LITTLE ROCK (4-19)  The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) has selected Alternative 1 as the preferred alternative for the widening of Highway 65 in the vicinity of Gould. 

     Alternative 1 will widen the highway primarily on its existing route through Gould, but approximately 4,600-feet of the highway will be on new location in the vicinity of the Union Cemetery, just north of Gould.  A Location Public Hearing was held on February 23, 2006, in Gould to take comments from the public on the location of the widening project.  Alternative 1 received the most support at the meeting.

     Alternative 1 also impacts the least amount of prime farmland and is the least expensive of the alternatives presented. 

     The next step in the project’s development is preliminary design of the roadway.  Once preliminary design is complete, a Design Public Hearing will be held in the area.  After comments from the hearing have been addressed, the route will be submitted to the Federal Highway Administration for final approval of the project.    

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