Highway 67/167 widening project

JACKSONVILLE, AR – Business owners in Jacksonville met with the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department Tuesday to learn about a proposed widening project on 67/167 between Jacksonville and Cabot.

The proposal would expand that section of highway from 4 lanes to 6.

"It's one of the few places here in central Arkansas where we still have 2-way frontage roads,” says Randy Ort with AHTD. “Along those roads you have quite a bit of development. The access on and off the freeway is not ideal. We know that needs to improve and we have a very finite area a small amount of room to actually make those improvements."

The purpose of Tuesday's meeting is to discuss the design plans and let the community know how they'll be impacted by the construction.

Business owners say they had a lot of questions and concerns but now after learning about what's in store, they’re excited about the proposal.

“Anybody who has traveled back and forth from Little Rock to Cabot knows that the highway sure needs to be widened,” says Reef Thompson, the Cripple Creek Flea Market owner

The first phase of the construction project is re-doing the bridges at the Redmond and Main Street exits in Jacksonville. That work is slated to start in June of 2013.