Fort Smith Regional Chamber Of Commerce: ARDOT Director Tudor Announces Beginning Of I-49 Corridor Construction At Chaffee Crossing

Fort Smith AR

11 January, 2022

4:29 AM

Description

Press release from the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce: January 7, 2022 FORT SMITH, Ark. – Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) Director Lorie Tudor announced Friday that construction of the I-49 section from Chaffee Crossing in Barling to the I-40 intersection at Alma will begin in the Fall of 2022. The announcement came during Tudor's presentation during the monthly First Friday Breakfast event hosted by the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) CEO Daniel Mann expressed appreciation and confidence in the announcement. "We are sincerely thankful for ARDOT's fulfillment of promises to Arkansas voters following passage of Issue 1 in November 2020," said Mann. As part of the Issue 1 package, Governor Hutchinson, the Arkansas State Legislature, and the Arkansas Highway Commission presented voters with the opportunity to fund new highway construction projects including the 13.5-mile section of Interstate 49 from Barling to Alma. The original environmental study and Interstate 49 corridor alignment were approved by the Federal Highway Administration in 1997. In 2017, ARDOT began pursuing an update of the environmental study and planning documents for the project in the hope of the availability of future funding. With the passage of Issue 1, the additional funding became available. That funding, in addition to the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority donation of the necessary property at the Barling interchange in Chaffee Crossing, has made it possible for ARDOT to begin construction on this portion of the project later this year. "FCRA is grateful that ARDOT has worked diligently to pursue this project. It will be a great pleasure to plan the groundbreaking this fall and see real work begin in the near future. I-49 is a major transportation corridor that will open up the Fort Smith regional market to greater domestic and international trade. The timing is perfect for this project to coincide with explosive growth in Chaffee Crossing." *** Chaffee Crossing is a 7,000-acre BRAC mixed-use economic development project under the direction of the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA). The development is guided by a future land use plan that includes industrial, residential, commercial, retail, restaurant, historical, and recreational development. Capital investments in Chaffee Crossing now exceed $2.3 billion. Businesses located at Chaffee Crossing enjoy easy access to Interstates 40 and 49, Arkansas River ports, multiple Class I rail lines and regional commercial airports. The I-49 corridor passes through the heart of Chaffee Crossing connecting the Fort Smith region to Winnipeg, Canada. Chaffee Crossing is home to multiple international manufacturers, the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education, the Chaffee Barbershop Museum, the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, three Entertainment Districts, 42 residential developments with more than 4,000 units in various states of completion, and has a trail system connected to more than 35 miles of recreational trails. This press release was produced by the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author's own.