I-57 Approved

Started by US71, October 11, 2017, 09:09:35 PM

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mgk920

Quote from: wtd67 on February 26, 2018, 01:42:55 AM
Quote from: Tomahawkin on February 25, 2018, 02:05:13 PM
Having lived in Jonesboro for 10 years. That town is really Backwards! Its the county seat of a dry county. The only thing to do there is get bit by mosquitoes. I have to take back my statements about future economical and commerce in that area...

I lived there 20 years and moved away about 30 years ago, but still visit every year.  I can tell you it is no more backward than any other area I have lived since.  I lived in the DFW area for over 10 years and I can tell you that Arkansas does not know growth like the DFW area and it is still growing even though I haven't lived there in nearly 20 years.

You forgot to add that Jonesboro is a very "wet" dry county.  Nearly all the restaurants serve alchohol by the drink.  You just can't go to a convenience/grocery store to get alcohol and the county line is only a 15-20 minute drive.  I believe Jonesboro has been dry since either WWI or WWII, voted dry when the men were away to war.   

It does have a very strong food processing industry.  You have Riceland, Post Foods, Frito Lay, Nestle, & Butterball.  Jonesboro's City Water & Light invested in a major water processing facility many years ago to lure these industries to Jonesboro.  I haven't seen much growth in that area in the past few years though.

ASU is another asset, it may not be UofA in Fayeteville, but it holds it own and grows every year.  The old saying when I lived in Jonesboro was you go to Fayeteville to party, but you go to Jonesboro to get an education.

Two major hospital facilities is another asset in this size of city as well, better than some areas I have lived.

Jonesboro has had to struggle nearly 50 years to get its interstates.  Look how long it has taken to get US63 upgraded to I-555.  That is a project that started in the early 70's and US67 getting upgraded has gone longer.  If it hadn't been for US Representative, Bill Alexander in the 70's and 80's and demonstration projects, "63 bypass" would probably still be 2 lanes.

Interesting in that Big Rig Steve did a 'drop and hook' visit at an unnamed food processing company there earlier this week, coming in via AR 18 from I-55 (Very interesting upgrades are under way in that corridor, it will be a full Arkansas surface five lanes the whole way when done, possibly by the end of the year. :cool: ) and then going out the next day via US 63 towards Springfield, MO.

Should this planned 'I-57' come to be, could we also be seeing a push to extend I-555 northwestward to 'I-57' in the Hoxie area?  That part of US 63 looked to be sufficiently busy to make that a tempting potential upgrade idea, IMHO.

Steve also headed north on 'I-57' from US 63 - he had obsolete information on a weight restriction on the US 63/412 bridge at Black Rock, AR (this crossing has been replaced within the past few years).  He mentioned something about engineers at ARDOT being worried about it for being of the same basic design as the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, MN that failed in 2007 and thus seriously lowering its weight limit.  That interchange at the current north end of the 'I-57' freeway is even more *WOW!* when driving through it at ground level than it is from the aerial images - especially for being in a place as wide open and relatively thinly populated as where it is.

Mike


Wayward Memphian

#151
Quote from: mgk920 on May 19, 2018, 11:51:13 AM
Quote from: wtd67 on February 26, 2018, 01:42:55 AM
Quote from: Tomahawkin on February 25, 2018, 02:05:13 PM
Having lived in Jonesboro for 10 years. That town is really Backwards! Its the county seat of a dry county. The only thing to do there is get bit by mosquitoes. I have to take back my statements about future economical and commerce in that area...

I lived there 20 years and moved away about 30 years ago, but still visit every year.  I can tell you it is no more backward than any other area I have lived since.  I lived in the DFW area for over 10 years and I can tell you that Arkansas does not know growth like the DFW area and it is still growing even though I haven't lived there in nearly 20 years.

You forgot to add that Jonesboro is a very "wet" dry county.  Nearly all the restaurants serve alchohol by the drink.  You just can't go to a convenience/grocery store to get alcohol and the county line is only a 15-20 minute drive.  I believe Jonesboro has been dry since either WWI or WWII, voted dry when the men were away to war.   

