Our area waited a long time to see Interstate 49 go from dream to reality.
It may not be complete-indeed, the total stretch from New Orleans to Kansas City might not be finished for decades-but there is a lot more of it than there was before and it has been a benefit to our area.
We are still waiting for Interstate 69. The main route is set to run to our east but we could get a spur through Texarkana-at least that's what the current proposal calls for. We'll just have to wait and see.
Now it looks like we can add another new Interstate highway to our waiting list-maybe,
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., added an amendment to the 2017 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill that would designate a portion of U.S. Highway 67 as the "Future I-57" corridor. That segment is well north of us and extends from North Little Rock to Walnut Ridge. Provided Boozman's amendment survives and the provision becomes law, I-57 would become an officially designated federal Interstate, eventually connecting Little Rock directly to Chicago.
Boozman's amendment says nothing about Texarkana. But U.S. 67 passes through Texarkana and heads all the way to the Texas-Mexico border at Presidio. An interstate connecting Mexico to Chicago by way of Dallas, Little Rock and even Texarkana would have to be seen as advantageous.
Of course, we've seen how long it takes to get one interstate even partially built. So any idea of I-57 coming our way is way, way off in the future.
But not out of the question.
I-57 may never happen. But if it does, we think Texarkana should try for a piece of the action.
No reason the "Rock and Roll Highway" can't become a major thoroughfare once again.