Work to begin on I-49 Arkansas River bridge

An almost $300 million award to build part of a section of Interstate 49 between Alma and Barling has been awarded by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT). The award includes building the interstate bridge across the Arkansas River.

Tulsa-based Manhattan Road & Bridge received the $282.5 million contract to construct a 3.1-mile stretch of I-49 between Highway 22 in Barling and Gun Club Road in Crawford County. It is the first of four projects needed to build the almost 14-mile segment between Barling and the I-49 and Interstate 40 interchange near Alma.

The awarded segment is being funded by a combination of regular Federal-aid highway funding, Federal grant funding, Congressionally Designated Spending, and state funds, according to ARDOT. ARDOT estimates the cost of the total project at $1.3 billion. ARDOT’s design consultant is Kansas City, Mo.-based HNTB Corporation.

“I-49 is a critical corridor of our nation’s transportation system,” U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said in a statement. “I have long championed investments for this project because it supports economic activity and growth in Arkansas and will help move people and goods more efficiently across the region and country. Working with ARDOT and our congressional delegation to secure this funding was a priority, and we are all pleased to see the project coming to fruition.”

State officials in October 2022 ceremonially broke ground on the 13.7-mile segment that will connect a segment of I-49 in Barling north to the I-40 interchange in Alma. That section will include a bridge over the Arkansas River and have interchanges at Highway 22, Gun Club Road, Clear Creek Road and I-40. The bridge across the Arkansas River will be east of Trimble Lock & Dam and the U.S. 59 bridge.

Arkansas highway officials estimated in early 2022 that it would cost $4.1 billion to complete 136 miles of I-49 from Fort Smith to the Texas state line.

“Fort Smith is the third largest city in Arkansas and continues to be a hub for exciting growth and opportunity,” U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, said in a statement. “The new bridge that will span the Arkansas River is necessary to relieve congestion from increased traffic and facilitate economic development throughout the region. It’s a critical piece of the I-49 Extension, and I am excited that the Arkansas Department of Transportation is taking this important step forward in turning this project into reality.”

Arkansas Highway Commissioner Keith Gibson recently told Talk Business & Politics that he is pushing to expedite construction of I-49 from Greenwood to Y City, which would create a better connection with Hot Springs to western Arkansas. Part of that push is to convince the federal government to better fund a “number one” interstate project.

“We need the rest of the country to understand how important this is from a national standpoint. It’s a number one corridor. It’s been designated as corridor number one in the United States,” said Gibson, who lives in the Fort Smith metro.