It does have a very strong food processing industry.  You have Riceland, Post Foods, Frito Lay, Nestle, & Butterball.  Jonesboro's City Water & Light invested in a major water processing facility many years ago to lure these industries to Jonesboro.  I haven't seen much growth in that area in the past few years though.

ASU is another asset, it may not be UofA in Fayeteville, but it holds it own and grows every year.  The old saying when I lived in Jonesboro was you go to Fayeteville to party, but you go to Jonesboro to get an education.

Two major hospital facilities is another asset in this size of city as well, better than some areas I have lived.

Jonesboro has had to struggle nearly 50 years to get its interstates.  Look how long it has taken to get US63 upgraded to I-555.  That is a project that started in the early 70's and US67 getting upgraded has gone longer.  If it hadn't been for US Representative, Bill Alexander in the 70's and 80's and demonstration projects, "63 bypass" would probably still be 2 lanes.

Interesting in that Big Rig Steve did a 'drop and hook' visit at an unnamed food processing company there earlier this week, coming in via AR 18 from I-55 (Very interesting upgrades are under way in that corridor, it will be a full Arkansas surface five lanes the whole way when done, possibly by the end of the year. :cool: ) and then going out the next day via US 63 towards Springfield, MO.

Should this planned 'I-57' come to be, could we also be seeing a push to extend I-555 northwestward to 'I-57' in the Hoxie area?  That part of US 63 looked to be sufficiently busy to make that a tempting potential upgrade idea, IMHO.

Steve also headed north on 'I-57' from US 63 - he had obsolete information on a weight restriction on the US 63/412 bridge at Black Rock, AR (this crossing has been replaced within the past few years).  He mentioned something about engineers at ARDOT being worried about it for being of the same basic design as the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, MN that failed in 2007 and thus seriously lowering its weight limit.  That interchange at the current north end of the 'I-57' freeway is even more *WOW!* when driving through it at ground level than it is from the aerial images - especially for being in a place as wide open and relatively thinly populated as where it is.

Mike

The only I could see an I-555 extension is to build a four lane limited access. Just south of Jonesboro from just north of Bay over to where the new 4 lane AR 226 meets US 49. Then bringing AR -226 up to interstate standard. Basically repeating the senario seen with I -49 and I-549 in Ft. Smith.

Let me get into trouble with the moderator gods,  i'd like to see I -555 and and upgrade of US -412 across northern Arkansas as an extension of I-22 eventually to Tulsa maybe all the way to I-35

I'd like to see a new eastern four lane/divided bypass of Jonesboro's east side up to Paragould.

US71

Quote from: Wayward Memphian on May 20, 2018, 11:10:53 AM

The only I could see an I-555 extension is to build a four lane limited access. Just south of Jonesboro from just north of Bay over to where the new 4 lane AR 226 meets US 49. Then bringing AR -226 up to interstate standard. Basically repeating the senario seen with I -49 and I-549 in Ft. Smith.

Let me get into trouble with the moderator gods,  i'd like to see I -555 and and upgrade of US -412 across northern Arkansas as an extension of I-22 eventually to Tulsa maybe all the way to I-35

I'd like to see a new eastern four lane/divided bypass of Jonesboro's east side up to Paragould.

ARDOT is already talking about 4-Laning 412 across the state. But that costs money... money the state doesn't have.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Life in Paradise

#153
Quote from: US71 on May 20, 2018, 12:15:18 PM
Quote from: Wayward Memphian on May 20, 2018, 11:10:53 AM

The only I could see an I-555 extension is to build a four lane limited access. Just south of Jonesboro from just north of Bay over to where the new 4 lane AR 226 meets US 49. Then bringing AR -226 up to interstate standard. Basically repeating the senario seen with I -49 and I-549 in Ft. Smith.

Let me get into trouble with the moderator gods,  i'd like to see I -555 and and upgrade of US -412 across northern Arkansas as an extension of I-22 eventually to Tulsa maybe all the way to I-35

I'd like to see a new eastern four lane/divided bypass of Jonesboro's east side up to Paragould.
[/quote

ARDOT is already talking about 4-Laning 412 across the state. But that costs money... money the state doesn't have.

