I 530

[vbfl85]

As most of you probably know i530 is planned to be extended from Pine Bluff to Wilmar/Monticello where it will meet i69. What some of you may or may not know is that a Louisiana politician in 2004 proposed to build i530 from Alexandria, LA at i49 to the Arkansas state line through Monroe, LA. And if Arkansas followed suite and finished it off there would basically be a dual interstate type of situation with a Y shape comming north out of Alexandria with the western half (i49) going to texarkana, ft. smith, NWA and the eastern half (i530 or possibly a new number once completed?) would take an eastern route through pine bluff to LR. That would create a nice route from LR to places like Baton Rouge, New Orleans and points eastward. What is the current status of the i530 extension and has anyone else heard anything about an LR to Alexandria freeway possiblity?

I 530 link

[NCB]

I hadn't even heard about the possibility of extending I-530 all the way down to Alexandria until now. If Louisiana is seriously looking at this, I haven't heard anything about it.

As of now, the main highway projects being constructed and studied in Louisiana are

• I-49 North (Shreveport-Arkansas state line)

• I-69 through Shreveport

• I-410 (loop around Baton Rouge)

• New bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge

• New Twin Spans across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans to Slidell

• Adding a 3rd span to the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway

• I-49 South (Lafayette-New Orleans)

• Widening, upgrading, and possibly building new highways and interstates to serve as hurricane evacuation routes in SE Louisiana

Most of the highway projects in Louisiana now involve hurricane evacuation and ways to relieve traffic in area's where there have been dramatic population shifts since Katrina. I really don't think I-530 is a top priority for Louisiana highway officials as I have heard nothing about it at all, though I could be wrong.

[dimebag1980]

I'm with NCB... I hadn't heard anything about this extension to Alexandria. And with the list he posted, I can't see a spur going from Alexandria to Pine Bluff getting much backing for at least the next 20 years. I-69 alone is going to tie up some major bucks until at least 20 years from now.

[Mith242]

Yeah I can't say I've heard any mention of this either. I'll ask next time I talk to family that live near Pine Bluff if they've heard anything. Last I heard was connecting I-530 a little further to connect to the future I-69.

[dimebag1980]

Yeah I can't say I've heard any mention of this either. I'll ask next time I talk to family that live near Pine Bluff if they've heard anything. Last I heard was connecting I-530 a little further to connect to the future I-69.

This seems more viable anyway, since I-69 will intersect with I-49 in south Shreveport. What would be the use of having a second leg of freeway other than connecting through Monroe?

[vbfl85]

The article said it was only a proposal and that was about a year and a half ago. I think a main reason to build it would be to help out the poor areas of SE Ark/NE La and try to boost the industry in Monroe by giving it interstate access in all directions and better access to i69 north.

[itk]

As most of you probably know i530 is planned to be extended from Pine Bluff to Wilmar/Monticello where it will meet i69. What some of you may or may not know is that a Louisiana politician in 2004 proposed to build i530 from Alexandria, LA at i49 to the Arkansas state line through Monroe, LA. And if Arkansas followed suite and finished it off there would basically be a dual interstate type of situation with a Y shape comming north out of Alexandria with the western half (i49) going to texarkana, ft. smith, NWA and the eastern half (i530 or possibly a new number once completed?) would take an eastern route through pine bluff to LR. That would create a nice route from LR to places like Baton Rouge, New Orleans and points eastward. What is the current status of the i530 extension and has anyone else heard anything about an LR to Alexandria freeway possiblity?

I 530 link

I'm not at my desk and I'm not involved in that project but I'm pretty sure a portion of the I-530 extension is already under construction (as a two-lane facility, with the possibility of widening to 4 lns later).

