File map from a previous Fort Smith Police traffic alert showing the I-540 and Zero Street interchange where Thursday afternoon traffic is being heavily affected. This image is for location reference and does not show current traffic conditions. Image: City of Fort Smith / Fort Smith Police Department.
Hey Fort Smith — if you're about to get on I-540 in south Fort Smith for the evening commute, check traffic before you leave.
Multiple crashes are causing major problems in both directions of I-540 late Thursday afternoon around the Exit 10–11 stretch near Phoenix/Old Greenwood Road and Zero Street.
5NEWS reports northbound traffic near the Zero Street exit has been essentially stalled while southbound traffic is also moving slowly.
40/29 News separately reports crashes affecting the northbound and southbound sides near Exit 10 and says at least one person has been injured.
This is developing, so the exact lane situation can change quickly as police, firefighters, wreckers and ARDOT crews work the area.
Here's the stretch we're talking about.
If you know Fort Smith, you already know this section can turn ugly fast.
Exit 10 serves the Old Greenwood Road and Phoenix Avenue area.
Exit 11 is Zero Street.
Those exits are only about a mile apart, and once traffic starts stacking up in both directions there isn't much room for it to recover before vehicles begin spilling onto nearby surface streets.
The 5NEWS report, citing the Arkansas Department of Transportation, says the northbound side near Zero Street was at a standstill while southbound traffic was also slowed.
40/29 reports separate crashes affecting both northbound and southbound I-540 near Exit 10, with all lanes impacted and at least one injury.
So whether the incidents are right at Exit 10, closer to Exit 11 or stretched between the two, the practical advice is the same:
Avoid that section of I-540 right now if you've got a reasonable alternative.
But don't blindly follow the first reroute your phone gives you either.
When something shuts down or badly slows I-540 around Phoenix and Zero, everybody's navigation app tends to dump drivers onto the same handful of Fort Smith streets.
That means Zero Street, Old Greenwood Road, Phoenix Avenue, Towson Avenue and nearby connectors can get clogged up too.
Before automatically jumping off the interstate, look at the live traffic layer first.
ARDOT's IDrive Arkansas system provides live traffic conditions, traffic cameras, crashes, closures and construction information directly from the state highway system.
If I-540 is red but your alternate route is just as bad, sitting through the interstate backup may still beat spending half an hour bouncing through side streets.
At least one injury has been reported — beyond that, don't start filling in the blanks.
40/29 reports at least one person was injured.
That's all that should be repeated right now.
There is no reason to start posting that somebody died, that it was a semi wreck, that somebody was airlifted or that a particular driver was at fault unless police or another reliable source actually confirms it.
Until officials release more, the useful facts are simple:
Traffic is heavily affected.
Both directions have problems.
At least one injury has been reported.
Emergency crews are working the area.
The timing is what makes this particularly rough.
This isn't a 2 a.m. wreck when five cars are on the interstate.
It's hitting during the evening commute, when people are leaving work, picking kids up, heading home toward south Fort Smith, crossing town toward Van Buren or trying to reach businesses around Phoenix, Zero Street and Highway 71.
Once northbound I-540 backs up around Zero, that congestion can ripple toward Jenny Lind and Highway 71.
Southbound congestion around Phoenix can create the same kind of mess in the other direction.
If you're still at work and don't have to leave immediately, check the map before heading out.
Depending on how quickly crews clear the crashes, waiting twenty minutes may beat spending those same twenty minutes staring at somebody's brake lights.
Hey Fort Smith — here's the quick version.
I-540 is a mess around Exit 10 and the Zero Street area right now.
Northbound traffic near Zero Street has been reported essentially stalled.
Southbound traffic is backed up too.
40/29 reports separate crashes affecting both directions near Exit 10, with at least one injury.
If you don't absolutely have to use I-540 through that stretch during rush hour, check IDrive Arkansas before you go.
And if you're rerouting, look at the whole map first because everybody else is going to have the same idea and Phoenix, Old Greenwood, Zero and Towson can fill up quickly.
This is still developing.
Once the lanes are cleared, this becomes old news pretty fast.
Right now, though, it can save somebody a whole lot of sitting in traffic.
Community takeaway: Multiple crashes are affecting both directions of I-540 in Fort Smith late Thursday afternoon around Exit 10 and the Zero Street area. Northbound traffic near Zero has been reported stalled, southbound traffic is also slowed and at least one injury has been reported. Drivers should check IDrive Arkansas before heading through the area and expect nearby surface streets to absorb additional traffic.
Fort Smith Community Hub
Keeping our community connected, one story at a time.
📍 Fort Smith, Arkansas · 479 · iam479.com.
Sources: 5NEWS — crash near Zero Street stalls I-540 traffic in both directions · 40/29 News — at least one injured as crashes affect both directions near Exit 10 · Arkansas Department of Transportation — traveler information and IDrive Arkansas
Comments
Post a Comment