News

Southwest Drive/Parker Road project about to begin

Southwest Drive/Parker Road project about to begin

Photo: Saga Communications/Google


Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – August 25, 2025 – A long-awaited project to improve the intersection of U.S. Highway 49/Southwest Drive and Parker Road is about to begin.

The bid to finance the project is part of $29.6 million in project bids awarded this summer by the Arkansas Department of Transportation. The news about the Jonesboro project came during a bid-letting update given at last week’s Arkansas Highway Commission meeting.

The intersection improvement in Jonesboro is the most expensive award of the June bid-letting cycle, costing $6 million. Rogers Group is the contractor and placed a project office building at the site last week signaling the project should begin soon. The projected completion date is late 2026.

Aaron Vowell, former Resident Engineer with ARDOT District 10 told JonesboroRightNow last year that the Southwest and Parker intersection has an average daily traffic count of 25,000 vehicles. Improvements to the intersection include widening in all directions, double turn lanes in several directions, and widening Parker Rd all the way to Culberhouse.

This Week in Jonesboro

Recent Headlines

3 hours ago in National, Trending

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk dies after being shot at Utah college event

Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, died Wednesday after being shot at a college event, Trump said. The co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA, the 31-year-old Kirk is the latest victim in a spasm of political violence across the United States.

3 hours ago in Entertainment, Music

David Bowie archive opens in London chronicling five decades of icon’s restless creativity

When David Bowie died in 2016, he left a vast musical legacy – and a trove of unrealized projects. Tantalizing details of those abandoned and unfinished ideas are revealed in Bowie's archive, which opens to the public this week.

9 hours ago in Entertainment

Star Trek plans packed lineup for the franchise’s 60th anniversary, with Lego sets and YouTube show

Not many franchises have fueled society's timeless fascination with the boundless possibilities of a utopian future like "Star Trek." Next year the sprawling franchise will add more shows, Lego sets and even a Rose Parade Float in a yearlong celebration of its 60th anniversary.