ARDOT puts 19 jobs up for bid on Nov. 4, led by 13 resurfacing contracts and an I-40/I-49 interchange job

The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) will open bids on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, for 19 highway and county road jobs. Ten are in the morning session and nine in the afternoon. ARDOT's contractor page says electronic bids must be received by 10 a.m. for the morning letting and by 1:30 p.m. for the afternoon letting.

ARDOT accepts only internet bids submitted through Bid Express, using AASHTOWare Project Bids software, a rule in place since the January 2018 letting. Bidders must be prequalified with the department.

Mostly resurfacing

Thirteen of the 19 jobs are pavement work on state highways, and each of those notices sets the same completion date: Nov. 24, 2027. They break down this way:

• Overlays: five jobs, the longest about 23.7 miles of Highway 130 in Arkansas County (Job A20044), plus Highway 375 in Polk County, Highway 14 in Independence County, Highway 182 in Clark County and Highway 101 in Baxter County.
• Mill and overlay: four jobs, on Highway 73 in Hempstead and Howard counties (about 18.5 miles), Highway 338 in Pulaski County, Highway 167 in Calhoun County and Highway 412 in Carroll and Madison counties.
• Mill and overlay with an ultrathin bonded wearing course: Highway 367 in White County and Highway 65 in Van Buren County (about 13.2 miles).
• Ultrathin bonded wearing course only: about 4.9 miles of Highway 18 in Craighead County.
• Chip seal and fog seal: about 9.7 miles of Highway 85 in Phillips County.

The other six

• Job 040904, Crawford County: grading and structures for a four-lane interstate facility, including improvements to the I-40 and I-49 interchange. It is the letting's biggest earthwork job, with more than 1.8 million cubic yards of compacted embankment, two continuous plate girder bridges and five concrete box culverts. Bidders will propose the number of calendar days.
• Job 050439, Independence County: replacing one bridge on Highway 25, with 520 calendar days to finish.
• Job 061922, Garland County: ADA and pedestrian safety work on Highways 7 and 70B, 370 calendar days.
• Job 101141, Mississippi County: improving the Highway 61 and 140 intersection in Osceola, including traffic signals, 360 calendar days.
• Job BR4401, Madison County: replacing the War Eagle Creek bridge on County Road 7 south of Huntsville, a 355-foot continuous plate girder unit, 529 calendar days.
• Job FA0314, Baxter County: reconstructing about 1.5 miles of County Road 73, 410 calendar days.

Where the work is

All 19 notices are federal-aid projects, including the two county road jobs in Madison and Baxter counties that appear on ARDOT's letting.

The morning session covers Phillips, Crawford, Polk, Independence (two jobs), Garland, Clark, Van Buren, Baxter and Craighead counties. The afternoon session covers Arkansas, Hempstead, White, Pulaski, Calhoun, Carroll, Mississippi, Madison and Baxter counties.

Every one of ARDOT's 10 districts has at least one job. District 9, based in Harrison, has the most with four (two in Baxter County, one in Carroll and Madison counties, and the War Eagle Creek bridge). District 5 (Batesville) has three, all in Independence and White counties. Districts 4 (Fort Smith), 6 (Little Rock), 7 (Camden) and 10 (Paragould) have two each.

Who has asked for proposals

ARDOT's proposal holder lists, dated Oct. 28, show 69 proposal requests from 33 firms across the 19 jobs. The Crawford County interstate job drew the most, with 10 holders; three resurfacing jobs, in Phillips, Polk and Calhoun counties, had one holder each. See our story on the proposal holders and each job on the bids page.

After the letting

ARDOT posts apparent bid results once bids are downloaded, then publishes awards lists. One more advertised job, the Highway 49 Mississippi River bridge rehabilitation in Phillips County, is set for the Jan. 20, 2027 letting. See our guide to bidding ARDOT contracts.