If I were in charge of ARDOT, I'd take care of the projects that are on the board first (in no particular order)-I-57 to the Missouri state line, I-49 from Texarkana to I-40, and I-69 across southeastern Arkansas.  Once you get the financing for those projects, then by all means work on I-555/US-412/I-22 or whatever you want to call it.

I-39

So MO is finally putting a gas tax increase on the ballot this fall. If this passes, could we see any work done on upgrading US 60/67 between Sikeston and the state line to a freeway (or at least finish the US 67 four lane to the state line)?

Wayward Memphian

Quote from: I-39 on May 25, 2018, 02:00:36 PM
So MO is finally putting a gas tax increase on the ballot this fall. If this passes, could we see any work done on upgrading US 60/67 between Sikeston and the state line to a freeway (or at least finish the US 67 four lane to the state line)?

As I stated in another thread, this is bad timing. The market speculators have decided to run up oil and , therefore, gas.

Tomahawkin

Does anyone know when Missouri will plan on starting the 57 expansion west of its terminus @ 55. My big boy gut tells me it may not be til 2020 at the earliest. Also I wouldn't be surprised if 57 runs concurrent with 55 south to connect to an southwest extension south of Sikeston due to the undeveloped area which would be easier to build through???

sparker

Quote from: Tomahawkin on May 26, 2018, 02:12:48 PM
Does anyone know when Missouri will plan on starting the 57 expansion west of its terminus @ 55. My big boy gut tells me it may not be til 2020 at the earliest. Also I wouldn't be surprised if 57 runs concurrent with 55 south to connect to an southwest extension south of Sikeston due to the undeveloped area which would be easier to build through???

From what I've seen just by driving through there -- plus more recent GSV -- when construction starts on the planned I-57 extension west of I-55 it'll be right on the current US 60 alignment, which is already divided expressway with little or no private access points -- it'll require, of course, grade separations, shoulder work (inner & outer), and probably a number of added frontage roads.  But a 2020 start on this would be wishful thinking; work on the MO part of the project likely won't even start until AR has at least mapped out the routing within that state, including just where it'll cross the line near US 67.  Unless sufficient funding is located, I don't see anything happening in either state until at least 2025; both states have too much previously-planned items (such as I-49) on their plates to prioritize a corridor that was established only last year.  It'll probably happen, but later rather than sooner.

Bobby5280

Quote from: Wayward MemphianAs I stated in another thread, this is bad timing. The market speculators have decided to run up oil and , therefore, gas.

The markets were tough on oil May 25, due to news that Russia and OPEC nations like Saudi Arabia are going to increase oil production output. They've had various production curbs in place which helped prices rise. If those restrictions are lifted prices are going to drop. Falling oil prices would suck for states such as Oklahoma where the government has been struggling financially and its ideologically-driven choices threaten to turns its economy into a poor backwater. States like Oklahoma need oil back over $100 per barrel. I don't think the OPEC nations will let oil get back to that level by choice. Countries like Saudi Arabia have no love for companies involved in North American fracking operations. Hiking oil production quotas will eat into the profit margins of American oil companies. Of course, North American oil companies have made great improvements to oil drilling technology, which has helped them still squeak out profits with trading at lower prices. Still, Oklahoma's tax base winds up dealing with less anyway -and less money for teachers, cops, etc.

Tomahawkin

US 60 makes sense. A lot of it just needs to be made interstate grade until it runs in to US 67. I think all of that can be done in the next 10 years...

Wayward Memphian

Quote from: Bobby5280 on May 26, 2018, 03:28:15 PM
Quote from: Wayward MemphianAs I stated in another thread, this is bad timing. The market speculators have decided to run up oil and , therefore, gas.

