CONWAY NOT BUILDING ROUNDABOUT FOR ONCE: CITY LOOKS TO CONNECT TWO BUSY HIGHWAYS

By Jordan Howington, THV11 Digital, April 15, 2019

CONWAY, Ark. — After one failed attempt, Conway’s looking to make commuting easier for drivers.

The city’s partnering with the Arkansas Department of Transportation in hopes to connect two of the busiest highways in town: Highway 64 and 65.

“This would create a more direct route, potentially a faster route and help with traffic congestion,” said Finley Vinson, with Conway Transportation Department.

“A somewhat similar study was done years ago, but unfortunately nothing ever happened with that information, so it’s old enough to re-perform the study.”

The study area sits along the eastern portion of Conway starting north of Highway 65 and south towards Highway 64 and east of Interstate-40.

“Right now drivers have to go to I-40 and then backtrack a bit in order to make that transition to either Highway 64 or 65,” he said.

ARDOT’s focusing now on the “Purpose and Need” portion of the study to determine if a connector would benefit drivers.

“A lot of people that work within Faulkner County work within the city of Conway, so there’s people traveling all over the region to get to our business district,” Vinson said.

The city believes it is beneficial, but it’s made clear they aren’t calling this potential connector a bypass.

“It’s not intended to necessarily bypass the city of Conway, it would be in the city limits. It’s intended to create a better connection,” Vinson said.

Included in the multi-phase study is a public hearing portion. One is expected sometime this summer. You can keep up with this project on the city of Conway’s website.