ARDOT open house for AR-112 improvements

[Tomahawkin]

I might be way off base here, but wouldn't it be efficient to just make it a 6 lane (total) parkway from the interchange @540 all the way up to the XNA area? IMO it would provide an alternative route in case there is a bad wreck on IH 540..

[Road Hog]

27 roundabouts are better than 27 traffic signals, but both numbers are silly considering the distance involved.

[MikieTimT]

I might be way off base here, but wouldn't it be efficient to just make it a 6 lane (total) parkway from the interchange @540 all the way up to the XNA area? IMO it would provide an alternative route in case there is a bad wreck on IH 540..

I think the difficult terrain and cost would be prohibitive to essentially parallel I-49 from the end of I-540 in Van Buren to XNA.  The 2021 AADT for I-49 between Fayetteville and Alma is ~24K, so as nice as a 6 lane parkway sounds, and undoubtedly very scenic, I'd bet on adding 2 lanes in I-49 between Alma and Fayetteville when the counts become appropriate and moving forward with a western beltway (I-X49) from Greenland up to near Gravette where the BVB bends eastward.  They've studied the beltway concept back in 2011 and a smaller scale state highway connector from XNA up to the same spot on the BVB near the northern Gravette exit (Exit 102), but didn't move forward with that project yet.  It'll get more of a push once they've finished the western leg of the Springdale Northern Bypass and an upgraded access road off of it to XNA, but I'd bet on things starting in Benton County first for anything resembling a western beltway in NWA.  That's where the greatest growth in the whole state is right now.

[bwana39]

27 roundabouts are better than 27 traffic signals, but both numbers are silly considering the distance involved.

The roundabouts in a lot of cases are as much about keeping speeds down as they are for traffic separation in intersections.

[MikieTimT]

27 roundabouts are better than 27 traffic signals, but both numbers are silly considering the distance involved.

The roundabouts in a lot of cases are as much about keeping speeds down as they are for traffic separation in intersections.

With an average of 1.38 roundabouts per mile in this case (or one every 0.72 miles on average), it's virtually guaranteed.

[MikieTimT]

ARDOT FONSI approval for the northern 3 projects of the AR-112 widening just came through.  Looks like they are going right up the gut of Elm Springs with the 4 lane, but the Cave Springs and south Bentonville eastern bypass alternatives were selected.

Still looks like roundabout hell with 16 of them north of the US-412 interchange.  Starting these projects in 2025.

https://public-notice-hwy-112-fonsi-012305-090513-090514-090636-ardot.hub.arcgis.com/