The markets were tough on oil May 25, due to news that Russia and OPEC nations like Saudi Arabia are going to increase oil production output. They've had various production curbs in place which helped prices rise. If those restrictions are lifted prices are going to drop. Falling oil prices would suck for states such as Oklahoma where the government has been struggling financially and its ideologically-driven choices threaten to turns its economy into a poor backwater. States like Oklahoma need oil back over $100 per barrel. I don't think the OPEC nations will let oil get back to that level by choice. Countries like Saudi Arabia have no love for companies involved in North American fracking operations. Hiking oil production quotas will eat into the profit margins of American oil companies. Of course, North American oil companies have made great improvements to oil drilling technology, which has helped them still squeak out profits with trading at lower prices. Still, Oklahoma's tax base winds up dealing with less anyway -and less money for teachers, cops, etc.

Have you seen the drilling rig countsfor the US. It is never going back to 100 dollars a barrel  raring some event that makes it unimportant in the grand scheme. Part of that decision is the Venezuelan plummet. They don't want oil this high because of the US incentive to fracking even more(see current fig count) The spread between WTI and Brent is massive right now. Our exports are booming just a couple of years being forbidden. The pipeline capacity and the ability to load and ship is being taxed until the new terminal and pipeline capacity expansion projects are done.

But... none of that matters. The average voter sees the price.on the pump and nothing else. The supply and demand nuances don't matter. Price at the pump.matters. If it's $2.80 come NOV, they ain't voting in gas taxes.

edwaleni

Quote from: Wayward Memphian on May 20, 2018, 11:10:53 AM
Quote from: mgk920 on May 19, 2018, 11:51:13 AM
Quote from: wtd67 on February 26, 2018, 01:42:55 AM
Quote from: Tomahawkin on February 25, 2018, 02:05:13 PM
Having lived in Jonesboro for 10 years. That town is really Backwards! Its the county seat of a dry county. The only thing to do there is get bit by mosquitoes. I have to take back my statements about future economical and commerce in that area...

I lived there 20 years and moved away about 30 years ago, but still visit every year.  I can tell you it is no more backward than any other area I have lived since.  I lived in the DFW area for over 10 years and I can tell you that Arkansas does not know growth like the DFW area and it is still growing even though I haven't lived there in nearly 20 years.

You forgot to add that Jonesboro is a very "wet" dry county.  Nearly all the restaurants serve alchohol by the drink.  You just can't go to a convenience/grocery store to get alcohol and the county line is only a 15-20 minute drive.  I believe Jonesboro has been dry since either WWI or WWII, voted dry when the men were away to war.   

It does have a very strong food processing industry.  You have Riceland, Post Foods, Frito Lay, Nestle, & Butterball.  Jonesboro's City Water & Light invested in a major water processing facility many years ago to lure these industries to Jonesboro.  I haven't seen much growth in that area in the past few years though.

ASU is another asset, it may not be UofA in Fayeteville, but it holds it own and grows every year.  The old saying when I lived in Jonesboro was you go to Fayeteville to party, but you go to Jonesboro to get an education.

Two major hospital facilities is another asset in this size of city as well, better than some areas I have lived.

Jonesboro has had to struggle nearly 50 years to get its interstates.  Look how long it has taken to get US63 upgraded to I-555.  That is a project that started in the early 70's and US67 getting upgraded has gone longer.  If it hadn't been for US Representative, Bill Alexander in the 70's and 80's and demonstration projects, "63 bypass" would probably still be 2 lanes.

Interesting in that Big Rig Steve did a 'drop and hook' visit at an unnamed food processing company there earlier this week, coming in via AR 18 from I-55 (Very interesting upgrades are under way in that corridor, it will be a full Arkansas surface five lanes the whole way when done, possibly by the end of the year. :cool: ) and then going out the next day via US 63 towards Springfield, MO.

Should this planned 'I-57' come to be, could we also be seeing a push to extend I-555 northwestward to 'I-57' in the Hoxie area?  That part of US 63 looked to be sufficiently busy to make that a tempting potential upgrade idea, IMHO.

Steve also headed north on 'I-57' from US 63 - he had obsolete information on a weight restriction on the US 63/412 bridge at Black Rock, AR (this crossing has been replaced within the past few years).  He mentioned something about engineers at ARDOT being worried about it for being of the same basic design as the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, MN that failed in 2007 and thus seriously lowering its weight limit.  That interchange at the current north end of the 'I-57' freeway is even more *WOW!* when driving through it at ground level than it is from the aerial images - especially for being in a place as wide open and relatively thinly populated as where it is.

