U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Announces $441,450 for Interstate Feasibility Study in Arkansas

Topics:  Rodney E. Slater, Interstate Highway System

Federal Highway Administration
February 27, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, February 27, 1999
Contact: Jim Pinkelman
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 15-99

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced $441,450 in Federal Highway Administration funding to the state of Arkansas to study the feasibility of providing a road that meets Interstate standards between Pine Bluff, Ark., and Memphis.

"In his State of the Union address, President Clinton challenged us to bring the spark of private enterprise to every corner of America," Secretary Slater said. "This feasibility study will be a first step in bringing better access to this area of Arkansas and Tennessee and more jobs, which are so vital to economic development."

The funds are authorized by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which President Clinton signed into law on June 9, 1998.

TEA-21 provides funding in fiscal 1999 to study a route that runs southwest from U.S. Route 61 and crosses the Mississippi River near Memphis to Highway 79 and generally follows Highway 79 to Pine Bluff, a distance of about 140 miles.