SPRINGDALE, Ark. — The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) announced Monday that it can now move forward with several projects on Highway 112.
ARDOT says the Federal Highway Administration approved its request for a “finding of no significant impact” (FONSI). That means they have confirmed the project will not have a significant impact on the environment and can move forward with widening projects between Highway 412 and Highway 12.
“The entire goal of widening Highway 112 is to create a new western north-south road connection parallel to Interstate 49,” Dave Parker, spokesperson for ARDOT said.
Parker says this will provide an alternative to taking I-49 and help with highway congestion.
“112 is there now, but it's a two-lane, and the increased capacity for safety purposes, for congestion relief, for quality of life, that’s why we’ve got to start doing this now,” Parker said.
With the area rapidly growing, Parker says it’s important to get these projects moving.
“Well over a half million cars in that area, motorists in that area, and projections are to go much, much higher in the next 20 years, population to well exceed a million people. So we've got to find a way to get people who want to go north-south a nice alternative there,” Parker said.
The expansion includes making Highway 112 a four-lane highway with a raised median, adding a sidewalk and side path and eight roundabouts at existing intersections.
Parker says ARDOT worked to select the routes of construction that would cause “fewer relocation impacts.”
“That means people, that means homes, that means neighborhoods,” Parker said. “Our goal is to not disrupt homes and neighborhoods and businesses, as few as possible.”
That construction is scheduled to begin in 2025. In the meantime, ARDOT will be starting right-of-way and utility work in the area.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.