The redesignation of a 123-mile stretch of U.S. 67 to Interstate 57 could happen before the calendar year is over, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

The renaming of the highway connecting North Little Rock to Walnut Ridge has been inching closer for years, but it seemed to loom far into the future because of a series of planning and construction projects. But beginning Friday, the public will be allowed to submit comments and questions to the Department of Transportation, which is a vital step in the process and a sign that the change is coming soon, said Jared Wiley, the department’s chief engineer for pre-construction.

“We want to make folks aware of that flip over to the red-white-and-blue shield and make sure there aren’t any impacts that we aren’t aware of,” Wiley said.

The department announced Wednesday that it would hold a “virtual public involvement meeting,” during which Arkansans will be invited to submit online comments, emails and postal mail on the subject of the I-57 redesignation.

Public comment availability begins Friday and ends on Aug. 5.

Wiley said the month-long public involvement meeting could “certainly pave the way for new interstate signs to go up late this year or early next year.”

Currently, I-57 runs north and south from Chicago to Sikeston, Mo., which is about a 70-mile drive to the Arkansas state line where U.S 67 crosses it. Transportation officials have said that the I-57 extension through Arkansas will provide motorists with a direct interstate route from Chicago to the Little Rock metro area, a total distance of about 650 miles, which will be a benefit for commerce.

“This designation will potentially provide more economic opportunities and increase property value along the corridor,” the department states on its public website.

The online public comment form about Arkansas’ future I-57 corridor designation invites residents and property owners to leave questions or comments about any specific locations they’re concerned about. A section of the portal allows participants to pin their locations on an interactive map, as well as upload any images or files to accompany their comments.

The website also includes a 4½-minute introductory presentation video.

After public comment has ended and after the agency reviews and answers all the submissions, the state Department of Transportation will seek approval from the Federal Highway Administration to designate the 123-mile portion of U.S. 67 as I-57 in accordance with 23 U.S. Code §103.

No timeline has been provided as to when the Federal Highway Administration will grant approval, but after it happens, the only physical changes to the current corridor will be sign replacement, according to the department.

Wiley said one sticking point is the extensive construction project in Jacksonville, which U.S. 67 runs through. Not only is a 2.5-mile section being widened to six lanes, but the North James Street Bridge over the highway is being rebuilt, he said. The old bridge has already been removed.

Wiley said the redesignation might have to wait until all of the construction is completed, which could take up to three years, but he is hopeful that the Federal Highway Commission decides not to wait until then.

“A low-clearance bridge over that highway wasn’t going to meet interstate standards, but that’s been addressed,” he said.

Alec Farmer, chairman of the Arkansas Highway Commission, said he couldn’t give a timeline on the name change, but he also remains optimistic that it could happen in a matter of months.

“There’s not a definite flag in the ground as to when it’s going to be,” he said.

PURSUIT BEGAN IN 2016

Transportation officials have said that no existing addresses along the corridor will be affected by the change.

The first public announcement of the redesignation came in April 2016 when U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, introduced a provision to the Fiscal Year 2017 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill that would designate U.S. 67 from North Little Rock to Walnut Ridge as “Future Interstate 57.”

Since then, motorists traveling along U.S. 67 have seen signs stating that the federal highway would become part of the future I-57 extension.

Various economic leaders in Missouri and Arkansas have touted the pending move as a way to recruit businesses. For example, when a company searches for a new city for relocation or expansion, one of the major factors is proximity to an interstate. Moving to a location 5 miles from an interstate corridor is more appealing to business owners compared with moving to a location that is 65 miles away, officials have said.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Newport Economic Development Commission, said he has been in favor of the redesignation since plans were announced eight years ago.

“Businesses want to be near major transportation infrastructure and one of the most important pieces of American infrastructure is an interstate,” he said. “There is an economic impact and a business-improvement impact for those that are near an interstate.”

MORE TO DO NORTH OF WALNUT RIDGE

There are still more steps remaining before an entire interstate connection runs from Sikeston to North Little Rock.

In October 2023, the Federal Highway Commission selected a 40-mile route from Walnut Ridge to Missouri, which will become part of the future I-57 corridor.

That section will not replace the existing U.S. 67 route, so new construction is necessary.

Additionally, Missouri transportation officials have to make the 45-mile section of U.S. 60 from Sikeston to Poplar Bluff and a 12-mile section of U.S. 67 from Poplar Bluff to the Arkansas state line interstate-ready before the entire I-57 extension is complete.

Wiley said there is no telling how many years that would take, but the 19-year veteran of the Arkansas Department of Transportation said he was optimistic that it would happen before he retires.

Regardless, the finish line for the renaming of U.S. 67 from North Little Rock to Walnut Ridge to I-57 is in sight.

“We’re hoping to keep making some good progress on everything,” he said.

Farmer, who lives in Jonesboro, has been a vocal proponent for the redesignation and said that the future I-57 corridor is critical for commerce in Arkansas and would increase mobility between the south central United States and the Midwest.

He told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2021 that completing the future I-57 in that region would be a “whole other level” of significant.

“Once completed, our region will be connected to the rest of the country with an interstate highway running over 600 miles from Chicago to North Little Rock,” Farmer said. “It can also help connect us better to St. Louis and other Midwestern cities, as well as Texas, Louisiana and the western United States.”