MAP: New I-49 lanes opening Thursday

NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANTHONY REYES • @NWATONYR I-49 looking south near Don Tyson Parkway in a 2016 file photo. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department completed more than 200 projects in Benton and Washington Counties since 2005 with more than 60 to come in the next five years.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANTHONY REYES • @NWATONYR I-49 looking south near Don Tyson Parkway in a 2016 file photo. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department completed more than 200 projects in Benton and Washington Counties since 2005 with more than 60 to come in the next five years.

SPRINGDALE — Eight miles of newly constructed inside lanes on Interstate 49 in Johnson and Springdale will be opened to traffic beginning Thursday night, according to Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department officials.

Beginning 8 p.m. Thursday, the completed inside lanes for northbound and southbound I-49 from mile marker 68, south of Johnson Mill Boulevard, to the Wagon Wheel Road interchange, Exit 76, will be opened to traffic.

Final work on median barriers and rails may require shoulder closures or overnight lane closures to complete construction.

The projects are part of AHTD’s Connecting Arkansas Program and include widening eight miles of I-49 to three lanes in each direction. Two additional projects on I-49 are constructing another eight miles of additional lanes: Arkansas 264 in Lowell to New Hope Road in Rogers and U.S. 62/Arkansas 102 to Arkansas 72 with auxiliary lanes from U.S. 62/Arkansas 102 toward Southeast Walton Boulevard. More information on the projects is available at ConnectingArkansasProgram.com.

Drivers should exercise caution when approaching and traveling through all highway work zones. Additional travel information can be found at IDriveArkansas.com or ArkansasHighways.com. You can also follow the highway department on Twitter @AHTD.

Approximate route of lane openings on I-49

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