A nearly $100 million interchange project is expected to improve traffic flow at Interstate 49 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (U.S. Highway 62) in south Fayetteville.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) awarded the project to Manhattan Road and Bridge Co. and APAC-Central Inc. in June 2024 for $99.98 million. Work began in August 2024, and construction is expected to be completed by mid-2028, according to Ellen Coulter, media communications manager for ARDOT.
The existing interchange is being reconfigured to include more turn lanes on the I-49 exit and on-ramps, as well as on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, to allow for increased traffic to exit and access the interstate. I-49 will be widened to six lanes from north of the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard interchange to the U.S. Highway 71/Highway 265 interchange to the south.
Also, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will be widened to six lanes with a median from west of 1 Mile Road to the existing interchange. A traffic signal will be added at South Oak Road, and the intersection at 1 Mile Road will be reconfigured to improve traffic flow.
The existing on- and off-ramps south of the interchange will be relocated to the south and will be adjacent to a new two-lane overpass that will be built at 15th Street as part of the project. Roundabouts will be included on the east and west sides of the new overpass.
According to ARDOT, traffic volume on I-49 just north of the interchange averaged 73,000 vehicles per day in 2024. The volume west of the interchange on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard averaged 46,000 vehicles per day in 2024.