SALINE COUNTY, AR — The project to widen Interstate 30 in Saline County — the single-largest contract ever awarded by the Arkansas Highway Commission — has recently begun construction, according to Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) officials.

Weather permitting, Johnson Brothers Corporation will begin erosion control on the $187.3-million project to widen 5.5 miles of I-30 from four to six lanes beginning just west of the interchange with U.S. Highway 70 to Sevier Street in Benton.

The project includes realigning the interchange and ramps at U.S. Highway 67, a roundabout at South Street on the westbound I-30 frontage road and bridge construction over the Saline River. The project is estimated to take 3.5 years and be complete in late 2022.

The first major traffic shift is expected this summer when eastbound and westbound traffic is moved toward the outside lanes to allow work within the median. When work requires lane closures on I-30 or associated frontage roads or highways, the impacts will primarily be restricted to overnight hours between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Twenty traffic cameras are being installed within the I-30 construction corridor and will be visible to the public through the iDriveArkansas.com website. To view once they are live, select the “Traffic” tab (represented by a traffic light icon) and click on “Traffic Cameras.”

This widening project is one of 36 projects in ARDOT’s Connecting Arkansas Program (CAP). The previous largest-awarded project was also a CAP project, the $100.6-million job let in 2014 to construct a portion of the U.S. Highway 412 northern bypass. More information on the I-30 project in Saline County is available at ConnectingArkansasProgram.com.