ACPA Concrete Pavement Progress Q1 2020

www.acpa.org Quarter 1, 2020 A C P A N E W S 17 THE CONNECTING ARKANSAS PROGRAM (CAP) is a $1.8 billion program that will widen and improve approximately 200 miles of highways and interstates throughout the state. The 10-year Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) program, supported by an additional half-cent sales tax approved by voters, is comprised of 36 individual projects. One segment of this massive program addressed the commuting woes of the drivers of more than 48,000 vehicles that travel the 4.55 mile section of US67/167 in Jacksonville, near the Little Rock Air Force Base. The former four-lane highway—two lanes in each direction divided by a grass median—is now a six-lane highway with three lanes in each direc- tion and a concrete wall median. “There are two CAP projects that add additional lanes on US67/167 in Jacksonville, but we started with the segment extending fromVandenberg Boulevard in Jacksonville to Highway 5 in Cabot,” says Blake Martin, P.E., program construction engineer with Garver, the engineering firmmanag- ing CAP. He explains this is because there were fewer utilities and the area is more rural, “which means fewer restraints on construction schedules.” Because the highway is a major route for commuters, traffic control was an issue, says Kenneth Shirley, P.E., an engineer with Jacobs. He worked as the project’s resident consulting engineer for ARDOT. Two temporary lanes for traffic in the northbound directionwere constructed tomaintain a total of four lanes at all times—two in each direction. When the permanent Arkansas Project Reduces Delays and Increases Rideability By Sheryl S. Jackson continues on page 19 » U S 6 7 / 1 6 7