After five years of construction, the widening project on Interstate 30 in Saline County, Ark. is nearing its completion.
The $202 million project, which has added new lanes, fresh concrete and smooth pavement to the east and westbound sides of the interstate, is 97% complete.
“I think people are happy to see it's over with and ready to move on, somewhat like we are,” said Dave Parker, spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Transportation. “The widening project on Interstate 30 in Saline County is 97% complete, which, in our world is substantially complete. Traffic is flowing much better, and things are looking even better.”
Parker also acknowledged the frustrations felt by drivers and contractors alike.
“It's been well documented that the project did not go the way that we had hoped, nor the way that the contractor had hoped. So, we're all happy to be nearing a completion date on this. Very grateful for the patience people had, understandably, we took a lot of criticism for delaying the project. It's an unfortunate thing. It's not a common thing," Parker said.
The widening project created three new lanes, fresh concrete and newly paved stretches of highway. The new lanes are expected to alleviate congestion.
As the project wraps up, the final touches are mostly cosmetic in nature. ARDOT has emphasized that the remaining work—such as planting grass seed and other minor tasks—won’t disrupt traffic in any significant way.
“I want to emphasize these are not things that are going to cause, you know, a shutdown of a lane or any traffic problem. They're going to be things off to the side, literally planting grass seed, that sort of thing. The work on the Highway 70 interchange should be wrapped up by the end of the month, and that, again, is not really impeding traffic at all," Parker said.
Source: MSN, THV 11
