I-540 daily commute between Bentonville and south of Fayetteville....... (West Fork: home, construction)

[SteF95]

We are looking at moving to the West Fork area and are curious as to any thoughts about what the daily commute between Bentonville and south of Fayetteville is like?

Thank you!!

[boulder]

Yes, I can tell you about the daily commute between Fayetteville and Bentonville because I do it every day!

If starting your trip in Fayetteville and going to Bentonville then expect it to be bumper to bumper between 6:45am and 8:30am. The trip is relatively quick if the traffic is flowing, maybe 20 minutes, but I have also sat at the off ramp for another 10-15 minutes waiting to turn. Expect to go from 80mph down to 40mph and then back to 80mph multiple times during your commute and don't expect to pass as all the aggressive drivers just hang out in the left lane, no more than a car length apart, so they don't have to deal with the slower traffic merging at the on-ramps. What's funny is that in the morning the south bound lane is sparse with traffic while in the evening the northbound is that way - so many people live in Washington county and work in Benton county. The evening trip home is usually a bit better as people tend to leave work at different times which helps alleviate some of the traffic congestion.

In traffic studies on I-540 it has been determined that this road needs to be widened from 2 lanes each direction to 4 lanes each way. However, it has also been reported that it will be like 2020 before this is ever completed.

Unfortunately this stretch of highway has had it's fair share of deadly accidents over the past few years. It is also unsightly most days as it is littered with construction garbage that falls / blows out of the back of trucks. And be careful around the dump truck drivers - they tend to be the worst drivers on the road.