FORT SMITH The Arkansas Department of Transportation is considering public feedback before making a decision about how to improve truck traffic on U.S. 64 downtown.
The highway enters Fort Smith from Oklahoma across the Garrison Avenue bridge, and then follows Garrison before turning northwest into Midland Boulevard and into Van Buren.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation is considering public feedback before making a decision about how to improve truck traffic on U.S. 64 downtown.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation is considering public feedback before making a decision about how to improve truck traffic on U.S. 64 downtown.
Times Record
Estimated costs of constructing the I-49 bridge and a possible bridge to reroute traffic away from downtown Fort Smith aren t cheap, but one state official says there s a lot to be considered in the projections.
Halff Associates estimated the cost of constructing a bridge in eastern Oklahoma to reroute trucks off of Garrison Avenue would be $225 million. It s less than the estimated cost of the I-49 bridge to connect Chaffee Crossing to Alma, which Arkansas Department of Transportation District 4 Engineer Chad Adams estimated would cost between $300 million to $400 million.
These estimates come as ArDOT has launched an 18-month traffic study that will assess how to best alleviate truck traffic in downtown Fort Smith, including the possibility of a bridge. It also comes on the heels of the passage of Issue 1, which Arkansas Highway Commissioner Keith Gibson said will secure $270 million in the next 10 years toward I-49 through the extension of the state s 0.5% sta