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| Fri, Nov. 21, 2008 |  |
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I-540 interchange money in Senate bill Tuesday, Jul 22, 2008 Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - A Senate panel has earmarked $2 million in federal spending to upgrade interchanges along Interstate 540 in Washington and Benton counties. The money was inserted into a $53.3 billion bill setting 2009 spending for a range of transportation agencies and programs. Final votes are not expected until late this year or early next year, Senate leaders have said. The Arkansas line item would provide seed money to add lanes to on-ramps at interchanges along the highway, and add capacity to cross streets, according to a project description provided by the office of Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department will determine further how the money will be spent, based on a 2006 report that identified needs along the interstate. Lincoln and Sen Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said they arranged for the earmark. The transportation spending bill also included funds for other Arkansas projects, including: -$1 million for continued landscaping along Garrison Avenue, the main thoroughfare in downtown Fort Smith. -$3 million to continue engineering and obtain rights of way for the Interstate 69/Great River Bridge project in south Arkansas. -$5 million to modernize cloverleafs at the interchange of interstates 430 and 630 in Little Rock. |
