Northwest Arkansas will receive a $25 million federal grant to build a 4.81-mile segment of Interstate 49 in Missouri and to complete the 18.9-mile Arkansas/Missouri connector, or the Bella Vista bypass.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $25 million to complete the work of the AR/MO connector.

The NW AR Regional Planning Commission has once again applied for federal funding to complete a 4.8-mile segment of Interstate 49 in Missouri to the state line. The segment is the only portion of the 18.9-mile Arkansas/Missouri Connector, or the Bella Vista Bypass, that doesn’t have the needed funding identified to complete the project.