I-555 construction faces frustrating challenges

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) -If you travel through I-555, you’ve had to deal with construction for over a year now, and some feel the newly paved road is subpar.

“And it is a little dangerous, the spots there,” said Gary Willcockson, a Trumann native.

Frustration is rising over the interstate, which is about to have construction move over to the southbound lanes.

Brad Smithee, District 10 engineer for the Arkansas Department of Transportation, talked Tuesday about all the issues at hand.

“The truth is it’s finished asphalt,” Smithee said. “But that doesn’t mean there’s still not work to do.”

An upset tweet by Warren Weatherly railed into the road work, saying the road “opens up and is rough as can be, bounces everywhere, and has huge dips and rough patches.”

While crews are going to transition southbound starting Wednesday morning, corrective measures are already planned to address the issues with the new northbound pavement.

“Primarily, we will focus on the southbound lanes, we will reconstruct them,” Smithee said. “But before we accept the project, there are many special cases that go unmet, and there will be work to make repairs and more corrective actions on that northbound lane.”

Koss Construction is the contractor in charge of this project and will be footing the bill in correcting the northbound lane by grinding out the asphalt.

There is no set time for this corrective measure to occur, but some people, while frustrated, are optimistic.

“I think they’re going to do a good job on it,” Willcockson said. “I really do.”

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