I-630 lanes to close nightly

Work on an $87.4 million project to widen a section of Interstate 630 in Little Rock will require another series of lane closings beginning tonight, the Arkansas Department of Transportation said.

Crews will reduce traffic to one lane in each direction between Baptist Health Medical Center and South University Avenue, closing the center and outside lanes, to set up barrier walls and work on the shoulders of the interstate, weather permitting.

The lane closings will initially occur from 6 p.m. today to 6 a.m. Monday. Beginning Monday, the lane closings will last from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily through Friday. On Friday, the closings will resume at 9 p.m. and end at midnight Saturday.

Traffic will be controlled using signs and barrels. Neighborhoods adjacent to the projects will be subject to increased noise during the lane closings, the department said.

During daytime hours, all six lanes will be open.

The work is part of a project to widen 2.5 miles of I-630 to eight lanes between the hospital and University Avenue. It also includes replacing the Hughes Street overpass and interstate bridges at North Rodney Parham Road and Rock Creek.

The project is expected to be substantially completed by February 2020 and fully completed by April the same year, according to the department.