I-540 Traffic Bolsters Sales On Arkansas 112

James and Lana Stout’s timing was impecible.

The couple, along with son Jason Stout, bought Elm Springs’ 1,000-SF Phillips 66 quick shop in December from Debbie Baker and Peggy Brewer. They also bought the shop’s near half-acre frontage on Arkansas Highway 112 from Mitchell Oil Co. in Fayetteville and began renovating the store into a community grocery/restaurant.

When a $4.2 million, 90-day road repaving project on Interstate 540 began on May 29, the Stouts started seeing an immediate return on their investment.

Commuters trying to avoid multi-mile work zone jams on I-540 began taking the scenic north/south route between Bentonville and Fayetteville — Arkansas Highway 112. The curvy, two-lane road runs through the sleepy hamlets of Cave Springs (population 1,103) and Elm Springs (1,044). By mid-June, police in Cave Springs had to direct traffic.

A Fourth of July holiday construction break from June 30-June 7 caused the rural rush hour to die down for a week. But the drivers are expected back for the rest of the summer.

“We saw our fuel sales increase $8,000 or about 16 percent from May to June,” James Stout said. “Our grocery sales were also up about 8 percent. We have seen the road traffic die down a little lately, but our sales have remained higher. I think people learned we were out here and what we had.”

Stouts Homestyle Country Store added a Buffet Style Pizza counter in January and diesel fuel in February. James Stout said competitive diesel prices helped his fuel segment double its sales by March.