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PB EN ROUTE TO HAVING NEW ROAD

By Wes Clement/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Friday, July 18, 2008 10:39 PM CDT

The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department has continued to progress in the construction of a 38.5-mile road designed to connect Interstate 530 in Pine Bluff to U.S. 278 in Wilmar though much of the work is hidden from view. The connector is intended to provide easy access to future Interstate 69.

Construction is ongoing at the I-69 exchange, located in Pine Bluff on I-530. Pine Bluff Commercial/Ralph Fitzgerald

“Even though I-69 is not there yet it will be a useful road for Pine Bluff residents traveling south,” said Glenn Bolick, a highway department spokesman.

The interchange at I-530 is currently under construction. Also, a segment stretching from near the Pinebergen community (off U.S. 63 South) to 16 miles south of Pinebergen is under construction. Both are expected to be completed by 2010.

There are two segments of the connector that are not yet in progress.

“To put it simply, the I-530 interchange is under construction. The end of the connector, a 4.5 mile segment that ends in Wilmar, is complete. A 16 mile stretch in the middle is under construction and the two segments north and south of that will hopefully be under contract by late 2009,” Bolick said.

Five years ago the connector was expected to cost $300 million, but that amount has since grown to $620 million due to a dramatic increase in construction costs over the past several years including the cost of oil-based asphalt, Bolick said.

The most visible part of the connector, the I-530 interchange in Pine Bluff has been estimated to cost $25 million.

“The road that will connect to the interchange in Pine Bluff will begin construction as funds become available. We hope to begin the segment in 2010,” Bolick said.

In 2006 the highway department completed the first segment of the connector, a 4.5 mile stretch between Wilmar and Arkansas 35.

“We’re actually building the connector as a two-lane road, but we’ve bought right-of-way for future widening,” said Bolick.

I-69 is planned to stretch 3,000 miles connecting Canada and Mexico and is estimated to cost $22 billion though the estimation is likely to increase. A portion, 185 miles of the interstate, estimated to cost $2.5 billion, is planned to be built through Arkansas.

“I-69 itself came about in 1991. The connector as it is drawn today came about in 1999 when (former) Congressman Jay Dickey got $100 million in federal funds for the state with no state match required,” said Randy Ort, a spokesman for the highway department.

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