Communities on I-49 route provided resolution seeking more funding

Local governments along the Interstate 49 route through western Arkansas have been provided a draft resolution calling for more federal funding to complete the long-awaited interstate. It’s part of a unified lobbying effort, according to Sasha Grist.

Grist, executive director of the Fort Smith-based Western Arkansas Planning and Development District (WAPDD), said the idea for a resolution arose during a recent board meeting with board members wanting something that could be “available for cities, counties, and other organizations to use in expressing support for future I-49 projects.”

According to Grist, Jason Hughey, a district engineer with the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), provided the draft resolution. The resolution notes that Arkansas has in recent decades received more than $400 million in federal funds for I-49, and that “the largest gap of Interstate 49 located in Arkansas between Barling and the Red River at the Texas State Line is over 140 miles in length and estimated to cost over $5 billion to construct.”

“WHEREAS, without significant additional dedicated funding for this work, completing this portion will be unachievable through traditional highway funding resources,” concludes the resolution. (Link here for a PDF of the sample resolution.)

Grist said Reese Brewer, the Metropolitan Planning Organization director for WAPDD, will compile resolutions approved by local governments and have them available to send to members of Congress, use for grant requests, or for any other efforts to raise awareness and funding.

“The hoped benefit of the numerous organizations is just to show support for the long term goal of completing all phases of I-49,” Grist said in a statement. “We want to show the strategic importance of completing the current I-49 construction in the Barling/Alma area as well as the next phase from Fort Smith south to Texarkana. Basically, the resolutions from all shows the support for what’s been done, what’s underway and what’s left.”

RECENT WORK
Work is ongoing to complete the interstate in the Fort Smith metro and south. Officials gathered Aug. 22 for a ceremonial groundbreaking on the 3.1-mile stretch of I-49 that will include an Arkansas River bridge.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) in October 2024 awarded Tulsa-based Manhattan Road & Bridge a $282.5 million contract to construct the 3.1-mile stretch of I-49 between Highway 22 in Barling and Gun Club Road in Crawford County. The interchange with Arkansas Highway 22 in Barling is already complete, as is a short section of I-49 between Barling and U.S. 71 just south of Fort Smith.

Also, ARDOT employees and consultants are working to obtain more detailed information about the proposed Interstate 49 route between the Fort Smith area and Y City in Scott County. The I-49 route was part of a larger environmental study that began in the late 1990s and examined the preferred location for the interstate traveling south from Fort Smith to De Queen.

Information gathered in the more detailed study set to begin in the fall will be used to draft preliminary design plans for the interstate. ARDOT said they plan to have the survey work finished by the end of 2026, and the survey cost range is estimated between $3 million and $5 million. ARDOT has told Talk Business & Politics that the cost to build the interstate section from Fort Smith to Y City is estimated between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.