Mike

The only I could see an I-555 extension is to build a four lane limited access. Just south of Jonesboro from just north of Bay over to where the new 4 lane AR 226 meets US 49. Then bringing AR -226 up to interstate standard. Basically repeating the senario seen with I -49 and I-549 in Ft. Smith.

Let me get into trouble with the moderator gods,  i'd like to see I -555 and and upgrade of US -412 across northern Arkansas as an extension of I-22 eventually to Tulsa maybe all the way to I-35

I'd like to see a new eastern four lane/divided bypass of Jonesboro's east side up to Paragould.

As much as I have driven through Hoxie and Imboden I cant see 412 getting any enhancements anytime soon. MO and AR will want to connect the US67 between the MO state line down to Pocahontas before any further work on 412. Just not enough volumes there.

The City of Pocahontas got ARDOT to commit to not bypass the city, so I am not sure how that will work between Walnut Ridge and Corning.

ilpt4u

Does giving Pocahontas the first x57 Spur fill the committment to not bypass Pocahontas? Surely I-57 will follow the UP train track route between Walnut Ridge and Corning? No?

edwaleni

Quote from: ilpt4u on May 28, 2018, 11:25:28 PM
Does giving Pocahontas the first x57 Spur fill the committment to not bypass Pocahontas? Surely I-57 will follow the UP train track route between Walnut Ridge and Corning? No?

Not sure, ARDOT just finished upgrading the US67 bridge over the Black River at Pocahontas.When I read that I thought at first this was part of the planned connection between Walnut Ridge and Corning.

But all I saw was they 4 laned and streamlined the signals of US67 through Pocahontas including the said bridge.  It didn't look like anything that would contribute to a future US67/I-57 alignment.

In 2013, this is what the plan was:

WALNUT RIDGE, AR (KAIT) - After almost three years of going back and forth with having to agree on a new hwy 67 route to the Missouri state line, a compromise has been made. The New route will use most of the existing highway 67 and create a bypass around Pocahontas on the east side, and a stretch of road that will lead to a bypass around Corning on the west side.

"We expect announcements over the next year of multiple industrial developments along this route," said Walnut Ridge Mayor Don House.

With new developments in the work comes anticipated heavy traffic.  House said taking care of it now is important before it becomes a problem in the future.

"With all those plans in mind, we're trying to get ready for that," said House. "Some companies have already made some big investments in properties along this line."

Although, it took nearly three years to come up with a compromise from all the cities along highway 67, the new proposed route is much affordable and timely than what was originally discussed.

"We're building only 37 miles instead of 57 miles, and we're building it from Pocahontas to the Missouri state line," said House.  "We're following the existing route except for minor adjustments and the bypasses around Corning and around Pocahontas."

House said there's a lot more to this new proposal than just accommodating the amount of drivers who will be traveling on the highway.

"It's for safety, environmental impact, economic development and industrial growth," said House.

There's not a lot of money for the project now, but House said a new highway bill could fund the project much sooner than anticipated If it's approved.

"There are ways at which we may be able to begin the building of this project through some influence on the bill."

House said they are waiting for approval signatures from Searcy city officials, and plan to send the proposal to Governor Beebe and the Highway Commission to approve.

edwaleni


mgk920

Does extending I-57 off of its current ghost end at Walnut Ridge and along the UP to Corning require that present-day US 67 be moved or otherwise decommissioned?

Mike

edwaleni

Quote from: mgk920 on May 29, 2018, 07:50:46 PM
Does extending I-57 off of its current ghost end at Walnut Ridge and along the UP to Corning require that present-day US 67 be moved or otherwise decommissioned?

Mike

According to these recent reports, the road will turn to the NW and bypass Pocahontas to the east then cross the Black River and align with the current US67 going NE. And just west of Corning it will turn north to bypass Corning and rejoin the current ROW north of town.

This will save money as less dedicated ROW will be required. It will still provide access to the towns of Pocahontas and Corning and meet interstate standards up to the MO/AR state line.

