SALINE COUNTY, Ark. — If you've been planning on driving through the I-30 construction, be prepared to take a detour on Thursday night and into early Friday morning because the westbound side will be closed.
The I-30 westbound closure starts at midnight on Thursday and goes through 5:00 a.m. on Friday.
ARDOT explained that the closure is happening because they need to take care of some weather-related pavement repairs.
"I know just not only me being in this neighborhood, but other people. [It's] very frustrating and just a big inconvenience," TJ West described.
West lives close to Interstate 30 and said he's ready for the construction work and road closures to end.
"This is a neighborhood. And so there's a lot of through traffic now because people are trying to actually find different little nooks and crannies to go around this highway," West explained.
According to ARDOT, drivers will need to take exit 116 onto the Frontage Road to Highway 229 and follow the highway back to the Frontage Road and I-30 westbound ramp at exit 114.
"As you see we're doing it in a time period we think is gonna be least disruptive to the public. [Which is] midnight essentially to five in the morning," said Dave Parker, ARDOT Spokesperson.
Parker explained that these repairs are not part of the ongoing widening project.
"This is because of the weather. I mean, some of it is general wear and tear on the road but then you throw in the weather factor and we've got an increasing number of potholes in that area," Parker added.
He said the detour is about two miles long and he doesn't expect there to be any major delays.
"I don't think it's a great number of potholes or repairs that need to be done but the ones they need to take care of are fairly serious. [We will] get in and get out and you know, that's best the best you can ask for," Parker said.
Neighbors in the area like West, are looking forward to the end result.
"I've seen tons of crashes while I've been coming back and forth. And praise the Lord I've had covering grace and traveling grace. But yeah, just people be safe. And they hurry up and go ahead and get it done. So that we can have better travels on this on this highway here," West added.
While the pavement repairs should end early on Friday morning, ARDOT said the interstate project in its entirety is expected to be finished in January 2025.