Construction crews closing several I-30 ramps in downtown area, state officials say
July 12-18, 2021
By Daily Record Staff
Traffic gridlock has come to downtown Little Rock in a big way.
Over the weekend, construction crews closed Interstate 30 between 6th Street and the Interstate 630 interchange over the weekend to move traffic onto frontage roads through today (July 12), according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT).
These operations are part of a maintenance of traffic plan to demolish the 9th Street bridge and then reconstruct it, ARDOT officials said. Traffic will be controlled by construction barrels and signage.
In addition, more ramps will be closing mid-July at the I-30 interchange with Cumberland Street in Little Rock. Weather permitting, crews will permanently close the following interchange ramps on Tuesday and Wednesday at the following locations
• Cumberland Street on-ramp to I-30 eastbound.
• I-30 eastbound exit ramp to Cumberland Street (Exit 141A).
• I-30 westbound exit ramp to Cumberland Street (Exit 141A). The existing off-ramp loop to 2nd Street will remain open.
These ongoing operations are part of a construction plan to demolish the interchange and reconstruct the I-30 bridge and associated ramps. Once the I-30 eastbound exit ramp to Cumberland Street is closed, the 6th/9th Street exit ramp (Exit 140) will be the only I-30 eastbound exit to downtown Little Rock, including the River Market, MacArthur Park, and the East Village. The next exit drivers can take will be to Broadway Street in North Little Rock.
During ramp demolition work, local communities may also experience impacts from work lights and noise, including during overnight hours. State highway officials said drivers should exercise caution when approaching and traveling through all highway work zones, including those in the downtown area.
The local traffic gridlock is part of the ongoing construction of the I-30 Crossing project, the controversial $1 billion downtown project that is widening a 6.7-mile section of the interstate through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock. The project is expected to be completed by late 2024 or early 2025.
The Pulaski County project is part of the statewide Connecting Arkansas Program (CAP), the largest highway construction program ever undertaken by ARDOT. In 2012, through a voter-approved constitutional amendment, the people of Arkansas passed a 10-year, half-cent sales tax to improve the state’s intermodal transportation system, including projects that widen and improve approximately 200 miles of highways and interstates.
The 30 Crossing project consists of reconstructing the existing six-lane I-30 roadway while adding two decision lanes in each direction that ultimately feed into the collector and distributor lanes located at the I-30 Arkansas River Bridge. A split-diamond interchange will be used to distribute traffic onto the downtown road network.
The long-term and permanent travel impact interactive map is available at 30Crossing.com, along with additional project information. Additional travel information can be found at IDriveArkansas.com or ARDOT.gov.
Separately, ARDOT also recently announced the launch of a new YouTube channel, continuing the expansion of the agency’s digital content amid the ongoing pandemic. The Department’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/myardot) will livestream press conferences, ARDOT commission meetings, and other important events.
“We’ve always offered videos through Vimeo, and we’re not going to abandon that platform, but we also wanted to take advantage of the popularity and livestreaming capabilities of YouTube,” said ARDOT spokesman Dave Parker.
The new YouTube channel will host videos that explain different services such as IDriveArkansas.com, discuss public service announcement events such as Work Zone Awareness Week, advertise career opportunities, and anything else the public might find useful and informative, officials said.
In February, the Department added a second Twitter channel (@IDriveArkansas) dedicated to traffic information and answers. The original Twitter channel (@myARDOT) now focuses on other aspects of the ARDOT’s responsibilities and messaging.
The independent state agency, which is led by the five-person State Highway Commission, also launched a new version of their website (ARDOT.gov) in March that includes new features to help users navigate the site quickly and easily. The Department’s other traditional digital offerings of Flikr and IDriveArkansas of course remain and will continue to be updated, maintained, and improved, officials this year.
Earlier in May, ARDOT launched a new webpage dedicated news and updates on the closure of the I-40 Mississippi River bridge, which was shut down due to a large structure fracture in the 1.7-mile span. State highway officials and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) are working together to safely repair the heavy-trafficked I-40 corridor but have not yet announced a reopening date.
Repairs are expected to continue through July as traffic on one of the nation’s busiest transportation corridors has been rerouted to Interstate 55.
PHOTO CAPTION:
I-30 Crossing project prepares to close several interstate lanes, downtown exit ramps near Arkansas River bridge.
