Just when you thought you were clever for taking Highway 229 to get around The Gauntlet… Yes, also known as those tall concrete walls on the left and right of narrow lanes on Interstate 30 on the west side of Saline County… You won’t want to take that normally convenient detour on Hwy 229 starting Friday night, October 20, 2023.
Locals have learned during the ongoing construction for the widening of Interstate 30, that we collectively don’t like the passage between Exits 111 and 116. It’s a difficult narrow, 2-laned path that has gathered several accidents and causes a traffic backup nearly daily.
We also learned to go around. If we’re going toward Haskell off of Hwy 67, or Hot Springs off US 70, we take Hwy 229 starting at Blue Heaven Restaurant. That avoids the whole debacle, right? Until Friday night.
ARDOT has to close both sides of the road on Hwy 229. The closure will begin on the north end at Jackman Trail and run until it’s back at Interstate 30 on the south end.
3 Days: Scroll down for the when and where exactly…
This closure is scheduled to begin at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, October 20th. The goal is to be finished by 5 a.m. Monday, October 23rd.
If the weather cooperates, crews will be there all weekend to conduct pavement operations for a traffic shift between W. Jackman Trail and the north frontage road
When the road reopens on Monday morning, Highway 229 traffic will be shifted west onto the new pavement.
Traffic will be controlled with message boards, construction barrels, barricades, and signage. The public is advised to be cautious when traveling in the work zone and watch for slower traffic speeds. Areas adjacent to the Interstate may experience noise impacts during nighttime hours.
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This project (Job CA0601) is part of ARDOT’s Connecting Arkansas Program and includes widening 5.5 miles of Interstate 30 to three lanes in each direction, from the interchange with U.S. Highway 70 (Exit 111) to Sevier Street in Benton (Exit 116). The project also includes improvements at the Highway 67 interchange (Exit 114). More information on this $187.3 million project is available at ConnectingArkansasProgram.com.