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[Grzrd]

In regard to Highway 530/I-69 SIU 28/I-69 Connector, a third paving project, from Highway 212 southward to construction of a Highways 11/425 Connector is scheduled to be let on March 21

This article indicates that the low bid for the project was $32.2 million, that 9.5 miles of the 38 mile road will remain to be constructed at a cost of approximately $50 million to $60 million after this paving project and the other ongoing paving projects are completed, and that in the future it will cost approximately $350 million to upgrade the entire 38 miles from a Super 2 to four lanes:

The state Highway and Transportation Department chose the apparent low bidders on $92.3 million in road projects today, including $32.2 million for a section of a planned 38-mile highway that will eventually connect Interstate 530 around Pine Bluff with the proposed I-69 in in southeastern Arkansas.
Low bidder on the Route 530 project in Lincoln County was Graves and Associates Inc. of Pine Bluff.
Highway department spokesman Randy Ort said grading of the 7.7 mile stretch of roadway is almost completed and the $32.2 million project will include setting the road bed and surfacing from Arkansas 212 west of Star City to Arkansas 11 south of Star City. It also includes setting the road bed and resurfacing a section of roadway from Arkansas 11 to U.S. Highway 425.
When the project and several others along the corridor is finished, the 38-mile two-lane highway, referred to as the I-530 or I-69 connector, will stretch from Pine Bluff to the proposed I-69 route near Wilmar in Drew County, Ort said.
In November, highway department officials broke ground on the first phase of the I-69 project in Arkansas, an 8.5 mile span between U.S. 278 and U.S. 425 South. The overall I-69 highway in Arkansas will be a tiny portion of what will be a 2,700-mile highway from Canada to the Mexican border.
Ort said $175 million has already been spent on the I-530 or I-69 connector, and when the section in Lincoln County is completed, along with the other sections, all but 9.5 miles of the project, with an estimated cost of between $50 million to $60 million, will remain.
Highway officials plan to eventually widen the connector from two to four lanes and construct interchanges. Estimated cost on that project is about $350 million, Ort said.

EDIT

The low bid was awarded by AHTD today, March 26 (page 1/6 of pdf).

edit

Here is a map of the project from the Plans:

[US71]

This is great news for Southeast Arkansas that they will finally have Interstate access (even if not right away) to other parts of the state/nation.  I would love to see I-530 extended to Monroe or even be a part of the future of Gulfport-Hattiesburg-Jackson freeway.  I-49 in MO/I-40 in AR/I-530 towards the south or east would open up a new corridor to take pressure off of other routes, not to mention tie into I-69.  Frankly, I'm not keen on the L-shaped I-69 routing in AR/MS.  I don't think it will take mileage off of transcontinental traffic.  I thought it needed to be much more diagonal from Memphis to Shreveport to really blaze a new path.  Future I-530 to Monticello pleases me more than the AR segment of I-69 in all honesty.

There has also been talk of a connector from I-40 near Brinkley to I-55 near Greenwood, MS. No word on if this would be an interstate or just an expressway . If nothing else, I'm sure it would see a lot of casino traffic

[Grzrd]

As recently posted on "I-69 in LA..." thread, a ROD has not yet been issued for SIU 14.  I've communicated with a local FHWA official and it appears that the major holdup/problem is that neither Louisiana nor Arkansas has any funds allocated for I-69 SIU 14 in their respectives STIPs.  If a ROD were to sit dormant for a certain length of time, a re-evaluation would have to occur before any construction could begin.  The various governmental entities are currently trying to figure out the best way to handle this situation.
In the FEIS, Arkansas projects a twenty-five year implementation schedule from 2015 to 2040, which projects a beginning four years before Louisiana's projected start date of 2019 (pages 5-7 and 5-8 of FEIS; pages 207-208/760 of pdf).

Arkansas now has a Record of Decision for each of the three I-69 SIUs (with I-69 SIU 28/I-69 Connector/Highway 530's ROD being in addition to the RODs for SIUs 12, 13, and 14) located within its borders because a Record of Decision was recently issued for SIU 14, which is also partially located in Louisiana. I recently received an email from the Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments ("NLCOG") to that effect:

FHWA issued a ROD, for I-69 SIU-14, April 27th, 2012. NLCOG is in the process of transferring the SIU-14 website from URS Corp. to our domain, but it is a painful process to work with Network Solutions. I might go ahead and post the signed ROD document on our nlcog.org homepage.

I initially posted this info in the "I-69 in LA ..." thread, but I decided to go ahead and also post it here because it is noteworthy that Arkansas now has Records of Decision for the entire length of I-69 through the state.

EDIT

NLCOG has moved quickly and posted the I-69 SIU 14 ROD on its website.

second edit

LaDOTD also has an I-69 SIU 14 Environmental Documents page.

[sr641]

Arkansas 530 is an exiting route. Hope it gets finished in the next 5-10 years.

[Alps]

Arkansas 530 is an exiting route. Hope it gets finished in the next 5-10 years.

