6-year job at I-430/I-630 winding down

Last touches on $150 million project to shut lanes before final flyover opens

A map showing lane closures near the I-430/I-630 interchange.
A map showing lane closures near the I-430/I-630 interchange.

After six years and $150 million, the finishing touches are finally being applied to the project to upgrade the Interstate 430/Interstate 630 interchange in west Little Rock.

A flurry of overnight lane closures scheduled next week in and around the busy interchange will allow crews to perform striping and sign work, pavement repairs, and drainage improvements, a signal that the end of the project to ease congestion in one of the busiest interchanges in Arkansas is near.

“This is the last of the stuff to get done and get it ready to go,” said Randy Ort, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.

The agency is preparing to hold a ceremony Wednesday morning marking the completion of the last and highest flyover — which will take traffic from I-630 west to I-430 south — but officials don’t expect the flyover to open to all traffic until next Saturday.

Ten lane closures will take place overnight beginning Monday and lasting through Friday, depending on the weather. The closures are scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. and end at 5 a.m. or from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Much of the work has been performed at night to lessen the effect on traffic through the interchange, which totals about 200,000 vehicles daily.

The work involves items the contractors must complete to have the project all but finished for purposes involving final payment and whether incentives will be awarded or penalties levied. Most major projects contain incentive and penalty provisions to help ensure the project will be completed in a timely manner.

“We’re trying to get it substantially complete and still come out with incentives,” said Morgan Garner, the project manager for Weaver-Bailey Construction Co. of El Paso in White County. It shared the work with Manhattan Road and Bridge Co., which has offices in Little Rock, Springdale, Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Since beginning work on the project’s third phase in December 2010, there have been 114 change orders that increased the project’s working days from 376 to 629.

“We’re about 15 to 20 days ahead of schedule,” Garner said.

The lane closures are:

The on-ramp from Hermitage Road to I-430 south will be fully closed Monday and Tuesday nights to accommodate striping and sign work.

I-430 north will be reduced to one lane between South Shackleford and North Rodney Parham roads for striping work on four successive nights beginning Monday.

Five lane closures lasting for four successive nights beginning Monday involve pavement repairs.

Two will last from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.:

I-630 west will be reduced to one lane between John Barrow Road and the Baptist Health Medical Center off-ramp from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m..

The I-630 west off-ramp to Baptist Health will be closed, also from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Detour signs will be in place to guide drivers south onto Barrow and west on Kanis Road to Baptist Health. Additional detour signs will be in place on the loop ramps leading to the off-ramp.

The other three will last from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.:

The ramp connecting I-630 west to I-430 north will be reduced to one lane.

I-430 north will be reduced to two lanes between the I-630 ramp and North Rodney Parham.

I-430 south will be reduced to two lanes between North Rodney Parham and I-630.

Three lane closings are required for drainage improvements and will last from 9 p.m.to 5 a.m. for four successive nights beginning Monday:

The inside lane of I-630 will be closed on the overpass over South Shackleford.

The inside lane on the ramp from I-430 south to I-630 east.

The inside lane on I-630 east between South Shackleford and just east of Baptist Health.

Once the last ramp is opened, the interchange will be fully operational. The other ramps as well as the South Shackleford overpass have been opened as they were completed.

The ramp leading from I-430 south to I-630 east opened last month.

The overpass that carries traffic over South Shackleford via the west Little Rock interchange became fully operational in May when the westbound lanes were opened. The eastbound lanes on the overpass were opened in February.

A flyover ramp taking motorists from I-430 north onto I-630 east as well as a ramp dedicated for motorists going from I-430 north to Baptist Health Medical Center were opened to traffic in February.

All the work is designed for more efficient movement of the 200,000 vehicles that pass daily through the interchange now as well as the projected 300,000 vehicles that will use it every day 20 years from now, according to the department.

The project has a total cost of $150 million, which Ort said includes actual contract costs totaling $130 million with the balance being right-of-way acquisition and design costs.

Work on the project dates to January 2009 when Weaver-Bailey 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 and relocating the route motorists use to go from I-430 south to Financial Centre Parkway west.

It also added new traffic signals and made intersection improvements at Shackleford and Hermitage roads and at Financial Centre and Hermitage.

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.

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