Two projects 25 years in the making were dedicated Thursday. Highway 67/167 now is a four lane highway that stretches from Little Rock to Walnut Ridge. Also, a four-lane connector from Jonesboro to Highway 67 has also opened. The Highway 226 connector provides four-lane access to Highway 67/167. Director of the State Highway and Transportation Department Scott Bennett says the dedications were not only big for Northeast Arkansas, but for the entire state as well.
"This will allow easy access for people to reach northeast Arkansas from central Arkansas and this will help in economic development," said Bennett.
Looking into the future, Bennett expects at least another several years before Highway 67 can reach the Missouri border.
"We are looking at a couple of years for studies and design work and then we would have to start buying rights-of-way. After that, it will be finding the $300-500 million to complete the road."
He says studies will take a couple of years, design of the best route would follow after that and then finding the funding to build the highway would be the last step of the process.
