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Future I-49 Construction Nearing Completion In Sebastian County

SEBASTIAN COUNTY (KFSM)- After some weather delays, construction on future Interstate 49 from Greenwood to Barling is almost done. The $98 million project is ju...

SEBASTIAN COUNTY (KFSM)- After some weather delays, construction on future Interstate 49 from Greenwood to Barling is almost done. The $98 million project is just a small fragment of an interstate that will one day run from Northwest Arkansas to Louisiana.

Right now the concrete pavement is down, so that's the driving surface,” Chad Adams, district engineer with the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department said. “The contractors are working on putting gravel down for the shoulders. They've actually starting placing asphalt on some of the shoulders on the south end of the project.”

Adams said the construction project got underway about seven years ago. Once the 5.5 mile stretch is complete, the drive from Greenwood to Highway 22 in the Barling and Fort Chaffee area will be a lot quicker.

“In the long term, when you see the thing fully developed there's gonna be a lot of interstate traffic, a lot of commerce that comes through here, which can just only lead to more development around the interchanges and businesses building their plants here and just having that easy access to Interstate 40 to go east and west and then Interstate 49 to go north and south,” Adams said.

Adams said the project will be a way for drivers to get around Fort Smith instead of driving into the city.

I hate traffic I'm not a good traffic person, so I like the idea of going around the city and not hitting all the major roads inside the city and stuff,” Amanda Colley, Greenwood resident said.

“For now the funding is just to complete this section,” Adams said. “There's another section to be built between here and across the Arkansas River and to tie into 49 and the Alma area.”

The project is expected to wrap up by mid-July. Adams said it will also benefit people who work on the Southside of Fort Smith who commute to the city from Charleston or Paris.

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