Construction is proceeding on the widening of Interstate 40 in the Conway area.
The project will add two lanes to a 22.9-mile, four-lane stretch of the highway from Interstate 430 in North Little Rock to the U.S. Highway 65 exit on the north side of Conway. The work will cost an estimated $134 million.
The contractor for the first and $44.7 million phase of the project, Mid-South Pavers of Nashville, Tenn., began working at the end of January and was last week working nights installing barrier walls and shifting traffic at some bridges to allow for new bridge construction.
Randy Ort, spokesman from the Arkansas State Highway & Transportation Department, said widening I-40 should reduce congestion on the affected stretch, therefore enhancing “safety and mobility” for motorists.
In the Conway area where construction is under way, an AHTD 2010 traffic study revealed that 54,000-58,000 vehicles traverse the highway daily, Ort said. AHTD chose to start the work in Conway because Conway residents commonly use the highway as a local road, he said.
The project will involve at least four more separately bid out phases before it is completed, he said. If funding comes through as planned, the widening should be completed by the end of 2016, Ort said.
Federal money is paying for 80 percent of the work, and the state is paying for 20 percent.
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