SALINE COUNTY, Ark. – For five years, drivers going through Saline County have been slowed down by Interstate 30 construction. While it’s been costing them time, recently it’s also been costing the contractor millions in penalties.
“Early in the morning, when it’s congested, it’s backed up real bad,” Dennis Beebe said.
He lives in Benton and has seen hard hats and narrow lanes almost every day. The I-30 widening project’s contract expired on April 20, 2023, and every day since there has been a daily penalty of $77,750.
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“That doesn’t even seem real. That’s a lot of money,” Gunnar Hennigan of Haskill said.
More than $22.5 million and counting in daily penalties have accrued so far. The Arkansas Department of Transportation said the pay deductions are for road user costs and liquidated damages.
The contractors, Johnson Brothers and parent company Southland Holdings out of Texas won the bid to complete the I-30 widening in 2018. The 5.5-mile widening project was the Arkansas Highway Commission’s most expensive when it was announced. Crews also are reconstructing three interchanges and replacing five existing bridges.