The Conway City Council on Wednesday approved a proposed route for extending Arkansas Highway 25, agreeing on the Arkansas State Highway & Transportation Department’s forward progress on the approximately $6 million project.
The project will create a direct, 1.02-mile route connecting Highway 25 to the Interstate 40 interchange on the west side of Conway, according to AHTD spokesman Randy Ort.
With the city’s and Faulkner County’s concurrence, AHTD will next move forward with preliminary design work, Ort said. Construction work should begin at the end of 2014 or early in 2015, he said.
The city and county have agreed to fund 50 percent of the project, while the state contributes the other $3 million.
The new strip of highway should relieve traffic on Highway 65 leading into Conway from Greenbrier, providing an alternative route, Conway Mayor Tab Townsell said.
The hefty $6 million price tag for the small strip of highway is the result of terrain problems that will have to be smoothed for the new road. The section of highway will be constructed to meet state road standards, Townsell said.