What is it exiting? Surely you didn't mean existing.

[sr641]

Arkansas 530 is an exiting route. Hope it gets finished in the next 5-10 years.

What is it exiting? Surely you didn't mean existing.

Arkansas 530 is an exiting route. Hope it gets finished in the next 5-10 years.

What is it exiting? Surely you didn't mean existing.

Sorry I meant exciting.

[flaroads]

I was on Arkansas 530 a couple of weeks ago and it is really nothing to write home about, IMO. It's your typical rural two-lane road with at least one crossroad between its two termini. The only redeeming part of it was the initial footprints for the eventual ramps at Arkansas 35 and at U.S. 278 that have been cleared of trees.

[US71]

Arkansas 530 is an exiting route. Hope it gets finished in the next 5-10 years.

Grading & structures are finished at Pine Bluff. Arkansas is just waiting for the money fairy to pay for paving it.

[flaroads]

Stumbled across this future I-69 corridor crossing sign along U.S. 278 about 5.6 miles east of U.S. 425 and Monticello on our way back home:



I don't know how long this sign has been along here but Google Street View does it in existence dated back to their contractors' 2009 drive-through.

BTW, here is a shot of Arkansas 530 immediately south of Arkansas 35 showing the wide right-of-way:

[Grzrd]

Here is a link to a photo from the groundbreaking ceremony, as well as other materials related to the ceremony:
http://www.monticellolive.com/i-69-groundbreaking-ceremony-scheduled-for-wednesday-nov-9/#more-88567 ....
The $13 million project, which will stretch 8.5 miles from U.S. 278 East to U.S. 425 South ....

Stumbled across this future I-69 corridor crossing sign along U.S. 278 about 5.6 miles east of U.S. 425 and Monticello on our way back home

Thanks for sharing the photos.  Great shots!
Did you notice any clearing/grubbing for mainline I-69 along U.S. 278 east of Monticello?

[flaroads]

Here is a link to a photo from the groundbreaking ceremony, as well as other materials related to the ceremony:
http://www.monticellolive.com/i-69-groundbreaking-ceremony-scheduled-for-wednesday-nov-9/#more-88567 ....
The $13 million project, which will stretch 8.5 miles from U.S. 278 East to U.S. 425 South ....

Stumbled across this future I-69 corridor crossing sign along U.S. 278 about 5.6 miles east of U.S. 425 and Monticello on our way back home

Thanks for sharing the photos.  Great shots!
Did you notice any clearing/grubbing for mainline I-69 along U.S. 278 east of Monticello?

There was some utility work with a little bit of clearing just east of the sign and curve, that was pretty much it. The sign came up on us so suddenly we were surprised we even got this photo, as I was doing a little over the posted speed limit through the curve.

[Grzrd]

I had an email exchange with AHTD today regarding exactly which Monticello Bypass projects are covered by the Preliminary 2013-16 STIP:

Q: In the Preliminary 2013-16 STIP (http://www.arkansashighways.com/stip/2013-2016/2013-2016_Prelim_STIP.pdf ), Project No. 020462 is listed as a FY 2015 $69 million letting for the I-69 Monticello Bypass in Drew County.  However, no mileage or other description is provided for the project. Is this letting intended for the entire "US 278 to US 278" Monticello Bypass, or is this simply the paving contract for the section of the Monticello Bypass that is currently being graded (US 425 eastward to US 278)?  Similarly, if this project is for the entire Monticello Bypass, does it also include the new terrain short stub of Highway 530 that will be built between I-69 and US 278?

A: 20462 is the preliminary engineering number – there are four jobs broken from that for the bypass. 20484 is the base and surface job for the 8.6 mile-section currently under construction. 20470/20481 are the grading/structures and the base/surface jobs for the 11.3 mile-section west of Highway 425.

I'm guessing that the $69 million would cover 20484 and 20470. It looks like the Highway 530 stub will be a separate project.

EDIT

Highway department spokesman Randy Ort said .... $175 million has already been spent on the I-530 or I-69 connector, and when the section in Lincoln County is completed, along with the other sections, all but 9.5 miles of the project, with an estimated cost of between $50 million to $60 million, will remain.

I do not see any projects related to the final 9.5 miles of the Highway 530/I-69 Connector in the Preliminary STIP.

[formulanone]

This one was on northbound US 65, "intersecting" it between Dumas and McGehee:



The routing of this interstate is a bit of a head-scratcher to me.

[Grzrd]

It's no great surprise, but no projects for the I-69 Mississippi River Bridge are included in the Preliminary 2013-16 STIP, and it appears to be on hold at least through 2016 ... no SIU 12 projects approaching the bridge are included.

(above quote from I-69 Mississippi River Bridge thread)

This one was on northbound US 65, "intersecting" it between Dumas and McGehee .... The routing of this interstate is a bit of a head-scratcher to me.

