Today is the first full day that the Interstate 430 bridge over the Arkansas River will be closed to nearly all traffic through Monday morning.
Crews began closing the lanes at 8 p.m. Friday to allow them to accelerate some of the work on a $31.7 million project to make improvements on the river crossing connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock.
All southbound lanes on I-430 between Cantrell Road in Little Rock and Interstate 40 in North Little Rock will be closed until 5 a.m. Monday.
All northbound lanes on I-430 between North Rodney Parham and Cantrell roads also are being closed. Any traffic on northbound I-430 north of Interstate 630 will have to exit at North Rodney Parham Road and be detoured to Cantrell Road, where traffic may re-enter I-430 northbound, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
A single lane of traffic across the Arkansas River Bridge on I-430 North from Cantrell Road will be open throughout the weekend.
The ramp from westbound Cantrell Road, also called Arkansas 10, to northbound I-430 and the ramp from eastbound Cantrell Road to southbound I-430 will remain open throughout the weekend.
The detour for northbound drivers on I-430 north of I-630 starts when they exit at North Rodney Parham Road. From the interchange, they will head west to Hinson and North Rodney Parham roads, where they will turn right and continue north on North Rodney Parham Road.
They will then take a right onto Pleasant Valley Drive, which will lead them to Cantrell Road, where they can access northbound I-430, the department said.
No trucks will be allowed on the detour route. They will be re-routed to Interstates 30 and 440, the department said.
At the end of this closure, early Monday, all three southbound lanes of the I-430 Arkansas River Bridge will be shifted toward the outside, making room for future shifts of northbound traffic.
This change is part of the I-430 Arkansas River Bridge improvements project, and combining these closures allows for a much safer transition from one traffic configuration to the other, highway authorities have said.