If you’re traveling to and from Northwest Arkansas this weekend your trip will be quicker. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

The long-awaited five-mile section of the Interstate 49 Connector from Southwest Missouri to Northwest Arkansas opened to traffic this morning. Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson were on hand Thursday to cut the ribbon to mark the completion of the over 70 million dollar project.

The project included building five miles of a four-lane divided highway, five bridges, and an interchange. This connector is a part of a larger I-49 project that when completed will link Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana, creating a highway network between the Gulf of Mexico up to Central Canada, over 1,600 miles. Before the completion of this five miles stretch, the existing part of I-49 was last completed in 2012. For 89 9 KRPS, I’m Fred Fletcher-Fierro