Notice to Media

AHTD and MDOT Schedule Public Meetings for

Proposed Great River Bridge

LITTLE ROCK (5-17) – A consultant for the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department and the Mississippi Department of Transportation will conduct two public informational workshops for the proposed Great River Bridge, according to AHTD Director Dan Flowers.

These meetings will also include the possible use of this same Mississippi River crossing for the Interstate 69 project. The workshops will be held on Tuesday May 25, 1999 in McGehee, Arkansas from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the McGehee City Council Chamber at 901 Holly Street and on June 1, 1999 in Cleveland, Mississippi from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the auditorium on the Delta State University campus. HNTB Corporation of Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the consultant that will conduct the two meetings.

In December 1997 Public Hearings were held in Cleveland, Mississippi and Dumas, Arkansas to receive comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Great River Bridge. As a result of those Public Hearings and the comments received from several of the Federal and State review agencies, an additional alternative is being developed. The alignments previously developed are also still under consideration.

In addition, the impact of the possible use of the Great River Bridge as the Mississippi River Crossing for the proposed Interstate 69 is to be considered in a supplemental draft EIS. The proposed new southern alternative would begin in the vicinity of McGehee, Arkansas on U.S. 65 and run eastward to just north of Arkansas City, crossing the Mississippi River in the vicinity of Chicot Landing and then continuing eastward to a junction with Mississippi Highway 1 north of Benoit, Mississippi.

The Great River Bridge project is proposed as a two lane undivided highway with paved shoulders. Within the same right-of-way paralleling the roadway, it is proposed that a single-track railroad also be constructed. The railroad system would begin with a connection to the Union Pacific Railroad near McGehee and end with a connection into the Bolivar County railroad that parallels Mississippi Highway 1. The social, economic and environmental impacts of the Great River Bridge crossing of the Mississippi River as 4 lane divided freeway facility from a point west of Arkansas City to the intersection with Mississippi Highway 1 will be considered.

The informational workshops are being held to receive comments from the general public and to inform the public of the project’s progress. Aerial mapping will be on display and engineering and technical personal will be available to discuss the project and answer questions.

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