One of Arkansas’ top priorities is finishing Interstate 49 in the western part of the state.
A key component of that massive project, which is also massively expensive, is a 13.7-mile stretch near Fort Smith that includes a bridge over the Arkansas River to connect Interstate 40 with Interstate 49, which would then run from south Fort Smith to northwest Arkansas and up through the midsection of the nation.
The project’s completion would connect with a 6.5-mile stretch of Interstate 549 that opened in 2015 and hooks up U.S. 71 with Highway 22 in south Fort Smith. The proposed 13.7-mile project would then connect Highway 22 with I-49 in Alma.
“To make it where [I-549] is actually helping local industry is the bridge over the river,” said Tim Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce. “The bridge connects our 6½ miles and makes a straight thoroughfare over the river up to northwest Arkansas and up to Canada.”
Allen and other officials dream of the stretch’s completion because of the economic development that could be generated by opening up new lands and connecting the city with other economic engines, specifically northwest Arkansas. The problem is the price tag of $380 million.
“Funding is the biggest hurdle,” said Chad Adams, District 4 engineer with the Arkansas Department of Transportation. “At this point there is no funding available. There is a route established but [as for] the design with specific details, there’s nothing there. There is an alignment laid out. [U]ntil we get more into it there’s nothing.”
The bridge and 13.7 miles would be the northern link of the rest of Interstate 49, which was designed to connect Canada to Interstate 10 in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Most of the interstate has been built except for the stretch in Arkansas between Texarkana and Fort Smith.
Tolling for Dollars
One possible solution for the funding shortage is to make the 13.7-mile stretch a toll road. The ArDOT commissioned a study to determine the feasibility of having a private company build the road and bridge and then recoup its investments through tolls.
Adams said ArDOT held its first meeting recently in Little Rock to get that study underway. Adams said a meeting in Fort Smith is scheduled for Dec. 5 to answer questions about the tolling possibility.
Some entities, such as the Arkansas Trucking Association, are adamantly opposed to tolling. Shannon Newton, president of the ATA, has said that tolling, on top of tax dollars and fuel tax surcharges, would result in double-taxing Arkansas motorists.
“Our members are significantly opposed to tolling as a mechanism for paying for roads and bridges,” Newton said in July. “That’s a philosophical position that I’m not sure we have deviated from as an industry, certainly not on the state level.”
Others believe that the use of tolling would be beneficial.
“I have been a fan of tolling ever since I have been in Arkansas, even more so now,” said Ivy Owen, executive director of the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority in Fort Smith. “If you were to ask people now, ‘Would you want to pay a toll to cross over the Arkansas River?’ half of them would probably say no. But once the damn thing is built, 90 percent of them are going to use it.
“If that luxury is there in front of you and is affordable at the time, you’re going to use it.”
Adams said the study would determine how much traffic is expected to use the stretch, thus how much could be charged for tolls in order to pay off the building costs.
“It’s due diligence,” Adams said. “Several interested parties have proposed that maybe we can pay for this with tolls. That’s good in theory and that’s something to consider. You can’t just toll it and not do any kind of study.
“When you’re talking about a tolling facility, it’s through a private partnership. Those guys who do that put the money up front and they want a return on their investment. If it is going to take longer than 30 years to pay for itself, then they’re not going to be interested. It’s kind of a moot point.”
‘A Revenue Stream’
Allen, the chamber chief, said Fort Smith has all the ingredients to be a major economic force in the state because of its location and workforce.
Interstate 40 connects Fort Smith with Oklahoma City to the west and Little Rock to the east, and I-49 in neighboring city Alma runs north to northwest Arkansas. Allen understands the financial constraints but also knows the project is a top priority of Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
“Everyone in this community and in state government and with the highway department, they’re thinking, ‘Let’s get the bridge over the river,’” Allen said. “You have to turn it into a revenue stream. Once we’re able to connect the largest manufacturing community in Arkansas to the midsection of the country in a more efficient way, that’s a big positive.”
Owen is a big supporter of the project’s completion because the I-49 stretch would connect with the I-549 span that crosses through Chaffee Crossing, the 7,000-acre development community that straddles Fort Smith and Barling. The bridge and interstate would give Fort Smith a southern “spoke” that would improve its economic prospects.
“We’ve done a tremendous job without the connection, but if it was done it wouldn’t just be a boon for Chaffee,” Owen said. “It would be a boon for the western part of the state. Hopefully, between the governor and everybody they have working on it, they can figure out a way to get it done.”
No one is holding his breath at this point. Adams, the ArDOT engineer, said the tolling study will take a year and then the planning and design and environmental studies have to be updated or completed.
“Even if there was money dropped into our hands tomorrow to go build, we’ve got to do the lead design, go through the construction process,” Adams said. “If we started tomorrow, I would say you’re looking at six to seven years to complete it.”
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