Expect lane closures, shifts on Hwy. 70E

Expect traffic on Highway 70 east to shift to newly constructed pavement in some areas and be reduced to one lane in others this week, as a contractor continues work to widen the roadway.

Through Tuesday, weather permitting, construction crews will close the eastbound lane of Highway 70 between Ohana Terrace and the rest area to install reinforced concrete pipes. The lane closures will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Traffic will be reduced to one direction in that area during the intermittent lane closure, which will be controlled by flaggers and barrels, according to a news release from the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department.

Beginning Monday, and continuing periodically through Friday, eastbound and westbound lanes will alternately be closed as crews work to shift traffic onto the newly constructed pavement between Caney Creek Bridge and the Interstate 30/Highway 70 inter-

change in Saline County.

Intermittent flagging operations will control traffic as crews make the transition within the work area. The lane shift will allow the contractor to continue widening the roadway, according to the highway department.

The highway department is encouraging motorists to consider alternate routes during construction, in particular Highway 270. The public is advised to be cautious when traveling in the work zone at reduced speeds, and speeding fines double within the work zone.

The $78.5 million project to widen Highway 70 east from its mix of two and three lanes to four travel lanes with a fifth continuous center turn lane is part of the highway department’s Connecting Arkansas Program.

The 17.8-mile Highway 70 project extends from Interstate 30 to the Highway 70 Business interchange in Hot Springs.

The contractor, McGeorge Contracting Co. Inc. of Pine Bluff, started work on the project in January. The estimated completion time is late 2018. According to the highway department’s Connecting Arkansas website, the project is already 44 percent complete.

A portion of the construction project is being funded through the Connecting Arkansas Program. A constitutional amendment voters approved in November 2012 levied a 10-year, half-cent sales tax to improve highway and infrastructure projects throughout the state, according to the website.

The program includes 36 projects in 19 corridors, expanding selected two-lane roadways to four-lane highways and adding new lanes to identified interstate highways. Around 200 miles of improvements are included in the $1.8 billion program.

Additional travel information can be found at IDriveArkansas.com or ArkansasHighways.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @AHTD.

The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn HIGHWAY 70 WRECK: Emergency personnel work the scene of a two-vehicle wreck on Highway 70 east just west of the Saline/Garland county line Friday afternoon. An eastbound vehicle was hauling a Forest River Salem Cruise Lite camper when the driver lost control and crossed the centerline, causing the camper to collide with a westbound Chevrolet Silverado, Arkansas State Police Cpl. Brandon Cook said. No one was transported to the hospital, he said. The wreck occurred around 12:45 p.m.

The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn HIGHWAY 70 PIPE: Drainage pipe sits ready to be installed along Highway 70 east Friday afternoon.