I-540 Resurfacing Project Expected to Begin Jan. 21
Joe Shipman, District Engineer for the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, announced Monday crews will begin resurfacing parts of Interstate 540 in the River Valley in two weeks.
Beginning Jan. 21, the resurfacing project will affect portions of I-540 from Rogers Avenue in Fort Smith and to Interstate 40 in Van Buren.
Shipman estimates the construction will take about a year and a half.
During that time the busy section of the interstate will be reduced to two lanes until work is done. The highway department will have 16 cameras set up to keep an eye on traffic flow, Shipman said.
“We will be able to see just about everything out there, to see if traffic is moving or not moving at least,” he said. “We may not be able to see up close, but we can at least see traffic.”
Shipman said his best advice for anyone using I-540 between Rogers Avenue and I-40 once the construction work starts is to find another route.
Alternate routes into Fort Smith include the Garrison Avenue bridge, the Midland Boulevard bridge and the Highway 59 bridge at Barling, according to Shipman.
The more than $78 million project will include resurfacing seven miles of roadway and replacing nine bridges. The bridges on I-540 affected by the project include Rogers Avenue, Grand Avenue, Clayton Avenue, Arkansas River, and Union Pacific Railroad Overpass.