These type of projects which get federal earmarked funds sometimes have an unintended downside to them-- they require state funds to match and are not priorities for the state (i.e., the agency didn't really want it to begin with). So what that means is that if a politician gets say $80 million earmarked for a project estimated to cost say $200 million total, the state has to not only match the $80 million (typically an 80/20 match so in this case the state would have to come up with $20 million or it wouldn't get the funds, period), but then it would most likely come up with the other $100 million (80 + 20 + 100 = 200 million) to build a project that is not a priority for them at all. So essentially, the state may end up spending in this example $120 million for a project it didn't even really want in the first place. In other words, that $80 million of federal earmarked money is not necessarily free at all-- that other $120 million of state funds could've been spent in other areas of the state that desperately need transportation improvements.

[Mith242]

I'm not at my desk and I'm not involved in that project but I'm pretty sure a portion of the I-530 extension is already under construction (as a two-lane facility, with the possibility of widening to 4 lns later).

These type of projects which get federal earmarked funds sometimes have an unintended downside to them-- they require state funds to match and are not priorities for the state (i.e., the agency didn't really want it to begin with). So what that means is that if a politician gets say $80 million earmarked for a project estimated to cost say $200 million total, the state has to not only match the $80 million (typically an 80/20 match so in this case the state would have to come up with $20 million or it wouldn't get the funds, period), but then it would most likely come up with the other $100 million (80 + 20 + 100 = 200 million) to build a project that is not a priority for them at all. So essentially, the state may end up spending in this example $120 million for a project it didn't even really want in the first place. In other words, that $80 million of federal earmarked money is not necessarily free at all-- that other $120 million of state funds could've been spent in other areas of the state that desperately need transportation improvements.

Yeah that's not going to make people in NWA too happy I'm sure to hear that.

[tim2462]

I haven't heard anything about it. However, if it were to happen, it would have to be renumbered. I-530 is numbered like that because it's a spur off of I-30. If it ends up going from Little Rock to Alexandria, it would no longer be a spur. I would even be willing to bet that it will be renumbered after connecting to I-69...because even then, it's not a spur anymore, it's an interstate that connects 2 other interstates. I can't figure out why they classified it as in interstate to begin with. It connects with I-30 at the end of I-30. So, it's not like it's an interstate that goes somewhere....certainly not to another state. I think it should've just been left like it was, Hwy. 65 freeway. I just don't see the need for the interstate designation. It really has nothing to do with I-30...People that live in Pine Bluff and need to travel anywhere on I-30 would not go to Little Rock on I-530 just to get on 30.

If anything, it wold seem to have more to do with I-40 than I-30, since it does connect you to I-40 where you can connect to other states.

[vbfl85]

I can't figure out why they classified it as in interstate to begin with. It connects with I-30 at the end of I-30. So, it's not like it's an interstate that goes somewhere....certainly not to another state. I think it should've just been left like it was, Hwy. 65 freeway. I just don't see the need for the interstate designation.

i530 was designated as an interstate because the state gets more federal funding.

[cozmosis]

As most of you probably know i530 is planned to be extended from Pine Bluff to Wilmar/Monticello where it will meet i69. What some of you may or may not know is that a Louisiana politician in 2004 proposed to build i530 from Alexandria, LA at i49 to the Arkansas state line through Monroe, LA. And if Arkansas followed suite and finished it off there would basically be a dual interstate type of situation with a Y shape comming north out of Alexandria with the western half (i49) going to texarkana, ft. smith, NWA and the eastern half (i530 or possibly a new number once completed?) would take an eastern route through pine bluff to LR. That would create a nice route from LR to places like Baton Rouge, New Orleans and points eastward. What is the current status of the i530 extension and has anyone else heard anything about an LR to Alexandria freeway possiblity?

[dimebag1980]

Once upon a time, Arkansas planned to expand US 425 to divided four lanes from Pine Bluff to the Louisiana state line. Louisiana was supposed to pick up the project there and construction a divded four-lane highway into Bastrop to connect with US 165. However, I think Louisiana wanted to switch the four-lane plan to US 165 instead and Arkansas abandoned the plan. If the two sides can't agree on widening 90 mile stretch of road, are they really going to be able to work to construct an interstate?

[cozmosis]

Well, they're working together very well now to construct I-49, so I'd say yes.

[Aporkalypse]

Well, they're working together very well now to construct I-49, so I'd say yes.