Why Cabot's Exit 16 Is Getting a Single Traffic Light, and What Comes After It

"Progress can be painful," Mayor Ken Kincade told the crowd at the groundbreaking for the Highway 5 interchange in May, according to THV11. "But the pain will go away and be replaced with joy and ease. Just bear with us for two years, I beg you."

Two years is the estimate for the overpass at Exit 16. The barrels on Highway 5 are part of something longer, though. Exit 16 is the first of three linked jobs on Interstate 57 through Cabot. When all three are finished, Cabot will have two interchanges that each run on a single traffic light, plus a widened stretch of interstate between them.

What's Going Up at Exit 16

The Arkansas Department of Transportation is rebuilding the Highway 5/I-57 interchange as a Single Point Urban Interchange, usually shortened to SPUI. The project replaces the Highway 5 bridge over I-57 and adds new through lanes and dedicated turn lanes on Highway 5.

ARDOT's announcement put the cost at $53.9 million and named Weaver-Bailey Contractors, Inc. of Conway as the contractor. It said the work would take about two years, with completion estimated for mid-2028. The groundbreaking was held May 28, 2026, in the parking lot of New Life Church at 107 Commercial Drive. At that event, ARDOT Director Jared Wiley said the interchange would be finished in "mid-to-late 2028," as THV11 reported.

When the work is done, a driver coming off the interstate or crossing over it on Highway 5 should notice three things:

1. One signal at the center of the interchange instead of separate signals at each set of ramps.
2. A new Highway 5 bridge over I-57.
3. More lanes on Highway 5 itself, including turn lanes set apart from through traffic.

How One Light Does the Work of Two

A typical diamond interchange has two signalized intersections, one where each pair of ramps meets the cross street. In its explanation of the design, the Federal Highway Administration describes a SPUI as pulling the ramp turns and cross-street movements into one central area controlled by one signal. Some signal phases let opposing left turns from the cross street go at the same time as through traffic.

ARDOT media communications manager Ellen Coulter described it more simply in a THV11 report on the project:

"It takes all of those points of traffic coming from different directions off of the interstate and from Highway Five, and it funnels them through one single traffic light, so it makes things more efficient, more safe, and it creates fewer points of conflict there at that intersection."

The same report called it "a design rarely seen in Arkansas." Cabot is in line to get two of them.

The Traffic Count Behind the Design

At the groundbreaking, Wiley gave the numbers ARDOT is designing for. Highway 5 north of the interstate was carrying 18,000 cars a day, and south of the interstate it was carrying 21,000. Those are May 2026 counts. The extra 3,000 cars a day on the south side means more traffic reaches the interchange from one side than leaves it on the other, and most of that difference has to turn onto or off the interstate.

Coulter told THV11 the corridor serves "not only the growing population of Cabot, but people from Lonoke County to Pulaski County," including commuters headed to Jacksonville and Little Rock. Cabot Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Gina Jones tied the congestion to the town's commercial growth: "Every time you turn around, we have a new business, which is a wonderful thing, but unfortunately, that brings more people that are driving on the streets more." Speaker of the House Brian Evans, who lives in Cabot, said at the groundbreaking that the project would improve safety and traffic flow and give local businesses an economic boost.

What the Work Has Meant for Drivers So Far

Building a new bridge while traffic keeps moving means shifting that traffic around. These are the changes ARDOT has announced since construction began:

• Southbound entrance ramp. ARDOT announced that starting at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 22, the Highway 5 entrance ramp to I-57 southbound would close around the clock "until further notice" while crews build a new ramp. Southbound traffic was rerouted to John Hardin Drive, which reaches the interstate through a temporary traffic signal. The Arkansas Leader also reported the change.
• October girder closures. ARDOT scheduled nightly closures of I-57 at the interchange from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., southbound October 18 through 22 and northbound October 25 through 29, so crews could set bridge girders. The Arkansas Leader carried that schedule.
• November girder closures. An October 30 update moved the southbound overnight closures to Sunday, November 1, through Thursday, November 5, with the same hours. Only one direction closes at a time. The signed detour uses the Exit 16 off- and on-ramps, so drivers leave the interstate and get right back on, and flaggers, drums, barricades and signs direct traffic through the work zone.

Girder work depends on the weather, and ARDOT's notices say "weather permitting" for that reason. IDriveArkansas has current lane and ramp conditions before you leave the house.

Exit 16 Used to Be Part of a Bigger Job

Exit 16 was once only half of a larger plan. ARDOT's internal job number for the Highway 5 interchange is 061371. ARDOT's October 2026 general staff minutes list a separate job, 061859, titled "I-57/Hwy. 89 Intchng. Impvts. (Cabot)," and note that it was "Broken out of Job 061371."

That job is for Exit 19 at Highway 89, and it's the same type of project. According to the minutes, it will reconfigure the Highway 89 interchange as a SPUI and replace one bridge. The bridge listed for replacement dates to 1971. The project first appeared in the state's 2016–2020 transportation improvement program and was programmed in May 2024. The minutes give it a scheduled date of May 2027 and note a 16-week advertisement period. Metroplan, the Central Arkansas planning agency, carries the Exit 19 project at $65 million in its 2027–2030 improvement program, with 2029 in its year column.

Jones mentioned it at the start of construction: "They're doing exit 16 now, and 19 is coming up as well, so they're going to do the same thing there."

Three Jobs on One Stretch of Interstate

The 3.7 miles of I-57 between the two exits are part of the plan too. ARDOT awarded Job 061642, "Hwy. 5 – Hwy. 89 (Widening) (Cabot)," to Weaver-Bailey Contractors for $116,993,040.13 at its November 1, 2023 letting. ARDOT's District 6 engineer described that job in a May 2025 presentation as widening and improving 3.7 miles. At the May 2026 groundbreaking, Wiley said the I-57 work from Highway 5 to Highway 89 "should be complete in the middle of next year," which means mid-2027.

Here is how the three jobs line up:

Together the three figures add up to roughly $236 million for one 3.7-mile stretch of interstate and the interchanges at each end. The jobs also overlap in time. The widening is scheduled to finish before the Exit 16 overpass does, and Exit 19 is lined up to start after the widening wraps up.

For anyone who uses Highway 5 to get to the interstate, the plan for Exit 16 is the one Kincade asked people to be patient with, finishing in mid-2028. Drivers who get on at Highway 89 are next in line, since the same single-light design is set to follow on its own schedule, and the 1971 bridge is due to be replaced as part of it.

If you're wondering how the roadwork at Exit 16 or Exit 19 could affect a home you own or are thinking about buying near Highway 5 or Highway 89, the team at Howell Realty Pros follows these Cabot projects week to week. You can get your free home valuation and talk to a local expert who knows where the barrels are this month, or browse our Cabot neighborhood page to see what's on the market on both sides of the interstate.