This will probably mean US67 north of Pocahontas will get a parallel 2 lane road built, shift traffic over, finish the bridges for rural/local traffic and rip out and replace the original US67 pavement.

At the moment, unless they find a rare spotted purple daisy or a rare form of Gregson's nipple nosed frog, the biggest hold up with be funding for actual construction.

bugo

I highly doubt they're going to build the freeway right on top of US 67, using the current highway as one carriageway of the interstate. I can't think of an instance when Arkansas did that.

They should build the freeway between Walnut Ridge and Corning roughly paralleling AR 34 from Walnut Ridge to O'Kean then paralleling AR 90 from O'Kean to Knobel, turning north and bypassing Corning to the east then heading due north to the east of current US 67 into Missouri. Pocahontas is already connected to Walnut Ridge with a 5 lane "Arkansas Freeway" and eventually US 62 will probably be 4 laned from the US 412 western split to the Missouri line, meaning Pocahontas would be connected to I-57 both to the south and to the northeast. This makes the most sense to me.

sparker

Quote from: bugo on May 30, 2018, 12:43:43 AM
I highly doubt they're going to build the freeway right on top of US 67, using the current highway as one carriageway of the interstate. I can't think of an instance when Arkansas did that.

They should build the freeway between Walnut Ridge and Corning roughly paralleling AR 34 from Walnut Ridge to O'Kean then paralleling AR 90 from O'Kean to Knobel, turning north and bypassing Corning to the east then heading due north to the east of current US 67 into Missouri. Pocahontas is already connected to Walnut Ridge with a 5 lane "Arkansas Freeway" and eventually US 62 will probably be 4 laned from the US 412 western split to the Missouri line, meaning Pocahontas would be connected to I-57 both to the south and to the northeast. This makes the most sense to me.

Although the AR 34/90/UP route is the most logical choice, this is AR, where local politics often prevail.  It's pretty obvious from the press release that the "fix was in" regarding routing I-57 up existing US 67 as much as possible.  With frontage roads and a relatively narrow ROW (likely just enough for 4 lanes, shoulders, and a K-rail) and a number of strategically placed interchanges, the Pocahontas-Corning segment will, in all likelihood, be optimized to serve local businesses by providing a clear view of such enterprises from I-57 itself -- and plenty of ways to access them.  And a reasonably close-in set of bypasses of the two towns will do likewise for current in-town businesses geared toward pass-through commerce -- give 'em a place to relocate if they so choose (and I'll bet that the moving would somehow be at least partially subsidized!).  It'll end up looking like many other Interstates heading out from similarly-sized towns: not terribly scenic, but quite functional as far as business access is concerned. 

bugo

If they build it close to Pocahontas, the 5 lane "Arkansas Freeway" US 67 will end up being a waste of money. Pocahontas is served by a multilane highway, so I-57 can bypass it to the east.

Henry

Quote from: sparker on May 26, 2018, 03:26:44 PM
Quote from: Tomahawkin on May 26, 2018, 02:12:48 PM
Does anyone know when Missouri will plan on starting the 57 expansion west of its terminus @ 55. My big boy gut tells me it may not be til 2020 at the earliest. Also I wouldn't be surprised if 57 runs concurrent with 55 south to connect to an southwest extension south of Sikeston due to the undeveloped area which would be easier to build through???

From what I've seen just by driving through there -- plus more recent GSV -- when construction starts on the planned I-57 extension west of I-55 it'll be right on the current US 60 alignment, which is already divided expressway with little or no private access points -- it'll require, of course, grade separations, shoulder work (inner & outer), and probably a number of added frontage roads.  But a 2020 start on this would be wishful thinking; work on the MO part of the project likely won't even start until AR has at least mapped out the routing within that state, including just where it'll cross the line near US 67.  Unless sufficient funding is located, I don't see anything happening in either state until at least 2025; both states have too much previously-planned items (such as I-49) on their plates to prioritize a corridor that was established only last year.  It'll probably happen, but later rather than sooner.
Compared to this, I-49 should be a cakewalk. Closing the gap around Bella Vista ought to be the priority, then they can start work on I-57. I agree that it would be nice to have a continuous nonstop route between Chicago and Little Rock (or Dallas/Fort Worth if you throw in I-30), but these things take time.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

capt.ron

Quote from: bugo on May 30, 2018, 04:28:32 AM
If they build it close to Pocahontas, the 5 lane "Arkansas Freeway" US 67 will end up being a waste of money. Pocahontas is served by a multilane highway, so I-57 can bypass it to the east.
Plus, that "5 lane AR freeway" between Walnut Ridge and Pocahontas is flood prone. There is NO way that that section will be used for future I-57 unless they tear all of that out and raise the roadway. It would make more sense to keep that section signed as US 67 and build I-57 just east of there on a new alignment.

