The article discusses a $145 million project to widen Highway 67/167 in Jacksonville, AR, aimed at addressing traffic congestion and improving safety. Construction began in 2023 and is ahead of schedule, with challenges including maintaining traffic flow and rebuilding bridges. The project includes converting frontage roads to one-way for safer access. The completion is expected by late 2027.
Photo courtesy of ARDOT photographer Rusty Hubbard
Construction began in April 2023 and is tracking ahead of schedule.
A major roadway widening in the heart of Jacksonville, Ark., will address traffic congestion, as well as high crash rates on Highway 67/167 and associated interchanges and frontage roads, when it's completed in late 2027. The more than $145 million project is funded through the Connecting Arkansas Program, which receives revenue from a temporary half-cent sales tax.
"This is one of several projects that contribute to the six-lane widening of Highway 67/167 between Interstate 40 in Little Rock and Cabot," said Tom Fisher, alternative project delivery manager of the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT). "The project supports better local traffic across the controlled access facility with a new wider bridge replacing the James Street bridge; a new bridge over Highway 67/167 connecting Gregory Street; plus a Texas-turn-around at Vandenberg Boulevard to help local side road traffic access both sides of Highway 67/167."
Construction began in April 2023 and is tracking ahead of schedule. Weaver-Bailey Contractors Inc., based in Conway, Ark., is the contractor for the project.
Photo courtesy of ARDOT photographer Rusty Hubbard
"Weaver-Bailey Contractors has been successful in winning multiple other projects along the Highway 67/167 corridor," said Fisher. "Their familiarity with the area, the traffic, soil conditions, the utility owners, etc. has proven to be a significant advantage to help accelerate construction."
According to Fisher, maintaining the current two lanes of traffic both northbound and southbound on Highway 67/167 while building the required extra capacity is the biggest challenge on this project.
"This project fully replaces four lanes of highway with six lanes. To accomplish this, the contractor must utilize every foot of the right-of-way for roadway and bridge construction. Final configuration of the frontage roads includes two-lane, one-way frontage roads with safer slip ramp configuration. The contractor must completely remove and rebuild the sideroads with new geometric configurations, while maintaining traffic to each business along the frontage road."
New temporary lanes have been built in the previous median to allow traffic to be shifted so new lanes on Highway 67/167 can be built. By early summer, the new southbound lanes were being established with final earthwork being cut to grade in preparation for paving.
The James Street bridge is currently under construction, with a one-year commitment to be open to local traffic. Sideroad construction continues with most sideroads being rebuilt to a single lane on new roads, so the old roads can be removed and a second lane added.
Fisher noted the switching of the local frontage roads from two-way to one-way was a major accomplishment for crews.
"This allowed the traffic to be channeled to one lane, allowing for the roadway to be built in stages. Southbound traffic has been shifted onto temporary pavement, allowing for the existing roadway to be removed and new roadway construction to start. Also, the complete removal and reconstruction of the necessary retaining walls and bridge substructure for James Street bridge were significant milestones."
Fisher said widening 2.5 mi. of Highway 67 to six lanes between Main Street and Vandenberg Boulevard is a tremendous undertaking.
"There are multiple construction steps needed to complete a project of this size and scope. In simplistic terms, the project involved temporarily converting the existing grass median between the two existing lanes so traffic can be shifted onto it while the old roadway is removed and reconstructed. However, the existing median wasn't wide enough to accommodate two full lanes, so the existing lanes must be temporarily widened, and traffic shifted to provide the additional width the temporary lanes needed."
Due to the traffic volumes on the roadway, all major widening on Highway 67/167 had to be performed at night.
"Once the temporary widening on Highway 67/167 was completed, work on the median could begin. Once the median temporary paving was completed, traffic was shifted to begin existing Highway 67/167 roadway removal. These temporary lanes will be utilized multiple times during construction, as all temporary and old Highway 67/167 roadways must be removed entirely to rebuild the new wider Highway 67/167 roadway. The sideroads have followed a similar order of construction, except the two-way, two-lane roads have been switched to one-way, which allowed the contractor to build the new side roads one-lane at a time."
Regarding improvements being made at the James Street interchange, the Gregory Street Interchange and the Vandenberg Boulevard Interchange,
"Exits for James Street are being improved to safer slip ramp type configurations, plus the new James Street bridge will be a five-lane bridge," said Fisher. "Exits for Gregory Street are being improved to allow traffic to move over Highway 67/167. Primary improvements to the Vandenberg interchange are a reconfiguration of the lanes, the addition of the Texas U-turn and new traffic signals."
Photo courtesy of ARDOT photographer Rusty Hubbard
In partnership with ARDOT, the conversion of the frontage roads from two-way to one-way was accomplished during spring break 2023. This endeavor included installing one-way signs at all intersecting side roads, removing conflicting pavement markings, adding new pavement markings, placing directional arrows on the roadway, using multiple message boards and taking the roadway to one-lane.
Fisher explained that during ongoing construction, traffic must be shifted, altered and possibly stopped on a day-to-day basis.
"ARDOT and the contractor work continually to find areas where work can progress in large areas with little to no interruptions. Sometimes there is simply not enough room to construct all the needed improvements safely and effectively, and the citizens of Jacksonville have been especially patient when impacted."
Approximately 500,000 cu. yds. of dirt will be moved on the project. Due to the size and complexity of the work, a wide variety of construction equipment must be used. Depending on the tasks being performed, there is usually at least one large crane needed for the bridge construction, plus assorted large earthmoving machinery.
Because of the significant drainage improvements within the project, a 2.5-mi. project as measured along Highway 67/167 contains nearly 8 mi. of drainage pipe. Highway 67/167 is being reconstructed with 6 in. of cement stabilized crushed stone base course, a 1-in. asphalt bond-breaker and 12 in. of Portland Cement concrete pavement.
Fisher said installing and constructing all the drainage components is the single most time-consuming part of the project. Removing three existing bridges and reconstructing four new bridges is the second.
He added, "It's very satisfying to see not only this project, but also the adjacent projects, either complete or under construction, transform the Highway 67/167 corridor to a safer roadway contributing to the interconnection of the region and nation." CEG
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