TEXARKANA, Ark. -- A route down south to Texarkana is one of the last pieces in connecting Canada to the Gulf of Mexico through Interstate 49.
Linking Fort Smith to here is among the final projects of the I-49 expansion plan, and work could begin in 2024.
Industry and government leaders gathered at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith in July to discuss the expansion of I-49 -- specifically a 14-mile stretch between Alma and Barling -- that would mark the start of connecting about 180 miles of road between Alma and Texarkana.
The new section will be constructed in phases and is expected to be four lanes, costing an estimated $800 million, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation. The work includes a new two-lane bridge over the Arkansas River, which is priced at $250 million.
ArDOT spokesman Dave Parker said the project is expected to begin in early 2024.
"The real dirt won't get moved and all that until early 2024," he said. "With the most aggressive schedule, if everything went perfectly fine, we hope that 13- or 14-mile stretch is done by the end of the decade."
Approximately 175 people attended the two-day event in Fort Smith to discuss the expansion project.
Texarkana commercial real estate developer Curt Green gave a presentation on the interstate project's potential positive impact on job creation, travel and commerce.
Green is president and foundation executive board member of the I-49 International Coalition. According to the group's website, the coalition was formed in 2002, but Green said work on the north-south interstate began years earlier.
"Since the late 80s, we've been pushing on this," Green said.
The early dialogue involved chambers of commerce and officials from Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and many more locations interested in a high-priority corridor from Kansas City, Mo., to New Orleans.
"We bundled up into the I-49 Coalition," Green said.
"Our goal is that you can leave Winnipeg, Canada, get on I-29 and shoot all the way to the Gulf of Mexico without a red light or a stop sign."
I-49 currently is connected from Fort Smith to Kansas City. Once Kansas City is reached going north, it splits into I-29 all the way to Winnipeg and I-35 all the way to Duluth, Minn.
There are about 280 miles left to complete the route from Alma to New Orleans, with about 100 miles remaining in Louisiana.
Green said the coalition calls I-49 the "Mid-America connection," because "that's what it is."
There are 12 states directly affected by I-49, with connections to I-29 and I-35. That's over 20% of the nation.
Green said Texarkana, in particular, will soon be in great need of the larger route.
"You've got U.S. Highway 59 that's been upgraded to I-69 status. You've got I-49 that's coming through Texarkana. There is so much business coming out of Texas that we're fixing to have one hell of a traffic jam here in Texarkana, because I-30 can't handle it all," he said.
He said I-49 would be a pop-off valve in the Twin Cities.
"In Texarkana, we'll have I-30 going through, I-49 and I-69 coming up to it. And the cities that have that type of transportation are very, very growth-oriented."
The expansion to Texarkana would be good for trucking and attracting companies to the area, Green said.
"Companies have to have major highways to distribute product. Major highways create jobs, there's no question about it," he said. "As the interstates go, so goes the economy. I mean, look at all the towns where major interstates go through and where they cross."
Gar Eisele, vice president of the I-49 Coalition, is based out of Mena, Ark. He said the expansion project would bring immense value to his region.
"It's proven that wherever I-49 has opened up in the past that economic development has just been incredible," Eisele said. "Reports from mayors and other folks up the line where they newly opened up, it's been an economic boom for them. And it will be for Mena, as well."
Eisele also said it would provide more transportation relief in the event of natural disasters occuring down south.
"After (Hurricane) Katrina, we had lots of people in Mena, Arkansas."
Like various I-49 projects completed in the past, including recent ones in Shreveport and Bella Vista, Green said future projects following the Alma-to-Barling connection will depend on funding.
"The I-49 International Coalition, we're cheerleaders. We can't cut the Highway Department a check or get them the money. But what we try to do is get help with the politicians and the movers and shakers to get us to the top of the priority list so we can get more money for I-49."
He said the rest of the expansion to Texarkana likely will come in bits and pieces, with the eventual replacement of U.S. Highway 71.
"You'd love to have one big check and be able to finish the project." Green said. "But what comes after is just dependent on what the federal transportation department will give us in dollars."
Green said the coalition's next goal is to reinform the states north of Missouri of the benefits of a highway to the Gulf.
"There are 5,000 highways projects in the nation, and we're one of those. But we are high-priority, and we've got a lot of reasons that I-49 needs to be built."
(To learn more about the project and the coalition, visit www.interstate49.org.)
Curt Green, president and foundation executive board member for the I-49 International Coalition, speaks at a meeting about the Interstate-49 expansion project July 14, 2022, in Fort Smith, Ark. Green, a commercial real estate developer in Texarkana, has long been an advocate of the project. (Submitted photo)
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, left, Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Curt Green of the I-49 International Coalition post for a photo. Green met with Kennedy and Sanders in Little Rock to present information on the importance of completing Interstate 49. (Submitted photo)