Thu May 13, 2021 - Southeast Edition #10 Lori Lovely â CEG Correspondent There are 13 cranes on the project, some large enough to drill a 10-ft. shaft. The state of Arkansas embarked on its biggest highway construction program ever undertaken by the Arkansas Department of Transportation, and the people couldn't be more excited. "Arkansas is a small state with a population of just three million, but this project touches every corner of the state, with a total of 36 projects in 19 corridors," said Keli Wylie, administrator of the CAP Program and alternative project delivery administrator. The goals of the Connecting Arkansas Program include improving transportation connections between cities; increasing capacity by widening highways to four or more lanes; improving safety; and easing congestion. Supplementary aims of the program are to support more than 40,000 jobs; drive economic development by making Arkansas locations more desirable to companies to locate and conduct business in; and provide a revenue source for new highway projects.