Notice to Media

Commission Announces Construction Plans for Highway 71

LITTLE ROCK (6-15) Arkansas Highway Commissioner Prissy Hickerson of Texarkana announces that the Highway Commission was notified Friday, June 15 that plans to move forward with construction of Highway 71 from Fouke to Doddridge have been approved by the Federal Highway Administration. This approval ensures that funding is now secure for the project.

“The Commission plans to award contracts this summer to complete work from Texarkana to Fouke, and to begin construction on the 13-mile section from Fouke to Doddridge,” according to Hickerson. “We appreciate the help from our Congressional delegation and the Governor during this process.”

“In a recent letter to President Bush, we were able to demonstrate and document that we had immediate plans – August of this year – to use the $93 million previously committed to the project,” Hickerson stated. “The funds were appropriated in fiscal year 2001, and we developed our plans to use the funds in fiscal year 2001.”

“This means that we will be driving on the section from Texarkana to Fouke in two-to-three years, and from Fouke to Doddridge within five years,” Hickerson said. “This, combined with the fact that coordination with the State of Louisiana on the segment from Doddridge southward is progressing, makes this a very exciting time for southwest Arkansas and the I-49 project.”

The scheduled work from Texarkana to Doddridge will be completed in five contracts expected to total approximately $104 million. The project will utilize the $93 million appropriated by Congress for the project in addition to funds the Highway Commission had already obligated.

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