[AllenKarber]

Every time we go to see my bro-in-law and his family they have a little more work done on the new interchange east of the city on I-30.

I heard that all traffic was going to be routed off I-30 through Nash while that construction was going on. I can't imagine what kind of mess that will be.

[kcmoney]

It still has a long way to go. Missouri is basically done with the project all the way up to Kansas City. Louisiana is in the process, and Arkansas is continuing to lag behind. The Bella Vista bypass has yet to begin, but that won't be the difficult part. The bulk of the work needed lays from Texarkana to Fort Smith where I don't believe any work has started. Can anybody confirm if there is any work being done in the Western-Central part of the state?

[ArkansasSlim]

Originally Posted by Dariusb

Has anyone heard anymore about the progress of this project? I know that it's currently being built around the norteast side of Texarkana but that's all I know. Any info would be appreciated.

This is in reply to an old post, but today's paper had an article that stated it is anticipated to take up to 25 more years to complete I-49. Some segments are being worked on but it will be that long before there is thru-traffic.

[6genet]

Any new updates on this? It looks like they are starting overpasses on Highway 22 in Barling. Does anyone know of any progress up from Texarkana?

25 more years? I travel down to South Louisiana every 3 weeks via 65 south, this would be much faster for me once it opens.

[SwinerBock]

Arkansas has the unfortunate luck of having to support a LOT of highway miles with taxes gleaned off of a small population. I'd say 25 years is a conservative estimate. Not even sure if I-69 (the NAFTA highway) will EVER get funded in Arkansas.

I think the cries went up for 4-lane access between El Dorado and Little Rock around the 1980's. They've started work on bits and pieces of it, but still nowhere near a done deal.

[ArkansasSlim]

I drove through Texarkana a couple weeks ago and the I-49/I-30 interchange is under construction but there is no work, I'm aware of, north of there.

[Dr. Foosball]

There is some work around Fort Chaffee, but it doesn't look like they have done too much.

I have been hearing about this mythical road since as long as I can remember. I think it will carry on in legend for as long as I am alive.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by Dr. Foosball

There is some work around Fort Chaffee, but it doesn't look like they have done too much.

I have been hearing about this mythical road since as long as I can remember. I think it will carry on in legend for as long as I am alive.

Problem is that its not cost effective to build the road between Fort Smith and Texarkana. That is an extremely rural, backwoods part of the state and there really isn't a demand for that connection. Fort Smith/NWA to Kansas City is a completely different story which is why that road has been built. I honestly think an NWA-Tulsa connection at Interstate standards would be nice.