Highway 67/167 widening project

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is hosting meetings in Jacksonville and Cabot this week to tell the community about widening Highway 67/167 from 4 to 6 lanes.

Nearly 70,000 commuters use that stretch of the highway, and the goal of additional lanes would be to improve the flow of traffic. Drivers say the morning and evening rush hours are bumper to bumper.

Glenn Bolick with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department says the project is in the very early stages. "We're on a fact finding mission to gather information from the public. Getting feedback is not as simple as just saying let's add two lanes between Jacksonville and Cabot. There are other issues to deal with."

Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher says the way the community is growing, the highway needs improvements, but some drivers worry construction would just make traffic worse since it's already constantly congested.

Mayor Fletcher wants drivers to know construction will be a pain but asks them to look past the pain to the gain.

Some drivers believe 6 lanes isn't worth the construction time or money to be widened, and traffic is fine.

But that's why the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department wants to hear from the community now to share ideas and find out what options work best.

The meeting in Jacksonville is Tuesday at the Community Center from 4pm to 7pm. The Cabot meeting is Wednesday at the high school from 4pm to 7pm.

No word yet how much the project would cost or when construction would begin, but the Highway Department hopes to break ground within the next year or two.