I-540 becomes Interstate 49
Crews began replacing signs in Bella Vista Tuesday morning
Interstate 49 signs were put up in Northwest Arkansas on Tuesday. The first sign went up in Bella Vista, along the southbound lanes.
A ceremony marked the interstate’s new name, said Scott Bennett, director of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
"Interstate 49 designation, when you have two digits in an interstate, it connects it into other states. That provides a lot of route continuity into other states and allow that connectivity into other states," Bennett said.
Read: GPS may not keep pace with I-49 name change
The interstate was built from Alma to Northwest Arkansas and had been called Interstate 540.
"Interstate 49 really shows that this is going to end up being more than just a Northwest Arkansas road. This is going to be a road for the whole region of the country," Bennett said.
In 1999, it was originally supposed to be known as I-49 by request of state officials.
Plans called for extending what was then just an interstate in Louisiana from Shreveport to Kansas City. The request was denied.
The switch opens up the door to more money for Arkansas, said Dick Trammel of the Arkansas Highway Commission. It's all part of a longer term project to link an interstate from Canada, to Kansas City, and continue all the way down to New Orleans in the future.
"When federal funding looks at it, we're connectivity. We're part of I-49, where before we were a separate entity, 540 from Alma to Bentonville," Trammel said.
Tuesday was just a start. It will take about a month before all 700 Interstate 49 signs are in place. It will cost just under $70,000 to replace the 700 signs between Bella Vista and Alma.
After replacing the signs, the plan is to eventually build an additional 140 miles of interstate to connect Fort Smith and Texarkana; a move which Trammel said is dependent on federal transportation dollars coming into the state.
Crews will be working from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to replace those signs.
Although it shouldn't impact commuters, drivers are asked to be aware of the workers.
As far as getting used to the new naming, that may take some time. But commuters said they aren’t all that bothered by the new name.
"It may take a little bit. It may take a little while to get used to that. I'm probably going to say 540 for at least a month or so,” said Tim Keas, who said he drives on 540 just about every day.
“There are odd-numbered highways going north and south and even numbers going east and west. So it was confusing when I first got here. It'll actually make the change for us as truck drivers a lot easier,” said truck driver James Cullen, who also frequently uses I-540.