Flight crew members walk along a jet bridge at Northwest Arkansas National Airport in August 2023. (Courtesy XNA)Construction on a new road leading to Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) is set to begin this week.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the project on Wednesday in the short-term parking lot at the airport.
The new road will feature a four-lane interstate stretching from the XNA entrance at Hwy. 264 to Hwy. 612, also known as the Springdale Bypass, which currently connects to Interstate 49 (see map below). The $127.7 million project will include an interchange at Hwy. 612, and a tie-in to Hwy. 264.
It will not include any other entrance or exit ramps, according to state documents. It will require overpasses at Wager Drive, Haden Road and Holmes Road. The estimated completion date is late 2027.
The new access road will be built concurrently with phase two of the Hwy. 612 project. The $180.8 million project is estimated to be complete in late 2026. Two future phases will extend Hwy. 612 southwest to Hwy. 412 in Tontitown, allowing even more direct connectivity to the airport.
“When complete, these two new sections of highway will improve traffic flow for the growing Northwest Arkansas region, providing safe, modernized roadways,” said Lorie Tudor, director of the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
The access road is included in the projects set to be paid for with receipts from an extension of a half-cent sales tax that Arkansas voters approved in November 2020.
XNA access road map
(Fayetteville Flyer)
