I-30 ramp work downtown to affect noise, light
Demolition work on a defunct Interstate 30 ramp in downtown Little Rock is expected to cause noise and light impacts during the next two weeks.
Weather permitting, crews will demolish the remaining segments of an exit ramp that once connected Second Street to the interstate between Monday and Feb. 24. Demolition hammering will cease each day by 8 p.m. Trucks will haul away debris and rubble during overnight hours, according to a news release from the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
The construction work is not expected to cause any street or lane closures, said department spokesman Dave Parker on Friday.
He noted there may be minimal impacts on traffic as trucks leave the construction area. Drivers should exercise caution when approaching and traveling through all highway work zones, according to the news release.
According to its final traffic check prior to the start of the I-30 project, the Department of Transportation found that 12,000 cars used the 2nd Street interchange on a daily basis.
As for the the noise and light created by the demolition, Parker said, “I don’t think this is going to be particularly any more loud than other construction that’s going on in that area. So we’ll take the same measures we had before … and try to avoid the nighttime as much as we can. …
“[The] light and noise impact, there’s no way around [it] demolishing an interchange. It’s not a quiet, easy process.”
Once the ramp is removed, Parker said, people will have a much better view of the 20-acre plot around the interstate the department plans to develop in coordination with the city of Little Rock. The space includes a corridor along 2nd Street and rectangular lots on either side and beneath I-30.
In August, Keli Wylie, alternative project delivery administrator for the department, said the state had worked with the city to determine how the site would be graded. The area would be seeded with grass and the department intended to plant trees.
“The final product we don’t know at this time,” Wylie said during a news conference. “We will wait for the city of Little Rock to approach us with a plan.”
Parker said Friday that he was unaware of any recent talks on how the greenspace would be developed.
The demolition work is part of the 30 Crossing project, which aims to expand the interstate corridor through Little Rock and North Little Rock and includes the construction of two bridges spanning the river.
At the start of the project in September 2020, state officials
expected the total cost of the work to be roughly $1 billion. The department has said the price tag has likely increased due to inflation but has not provided exact figures.
Crews began dismantling the old I-30 river bridge in September after shifting traffic onto a newly constructed bridge. State officials expect the demolition of the old bridge to be completed in June or July. In November, crews began laying the foundations for a second new bridge that will span the river in place of the old bridge.
In other 30 Crossing project news, the new Sixth Street overpass in Little Rock, which the department closed in April for demolition, is expected to open to traffic in April of this year, Parker said.