Council approves Oak Street Ahead as an amendment to the Conway Comprehensive Plan
Channel: City of Conway, Arkansas
Date: 29/03/2023

Oak Street (US Highway 64) is a major corridor running through central Conway, Arkansas, and functions as the primary gateway for traffic from Interstate 40 (I-40) accessing the City’s vibrant downtown. The City of Conway is located in Central Arkansas, within southwestern Faulkner County. The City’s population and development growth began partly due to the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad construction, with the town being platted in 1871 and eventually incorporated in 1875. Conway would soon become the location of five colleges, the first being the Central Collegiate Institute (Hendrix College) in 1889. Historically, Oak Street began as a main thoroughfare in downtown Conway. Over time it has expanded to become a major commercial corridor within the city providing access to hotels, retail, restaurants, and general commercial uses utilized by both the citizens of Conway and smaller surrounding towns within the region. The construction of I-40 and its connection to Conway in 1970 continued commercial growth within the city, specifically along Oak Street.

Throughout the 20th century, Oak Street would continue east, eventually running under I-40. As commercial development continued along Oak Street over the past half-century, vehicular traffic has grown. Specifically, the Oak Street corridor adjacent to the Conway Commons commercial development experiences high congestion and traffic volumes. In 2014 the city moved the location of the airport to provide for a connection of Elsinger Blvd. west, across I-40, to connect with Harkrider Street (via 6th Street/Bruce Street). This project is beneficial in regard to inter-city connectivity, but high traffic volumes and congestion are still prevalent along the Oak Street Corridor.

Some streetscape, connectivity, and alignment improvements have been implemented on the section of the corridor just east of Harkrider/Oak Streets, adjacent to Downtown Conway in the past decade. These improvements are positive impacts to the corridor.

Corridor challenges such as the lack of continuous active transportation infrastructure and a continued increase in traffic led to a city initiative to improve the Oak Street Corridor. Through public input, discussions with business owners, traffic analysis, thoughtful conceptual design, and field inventory, the Oak Street Ahead corridor study provides a conceptual design and recommendation for improvements that will positively impact the community and economy.

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City of Conway, Arkansas
1111 Main Street
Conway, Arkansas 72032
conwayarkansas.gov