Missouri road opens after I-49 work

February 5, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.

by Ron Wood

McDonald County Press/Sally Carroll Crews recently replaced the old post and cable guardrails on Highway 59 from Noel to Anderson, according to Rep. Dirk Deaton-R. He called the work a “much-needed improvement.” Crews began work on the eight-mile stretch in February. Collins & Hermann Inc. of St. Louis served as the contractor for the $774,000 project, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. Future improvements in McDonald County will include the I-49 connector project, which will complete the final five miles of I-49 between Pineville and the Missouri/Arkansas stateline, and replacing the bridge on Route EE over Indian Creek at Lanagan in 2021, Deaton said.
McDonald County Press/Sally Carroll Crews recently replaced the old post and cable guardrails on Highway 59 from Noel to Anderson, according to Rep. Dirk Deaton-R. He called the work a “much-needed improvement.” Crews began work on the eight-mile stretch in February. Collins & Hermann Inc. of St. Louis served as the contractor for the $774,000 project, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. Future improvements in McDonald County will include the I-49 connector project, which will complete the final five miles of I-49 between Pineville and the Missouri/Arkansas stateline, and replacing the bridge on Route EE over Indian Creek at Lanagan in 2021, Deaton said.

MCDONALD COUNTY, Mo. -- Missouri Route 90 is open east of Noel and west of Jane following completion of a new Interstate 49 bridge.

Route 90 was closed in early November to build the bridge over a section of I-49 under construction in McDonald County. The work is part of the larger I-49 Missouri/Arkansas Connector project, also known as the Bella Vista Bypass, to complete the final five miles of I-49 between Pineville and the Missouri/Arkansas line.

Missouri highway officials approved a plan to complete their remaining portion of the highway in April. The project was awarded to Emery Sapp & Sons of Columbia, Mo., for $58.7 million. The company has built several other parts of Interstate 49 and the bypass.

The road will be a four-lane, limited access highway built to interstate standards. Completion is expected by Sept. 30.

The 19-mile connector will allow motorists to circumvent Bella Vista to the west and south on a four-lane interstate highway.

The Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission got a $25 million federal grant in December 2018 and gave the money to Missouri to complete I-49. The I-49 Missouri project is in the commission's planning area.

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