JONESBORO, Ark. – No more U-turns on the Parker Road stretch from Walmart to Washington Avenue.
A ribbon cutting for the new extension of Parker Road connecting the U.S. 63/I-555 service road from Strawfloor Drive to the Washington Avenue interchange was held at 10 a.m. Thursday, marking the long-awaited opening of the stretch of road from Washington Avenue to the Strawfloor exit and of significance to most, the nearby Walmart and other businesses.
The road was not opened until signage and striping crews finished work that could go into next week. However the official ceremony was held Thursday, with Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin in attendance, along with others.
“Our engineers and other city employees have been working with the state highway department for a long time to obtain this important connector,” Perrin said. “This is one more important improvement in traffic flow around Jonesboro.”
A traffic study indicated this new connector will give relief to the Southwest Drive at Parker Road intersection, and for traffic cutting through Dupwe Drive between downtown and southwest Jonesboro. It also gives motorists in the Woodsprings Road area another route to downtown.
The 0.7-mile extension was done by Dumey Construction of Missouri at a cost of $2.23 million. The federal portion was $1.27 million, while the City contributed $961,000 to the project.
While those numbers may make locals happy, many in the vicinity are likely more excited about not needing to cross the interstate to buy milk anymore.
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