Did AHTD at least have it in the correct location along US 65 (at least as shown in this map of SIU 12)?:


FWIW this map has I-69's entire route through Arkansas:

[formulanone]

^ Okay, I thought it was following I-530 for a bit; that map above makes more sense now.

It was quite dark and empty out when I took the photo, so I have no reason to doubt that's at the incorrect place.

[O Tamandua]

Here's an article with photos published two days ago: http://searktoday.com/2012/08/13/aerial-photos-of-interstate-69-project-in-southeast-arkansas/#more-10586

[Grzrd]

I emailed Glenn Bolick at AHTD and asked him for a general update on progress along the Connector.  To make a long story short, the section from the I-530 interchange to Star City should be open in approximately two years.  His response:

... When those two projects are completed - about two years probably – we will be able to open it from Pine Bluff to Star City ...

I recently received an email update from Mr. Bolick and it currently appears that the I-69 Connector from Pine Bluff to Star City could be open to traffic by this time next year:

They are hopeful of opening it from PB to around Star City in about a year.

I thought it was following I-530 for a bit; that map above makes more sense now.

In this thread I have posted about both mainline I-69 from Mississippi to Louisiana and the I-69 Connector from Pine Bluff to Wilmar (currently projected to be temporarily designated as AR 530).  Both routes are part of the statutorily designated I-69 Corridor "system" in Arkanasas, so I initially named the thread "I-69 in AR"; however, it occurred to me that doing so might be confusing to the casual I-69 observer.  In an effort to minimize confusion, I have modified the name of the thread to clarify that it covers two routes, particularly as the Pine Bluff to Star City opening approaches.

[lamsalfl]

I guess it will be a while until I-530 makes it down to Star City being this new road is a two-lane.

[US71]

I guess it will be a while until I-530 makes it down to Star City being this new road is a two-lane.

I believe it will be AR 530 when it first opens.

[Grzrd]

Here's an article with photos published two days ago: http://searktoday.com/2012/08/13/aerial-photos-of-interstate-69-project-in-southeast-arkansas/#more-10586

Google Maps now has an aerial image of the I-69 Monticello Bypass construction.

[Grzrd]

Google Maps now has an aerial image of the I-69 Monticello Bypass construction.

In regard to Highway 530/I-69 SIU 28/I-69 Connector, a third paving project, from Highway 212 southward to construction of a Highways 11/425 Connector is scheduled to be let on March 21

The low bid was awarded by AHTD today, March 26

The updated Google images also provide a good view of the Highways 11/425 Connector.

[lamsalfl]

How updated are the Google aerial images of the AR 530 construction south of Pine Bluff?  I'm kinda disappointed to see an at-grade at AR 54/114 even though traffic may be light bc it looks like they left no room for future upgrades.  When is this road scheduled to be complete?

Edit:  I see the cleared trees for future ramps now.  It's AR 212 that has no future interchange. 

[Anthony_JK]

From what I understand, AR 530 is planned to be initially built as a modified Super-2 with some interchanges and some temporary at-grades for now. Once the core of I-69 in Arkansas gets more substansial funding, I'm assuming they will complete the Pine Bluff Connector as a full 4-lane I-grade freeway and convert it to a true I-530 extension.

Some of us would love to see it further extended S to I-20 in Monroe via US 425/US 165...but I won't get too greedy for now.

[lamsalfl]

Monroe?  How about Natchez to BR and drop the zero from 530 leaving just I-53?  That couldn't be any more perfect. 

[Grzrd]

This article indicates that ... 9.5 miles of the 38 mile road will remain to be constructed at a cost of approximately $50 million to $60 million after this paving project and the other ongoing paving projects are completed, and that in the future it will cost approximately $350 million to upgrade the entire 38 miles from a Super 2 to four lanes:

Ort said $175 million has already been spent on the I-530 or I-69 connector, and when the section in Lincoln County is completed, along with the other sections, all but 9.5 miles of the project, with an estimated cost of between $50 million to $60 million, will remain.
Highway officials plan to eventually widen the connector from two to four lanes and construct interchanges. Estimated cost on that project is about $350 million, Ort said.

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:

The Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition conducted its annual banquet Tuesday, May 21 on the campus of UAM .... Keynote speaker of the evening was Arkansas Highway and Transportation Director Scott Bennett .... Scott Bennett covered the current status of the Arkansas Highway system and what it will take to make improvements and expansion.  He reported Arkansas has 16,430 miles of state highways but only $58,536 per mile to maintain the system.  Completion of the I-530 connector from Pine Bluff to Highway 278 will cost around $603,000,000.

I wonder if the $603 million figure includes the $175 million already spent on the project as of March 2012 (175+60+350 = 585)? $18 million increase in estimated cost after fourteen months seems reasonable.


Bennett briefly mentioned "mainline" I-69 and is reported to estimate the completion cost to be $2.4 billion:

In specific comments about I-69, Mr. Bennet stated the total project going through numerous states consists of 2730 miles and will cost $22 billion.  Arkansas's portion of I-69 is 185 miles and will cost $2.4 billion.