Tackling congestion on Arkansas link

Engineering firm Michael Baker International has helped deliver highway improvements for a key link in Arkansas. The upgrade to Highway 70 involves widening and is designed to boost capacity along a 30km stretch of the route. Michael Baker International completed a US$4.5 million design project for the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) is for widening of the section of Highway 70 from two lanes to four.

The firm carried out an environmental study and provided roadway widening design. This included replacement of the existing Caney Creek Bridge and two bridges over Ten Mile Creek. The firm came up with a design to widen and corrected deficiencies in road curve radii and super-elevation, flattening subgrade slopes on the low side of super-elevated sections to minimise ditch depths and right-of-way takes. The firm also designed a solution to add a long sweeping curve at the existing intersection with the I-30 Frontage Road to allow trucks to safely use the intersection for turns.