I-69 in AR (and Pine Bluff I-69 Connector/AR 530)

[Rick Powell]

Great, thanks for the insights and clarification. Is there a preferred alignment for the Troy bypass?

I'm not sure if an EIS was prepared for the Troy bypass, technically it is I-69 SIU 7 Sections 1 and 2 (there are 5 sections that the SIU was divided into in TN running south to north). I did find this map from an unofficial I-69 site.
http://www.i69info.com/siu7-final.png

[Road Hog]

I can now say I have zero interest in I-69 as presently conceptualized between Shreveport and Memphis. It's a road to nowhere and a boondoggle. I-49 > I-30 > I-40 suffices ( and in the end might actually be shorter).

[bwana39]

I would have completed the Monticello bypass before building the extension to McGahee. By the way, when the extension to McGahee is constructed, will it also be signed as Bypass US 278, or might they bring back the AR 569 designation?

https://ardot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=a716eb676065457cae0cf67b99c257fe

It will be called US-278 until a bridge over the Mississippi River is built.

When ARDOT engaged local leadership and business leaders, they said updating the road east to McGahee had more economic impact than extending the bypass farther west and connecting it to a future AR-530.

Most of the hearing material has been taken down by ARDOT on the project site, but a video recap of the project can be found here:

https://vimeo.com/452222439

Bottom line is even the locals prefer an improved regional road. What was there a decade ago and mostly still is are 24' of two lane road with no shoulders, lots of curves, and no passing zones. While (re)numbered as US-278 in function it is still AR-4. The average speed per google from McGehee to Hope is 44 mph. There are rural stretches that are 45 mph and communities with no stores or signed intersections go to 35. In some of the towns and rural communities with intersections 30mph.

If I live out there, I want improved regional transportation even if I have to feign wanting this freeway. Realistically, there is more going on on the US-82 corridor than US-278.