INTERSTATE EXTENSION TO BEGIN

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

The long awaited extension of Interstate 530 between Pine Bluff and Monticello and link to the Interstate 69 corridor is expected to start very soon, Jefferson County Judge Mike Holcomb said Wednesday.

“I’m excited about it because it’s really going to be a boost to our economy,” Holcomb said after receiving notification about the projects start from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.

“I expect we will see new restaurants and the like start popping up along where the highway is going to go, as well as increased business at some of our existing restaurants,” the judge said. “Plus, it’s going to provide badly needed jobs for some of our people.”

In March, the Arkansas Highway Commission directed AHTD Director Dan Flowers “to proceed with the development of the Interstate 69 Connector, using federal earmarked funds.”

The first part of the project, grading and structures for approximately 10 miles between Pine Bluff and Monticello, was awarded to T.J. Lambrecht Construction Co. of Joliet, Ill.

Commissioner Madison Murphy of El Dorado said the work will begin at Steep Bank Creek in Jefferson County, extend southward through Cleveland County and continue into Lincoln County to Arkansas 212.

Construction of an interchange for I-530 is already under way in Pine Bluff, as is a section of the new highway near Star City.

When it’s completed, the total cost for extending I-530 from Pine Bluff to Monticello will cost an estimated $614 million, including an estimated $9 million for right-of-way.

Congress appropriated $109 million for the development of a connector road from Pine Bluff to Monticello and in 2002. The commission was authorized to start acquiring right of way for the entire project, according to another commission order dated Oct. 23, 2002.

When it’s completed, Interstate 69 will stretch from Indiana northeast to the Canadian border in Michigan, and southwest to the Texas-Mexico border.