Westbound Interstate 30 traffic will shift onto the new bridge spanning the Arkansas River starting tonight, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
Weather permitting, the three-lane transition is expected to occur between 10 p.m. and noon Saturday. The shift will involve the opening and closing of a series of on- and off-ramps in the Little Rock and North Little Rock downtowns, according to a news release from the department.
The transition marks the third phase of the new bridge opening. Earlier this month, crews moved I-30 eastbound traffic onto the new bridge in two phases.
Once all traffic is routed on the new bridge, state officials plan to replace the old I-30 bridge with a second new bridge that will ultimately carry westbound traffic across the river. In their final configurations, the two new bridges will each carry six lanes of traffic.
The bridge construction work is part of 30 Crossing, the largest interstate project in the history of the Arkansas Department of Transportation. The undertaking aims to expand and improve access to the interstate in the Little Rock and North Little Rock area. State officials have contracted out $633 million for the project, according to numbers provided by the department in August. Costs for the project may have since changed due to inflation.
As part of the westbound transition, crews are expected to close exit ramps at Second and Sixth streets in downtown Little Rock. State officials plan to open a temporary exit ramp at Ninth Street.
To reach the downtown area, westbound drivers exiting the interstate via the temporary off-ramp should turn left on Ninth Street and use the northbound frontage road to access Third Street or President Clinton Avenue, said Dave Parker, a spokesman for the department in an email Thursday.
In North Little Rock, crews will temporarily close an on-ramp to westbound traffic at Broadway Street. To access westbound lanes from North Little Rock, drivers will use a temporary Texas U-Turn to reach an on-ramp at Bishop Lindsey Avenue.
Crews plan to open the new ramps first and then to close the existing ramps.
"This will all be done throughout the night and be complete by the time westbound traffic is on the new bridge," said Parker.
State officials expect the traffic configuration on the new bridge to last between 18 and 24 months while crews demolish the old bridge and erect the second new one, Parker said.
The demolition of the old bridge is expected to begin Monday.
"This will be a very noisy process especially in the first few months as they remove the existing concrete," Parker said.
Rather than use explosives to bring down the bridge, demolition crews are expected to take the bridge apart in four stages. The process should take around 10 months, said Keli Wylie, alternative project delivery administrator for the department, during a news conference last month.
I-30 river bridge traffic shift, third phase