The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department embarked on an operation Friday to repave a deteriorating section of Interstate 30 in Little Rock, a project that will go around-the-clock throughout the weekend.
The work, which began Friday night and is to last through Tuesday, will reduce traffic at times to one lane in each direction on a 3-mile section between the railroad overpass near Arch Street and West 65th Street.
Work will cease during peak morning and evening commute times Monday and Tuesday, the department said.
About 78,000 vehicles use the section daily, according to agency data.
The project is addressing a premature failure of the concrete from a condition known as alkali-silica reaction, which produces a gel that causes cracks or -- in the case of the section the project is addressing -- potholes.
Researchers believe some concrete projects built in the state between 1997 and 2000 are cracking because a mineral in the Arkansas River sand has reacted with high-alkali cement that was used at that time.
The condition has been blamed for deterioration seen on a section of Interstate 530 known as the Pine Bluff Bypass and median walls on sections of I-30 and Interstate 49 in the state's northwest. Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport at Highfill is replacing its runway because of the condition.
The department wants to have the I-30 project completed before the full onset of winter weather, when the condition likely will worsen, said Danny Straessle, a department spokesman.
The agency also is trying to fit the project in before Thanksgiving holiday travel ramps up Wednesday, he said.
The project is being performed under a $2.1 million contract awarded earlier this month to Redstone Construction Group Inc. of Little Rock. Under the terms of the contract, Redstone will overlay the section with 2 inches of asphalt.
Straessle called the project a "stop-gap" measure until a more extensive rehabilitation of the section can be designed.
"We received a lot of road-user complaints," he said.
The department tried to patch the potholes, but the patches didn't last because of the heavy volume of truck traffic, Straessle said.
The decision to go forward with the project was made just hours before work began at 7 p.m. Friday.
Department officials were concerned about subfreezing temperatures forecast for the weekend, but they determined that ground temperatures wouldn't go below freezing over the weekend.
The eastbound lanes should be completed by the time the morning commute begins Monday, Straessle said.
Still, motorists should expect delays on that section throughout the project and consider alternate routes, the department said.
"The work will dramatically improve the pavement condition on this section of highway," the agency said in a news release.
Metro on 11/19/2016