CRAIGHEAD COUNTY, AR — A project to begin in March will reconstruct approximately five miles of travel lanes on Interstate 555 in Jonesboro, according to Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) officials.

The work will extend from State Highway 18 (Southwest Drive) eastward to State Highway 463 (Nettleton Avenue) and will include reconstruction of the northbound and southbound travel lanes and the resurfacing of several bridges.

“This project will reconstruct pavement that was installed nearly 50 years ago,” said ARDOT District Engineer Brad Smithee. “The existing pavement on this project has been patched, ground for smoothness and had routine maintenance performed for many years. The lanes have reached a point where significant improvements just cannot be made without the needed reconstruction planned this spring.

“The improvements will also include replacing the driving surfaces on the bridge decks on the main lanes. We will also see new surface treatments installed on the overpasses at Willow Road, Red Wolf Boulevard, South Caraway Road, Harrisburg Road and Southwest Drive.”

As upcoming improvements progress, motorists can expect to see lane closures and traffic shifts. Work will take place in the southbound lanes initially and then continue to the northbound lanes.

“We are excited to see these much-needed improvements coming to Interstate 555 in Jonesboro,” ARDOT Director Scott Bennett said. “The existing northbound lanes were constructed in the early 1970s and the southbound lanes followed in the mid-1970s. The new, improved lanes will meet all Interstate standards and provide decades of better travel for motorists.”

ARDOT will keep the traveling public advised of traffic changes in advance of the scheduled work.

“We will be providing updates to the media and the traveling public as this project progresses,” Smithee said. “Our schedule is aggressive in order to minimize traffic impacts.”

Completion of the northbound lanes is expected by late 2020, followed by the southbound lanes and all work to be finished by mid-2021.

Several projects have already taken place on Interstate 555 between Jonesboro and Interstate 55 at West Memphis, and the department has more planned.