JONESBORO -- Construction of 11 miles of four-lane highway between Jonesboro and U.S. 67 will be completed no later than early next year, state Highway and Transportation Department officials said Tuesday while reminding drivers about the need for work zone safety.
The department picks a construction site each April to use to remind motorists to drive carefully in work zones along the state's highways. This year, officials chose work on Arkansas 226 -- an $82 million project that runs through Cash and connects U.S. 49 in Jonesboro with U.S. 67, about 20 miles north of Newport.
About 30 Highway Department officials, along with Jonesboro city leaders and safety contractors, held a brief news conference Tuesday morning at the base of a railroad overpass at what will be the eastern edge of Arkansas 226 where it joins U.S. 49.
The wind picked up, and light rain threatened the ceremony. Nearby, on U.S. 49, motorists drove around orange construction barrels that lined the highway.
Currently, drivers traveling from Jonesboro to Little Rock connect with U.S. 67 either by taking the two-lane U.S. 49 to Waldenberg, then turning left onto Arkansas 14 to Newport, or taking Arkansas 226 west through Cash.
When completed, the Arkansas 226 project will provide motorists with a four-lane highway from Jonesboro to U.S. 67 and from there on to Little Rock. Officials say the new four-lane highway will make travel a lot quicker.
Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin said he travels to Little Rock three or four times a month, and his progress slows along Arkansas 226 with its long lines of passenger vehicles and freight trucks. Traffic halts at a four-way stop in Cash, creating lines of backed-up vehicles in the small Craighead County town of 342.
The traffic count increased from 3,500 a day to 6,400 a day when Arkansas 226 connected with U.S. 67 in 2008, highway officials said.
"Traffic keeps picking up through town," said Beth Sagely, an employee of Vicki's Store, which sits just to the north of the four-way stop of Arkansas 226 and Arkansas 18 in Cash. "Everybody thinks it's bypass speeds, and they come through here so fast."
She said she will be glad when the construction on Arkansas 226 is completed next year. A section of Arkansas 226 will bypass the Cash downtown by a few hundred yards, diverting some of traffic.
"I'm worried about the kids in our town," she said as she rang up sales of a sandwich and several packs of cigarettes for customers. "We've got so many out-of-towners coming through who may not realize we have a lot of small kids who cross that road a lot."
Perrin said once the four-lane road opens, he can use it to recruit new industry.
"I see this project bringing us two things," the mayor said. "Safety for our motorists traveling and a way to bring economic development to our area.
"We're already seeing commercial development [along U.S. 49] in southwest Jonesboro," Perrin said. "We've got a large housing project coming in.
"People know the highway is coming. It's going to open it up for all of northeast Arkansas. It will be great for us."
Emanuel Banks, deputy director and chief engineer of the Highway Department, noted Tuesday that April is the beginning of the department's work season, and he urged drivers across the state to use caution in highway work zones.
"We don't take safety lightly. We want people to be able to drive through project sites and navigate safely," he said.
About 600 people -- a majority of them motorists -- die in the United States yearly in accidents in construction sites, said Richard Hedgecock, vice president of Associate General Contractors of Little Rock, an organization that monitors construction in the state.
"Most of those deaths are caused by distractions, like cellphones," he said. Many accidents also occur in the areas leading to the actual construction sites where barrels and signs advise motorists of approaching work zones.
"This is the time for the orange barrels to come out in force," Hedgecock said. "When you see the orange signs, let those kick in. Pay attention."
The Highway Department began observing national work zone safety month in 1999.
"Lives are impacted," said Sherri Fryar, a representative of the Arkansas chapter of the American Traffic Safety Services Association. "These are senseless accidents. Most of these cases could be preventable."
She urged motorists to slow down when entering work zones and, if possible, drive in the lane that's farthest from workers.
State Desk on 04/08/2015