally updated their imagery of the bypass.

Just went to Google Maps and I'm still seeing the old imagery that shows the BVB under construction from US-71 south of BV to the Missouri state line. How do I see the latest imagery in Google Maps?

So what I'm seeing is it's updated in Google Earth but not Google maps.

[MikieTimT]

That is nice to hear that google finally updated their imagery of the bypass.

Just went to Google Maps and I'm still seeing the old imagery that shows the BVB under construction from US-71 south of BV to the Missouri state line. How do I see the latest imagery in Google Maps?

So what I'm seeing is it's updated in Google Earth but not Google maps.

What I'm seeing in Google Earth and the Google Maps webapp looks pretty janky with the curvature matching the terrain differences.

[Rick Powell]

What I'm seeing in Google Earth and the Google Maps webapp looks pretty janky with the curvature matching the terrain differences.

In other words, there is new aerial imagery (that follows the earth contours when blown up to ground-level view), but no new Street View to match. The Street View is from 2018, and it is missing from Rt 34 to the I-69/US 71 junction in MO (where I-49 didn't exist in 2018). I also see that there is a piece of new aerial missing at the south end of BVB, from 2 miles west of US 71 to just east of Rt 72.

[MikieTimT]

He is exactly correct. None of that imagery is even close to being new. The last time the Street View car passed through was almost 4 years ago in May 2018. Google is long overdue for a trip to Northwest Arkansas.

No doubt about it.  Trouble is, they're likely trying to figure when the best opportunity is to catch it in a state that isn't going to change dramatically in 2 years, and I can tell you that there's massive amounts of cranes, red dirt, dump trucks, construction crews, etc. as Benton County is one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S. right now.  It's starting from a low population compared to what everyone considers metropolitan, but with decades now of ~25% growth, it makes for a lot of change.

[MikieTimT]

On the subject of the south end of the BVB, I wonder when ARDOT is going to reinstall the traffic cam that they removed when they had to widen the hill cut over the southbound offramp to US-71?  It'll be lower in elevation, so it would have a better view of the SPUI underneath, assuming they put it back on that hill.

[abqtraveler]

He is exactly correct. None of that imagery is even close to being new. The last time the Street View car passed through was almost 4 years ago in May 2018. Google is long overdue for a trip to Northwest Arkansas.

No doubt about it.  Trouble is, they're likely trying to figure when the best opportunity is to catch it in a state that isn't going to change dramatically in 2 years, and I can tell you that there's massive amounts of cranes, red dirt, dump trucks, construction crews, etc. as Benton County is one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S. right now.  It's starting from a low population compared to what everyone considers metropolitan, but with decades now of ~25% growth, it makes for a lot of change.

Okay, so I loaded Google Earth and I see the nearly-completed BVB. What I find interesting is they paved the new NB lanes from US-71 to CR-34 with asphalt (the SB lanes on this stretch are concrete). So you have the NB side mostly asphalt, save for short concrete sections at the interchanges with CR-34, AR-72, and the second AR-72.

[MikieTimT]

He is exactly correct. None of that imagery is even close to being new. The last time the Street View car passed through was almost 4 years ago in May 2018. Google is long overdue for a trip to Northwest Arkansas.

No doubt about it.  Trouble is, they're likely trying to figure when the best opportunity is to catch it in a state that isn't going to change dramatically in 2 years, and I can tell you that there's massive amounts of cranes, red dirt, dump trucks, construction crews, etc. as Benton County is one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S. right now.  It's starting from a low population compared to what everyone considers metropolitan, but with decades now of ~25% growth, it makes for a lot of change.

Okay, so I loaded Google Earth and I see the nearly-completed BVB. What I find interesting is they paved the new NB lanes from US-71 to CR-34 with asphalt (the SB lanes on this stretch are concrete). So you have the NB side mostly asphalt, save for short concrete sections at the interchanges with CR-34, AR-72, and the second AR-72.

They cheaped out by finishing the project in asphalt.  The concrete sections that you see were done when the southbound Super-2 lanes were done as they did all of the overpasses and exit/entrance ramps at that time, so they did concrete under the overpasses as a result and just connected the exits with asphalt.  We'll see how it looks in 10 years.