sparker

Quote from: capt.ron on May 30, 2018, 11:34:55 AM
Quote from: bugo on May 30, 2018, 04:28:32 AM
If they build it close to Pocahontas, the 5 lane "Arkansas Freeway" US 67 will end up being a waste of money. Pocahontas is served by a multilane highway, so I-57 can bypass it to the east.
Plus, that "5 lane AR freeway" between Walnut Ridge and Pocahontas is flood prone. There is NO way that that section will be used for future I-57 unless they tear all of that out and raise the roadway. It would make more sense to keep that section signed as US 67 and build I-57 just east of there on a new alignment.

That is probably what's going to happen.  There is a "stub-end" continuation of the freeway from the point where US 67 veers NW at the north end of the freeway section; whether this corresponds to a prior ARDOT plan to use a AR 34/90 alignment (the stub-end aims in that direction) is at present a moot point given the most recent set of plans.  But that stub-end could be readily curved around to travel parallel to and east of the present 5-lane alignment of US 67, which is lined by residences, farms, and roadside businesses.  Such an alignment would also likely veer east of the industrial area around the airfield south of Pocahontas,  cross the Black River, and rejoin US 67 at or near the big east-to-north curve NE of town.  I'd say it would be a question as to whether ARDOT, once this facility is in place, retains US 67 on its previous surface alignment or renumbers it as an extension of AR 367; my money would be on the former, since with the designation of I-57 there's a number that can be used for the bypass, leaving US 67 to trek through the towns -- whereas prior to the Interstate designation US 67 was the primary designation and thus used on the recently-completed freeway south of Walnut Ridge. 

edwaleni

Quote from: bugo on May 30, 2018, 12:43:43 AM
I highly doubt they're going to build the freeway right on top of US 67, using the current highway as one carriageway of the interstate. I can't think of an instance when Arkansas did that.

They should build the freeway between Walnut Ridge and Corning roughly paralleling AR 34 from Walnut Ridge to O'Kean then paralleling AR 90 from O'Kean to Knobel, turning north and bypassing Corning to the east then heading due north to the east of current US 67 into Missouri. Pocahontas is already connected to Walnut Ridge with a 5 lane "Arkansas Freeway" and eventually US 62 will probably be 4 laned from the US 412 western split to the Missouri line, meaning Pocahontas would be connected to I-57 both to the south and to the northeast. This makes the most sense to me.

The article I referenced said clearly, " use existing row". Using existing usually requires utility relocations, determine which rural roads get a cross over and removal of the older road with a gravel frontage.

Pocahontas made a lot of noise against using the ROW along the UP railroad and ARDOT listened.

Yes Arkansas is different. Only state to get a congressional dispensation for the naming rights to I-555 even though 3 miles of it violate FHA Interstate standards. How? It is the only Interstate to allow farm equipment. ARDOT was too cheap to build a frontage road between Marked Tree and Sedgeway.

In case you are wondering...that waiver is where the the road crosses the St Francis Sunken Lands. Sunken due to the New Madrid quake.

NE2

Quote from: edwaleni on May 30, 2018, 11:48:34 PM
Yes Arkansas is different. Only state to get a congressional dispensation for the naming rights to I-555 even though 3 miles of it violate FHA Interstate standards. How? It is the only Interstate to allow farm equipment.

http://www.localnews8.com/news/kifi-top-story/farm-equipment-legal-on-interstates-under-idaho-law_20160825063155661/58521068
I'm also finding possible allowances in Wisconsin and Texas.
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".



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