By: Jonathan Teal
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A $37 million contract was given to a construction company in Tulsa to start rebuilding the I-49 and Wedington Drive interchange.
Resident Engineer Bashar Qedan is the main engineer for the project, and he said construction should last around two years. However, he said the construction company gets a bonus if completed before the deadline, so Fayetteville residents could see the new interchange sooner than two years.
Qedan said the bridge over I-49 on Wedington is five lanes of traffic now. He said the Arkansas Department of Transportation realized there were serious traffic concerns.
“It’s extremely congested,” Qedan said. “A lot of times it blocks the interchange all the way back to almost IHOP.”
The old bridge will be removed, and a new bridge with eight lanes will be constructed said Qedan.
He said the ramps to get on I-49 were problematic, so that was a big concern for him. Qedan said the ramps are going to be much different. There will be two lanes going under the bridge that will merge onto I-49N said Qedan.
Another issue with the interchange was the multi-traffic signals said Qedan. He said the multi-traffic signals will be eliminated with the new construction.
Qedan said construction will bother residents, but the end plan will be well worth the wait.
“I know traffic is going to be really congested,” Qedan said. “But we will always maintain two lanes of traffic.”