Road crews are planning to close a section of Broadway in North Little Rock this weekend as demolition continues on the defunct Interstate 30 bridge across the Arkansas River.
Weather permitting, traffic on Broadway will be blocked between South Cypress and North Locust streets from 6 p.m. today to 5 a.m. Monday, according to a news release from the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
The same closure is also expected the following weekend between 6 p.m. Jan. 20 through 5 a.m. Jan. 23.
Traffic headed west on Broadway should turn right on North Locust Street, take a left onto Bishop Lindsey Avenue and turn right onto Cypress Street to return to Broadway. Drivers headed east should take Poplar Street to Riverfront Drive and return to Broadway, according to a detour plan announced by the department.
Also, on Tuesday, crews are expected to close the eastbound lane of President Clinton Avenue beneath the I-30 bridge in Little Rock. Detours around the closure will be signed, according to a news release from the department.
The President Clinton Avenue closure is expected to last between two to three weeks, said Dave Parker, spokesman for the department.
The demolition work is part of the 30 Crossing project, which aims to expand the interstate corridor through Little Rock and North Little Rock and includes the construction of two bridges spanning the river. The department has contracted out about $633 million for the project so far and has completed 62% of the work, Parker said. The project is expected to be completed by July 2025.
State officials expected the total cost of the expansion to be roughly $1 billion at the start of the project. Due to inflation, the department said this week the price tag had likely increased but could not provide exact figures.
Crews began dismantling the old I-30 river bridge in September after shifting traffic onto a newly constructed bridge. Demolition of the old bridge is about 75% complete, which Parker said put the department and contractors slightly ahead of schedule.
State officials expect the demolition of the old bridge to be completed in June or July. In November, crews began laying the foundations for a second new bridge that will span the river in place of the old bridge.
In other 30 Crossing project news, the new Sixth Street overpass in Little Rock, which the department closed in April for demolition, is expected to open to traffic in April of this year, Parker said.
In October, the department closed a stretch of McGowan Street between Pulaski County Lane and the I-30 on-ramp to allow for the construction of a single-lane on-ramp that will connect the I-30 frontage road to I-630. The long term closure was still in effect this week.
Broadway Street weekend closure