Part of I-430/I-630 redo on verge of traffic

Flyover, Baptist Health ramps of interchange a prelude to summer completion

Work continues Friday on the Big Rock interchange at Interstate 430 and Interstate 630 in Little Rock, seen here from the north. The work is to be completed this summer, but highway officials plan to open a section now.
Work continues Friday on the Big Rock interchange at Interstate 430 and Interstate 630 in Little Rock, seen here from the north. The work is to be completed this summer, but highway officials plan to open a section now.

Motorists in all likelihood will drive today on the first completed structures in the Interstate 430/Interstate 630 interchange in west Little Rock.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A map showing information about the Big Rock I-430/I-630 interchange.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Work on the Interstate 430/Interstate 630 interchange in Little Rock, in a view here looking west, aims to relieve traffic congestion.

For the past six years, the interchange has been undergoing a $125 million makeover designed to ease congestion for the 200,000 vehicles that traverse it daily and for the 300,000 that planners estimate will use it in 20 years.

The interchange is not scheduled to be completed until summer, but state highway officials say they must open part of it now before beginning work on another section.

The newly opened section includes a flyover ramp that will take motorists on I-430 north near the South Shackleford Road exit onto I-630 east and a ramp dedicated for other I-430 north traffic headed to Baptist Health Medical Center.

The flyover and dedicated ramp are in the interchange's southeast quadrant, which also is home to a distinctive rock formation weighing 5 million pounds that inspired the department's name for the interchange, Big Rock.

"The work has progressed to the point where the [flyover and dedicated ramp] are ready to be open," said Danny Straessle, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. "We're anticipating this work to be done [today]."

Before the flyover and ramp can be opened, motorists will encounter a series of lane closures that workers need while they stripe lanes and hang the signs needed to accommodate the relocated traffic.

For instance, the dedicated Baptist Health ramp has been in place, but until now, it has been modified to allow motorists from I-430 to reach I-630.

The lane closures will begin at 6 a.m. today, the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department said in a news release. They include the closing of the center and outside eastbound lanes of I-630 between Shackleford and John Barrow roads to accommodate the work reconfiguring the Baptist Health ramp to a dedicated ramp. All entrance and exit ramps will remain open.

The northbound outside lane of I-430 between the Shackleford overpass and I-630 also will be closed.

The lane closures will last until 6 p.m., weather permitting. But if the work isn't finished, the flyover and the Baptist Health ramp won't be opened, and the work will continue at 6 a.m. Sunday until it is completed, again weather permitting.

Traffic will be controlled using barrels, warning signs and electronic message boards.

Rain is forecast for tonight and Sunday. If weather prohibits the work entirely, it will be delayed until the next weekend, according to the department.

"They are trying to get this up before the rain arrives," Straessle said.

Once the flyover and ramp open, the big adjustment for motorists using them will take place.

Both the flyover and the Baptist Health ramp are at Exit 6A on I-430 north. Motorists must make a decision to bear right to a single lane if going to Baptist Health or bear left on one of two lanes leading to the flyover and I-630 east.

Of special concern is what happens Monday morning when the daily work commutes begin and the flyover and dedicated ramp are open.

"If commuters don't pay attention Monday morning, they could end up on the Baptist Health campus," Straessle said.

The next phase of the project will allow the eastbound ramp, now under construction over Shackleford that will connect Financial Centre Parkway with I-630 east, to open, Straessle said.

"In order to do that, we have to have this flyover and the Baptist Health ramp to be open," he said.

Work on the interchange began in January 2009 when Weaver-Bailey Contractors began the first phase with a $17.3 million contract that included construction of an additional lane for motorists traveling from I-630 west to I-430 north, relocating the route motorists use to go from I-430 south to Financial Centre Parkway west. It also had new traffic signals and intersection improvements at South Shackleford Road and Hermitage Drive and Financial Centre Parkway and Hermitage Drive.

An $18 million project that began in July 2009 mainly involved modifications for future improvements, with the most significant aspect being removal and reconstruction of the I-430 bridge over I-630.

Planning for the entire project began in 2005 -- 30 years after I-430 opened and 18 years after the interchange opened -- when Bridgefarmer and Associates of Dallas was hired to study the interchange and make recommendations.

The design includes several flyover ramps between the two interstates -- to replace the existing loops -- and the ramp over Shackleford for traffic between Financial Centre Parkway and I-630.

Metro on 01/31/2015

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