ARDOT to Mark Completion of I-57 Widening Projects

Interstate 57 widening projects across Pulaski and Lonoke counties are reaching completion well ahead of schedule.

Friday, November 20, at City Hope Church in Jacksonville to mark the finish of major construction in Jacksonville and Cabot. Together, these infrastructure efforts finalize the six-lane widening of Interstate 57 stretching from North Little Rock to Cabot.

The Jacksonville undertaking, awarded to Weaver-Bailey Contractors, Inc. for $145 million, spanned 2.5 miles along Highway 67 from Main Street to Vandenberg Boulevard. Crews expanded the highway from two lanes to three in each direction while constructing a divided concrete median barrier wall and converting frontage roads to one-way roads.

Workers also reconstructed entrance and exit ramps, reconstructed the overpass at James Street, constructed a new overpass at Gregory Street, and constructed new bridges at Vandenberg Boulevard. Originally slated to wrap up in August 2027, the job finished approximately 10 months ahead of schedule.

This Jacksonville effort marks the final of ARDOT’s 31 Connecting Arkansas Program (CAP) projects. Voters established the initiative in 2012 by approving Issue 1, which established Amendment 91 in the state’s constitution. To pay for four-lane highway construction and upgrade efforts, Amendment 91 established a temporary half-cent sales tax.

This aerial photograph provides a unique perspective of north little

In the meantime, the Cabot undertaking involved a $117 million contract given to Weaver-Bailey Contractors, Inc. aimed at expanding a 3.5-mile stretch of I-57 from the Highway 5 interchange, going from four lanes out to six lanes in both directions. That segment replaced two bridges over Two Prairie Creek with a single bridge and constructed a noise wall. Originally scheduled for completion in April 2027, this job finished approximately 6 months ahead of schedule.

By boosting safety, bettering travel flow, and fortifying links throughout Northeast Arkansas and the surrounding area, these combined projects finalize the 123-mile stretch of the I-57 corridor running from North Little Rock to Walnut Ridge.