Interstate 630

Interstate 630 is the major limited-access spur running east to west in Little Rock. I-630 connects I-30 running north-to-south on the eastern side of the city to I-430 running north-to-south on the western side of the city. The freeway is seven-and-a-half miles long.

The original I-630 freeway plans, drawn up by urban planner John Nolen of Cambridge, Massachusetts, date to 1930.

Work on I-630 began in 1965, known then simply as the "East-West Expressway" or "Eighth Street Expressway." It was later named the Wilbur D. Mills Freeway after the Arkansas U.S. Representative who managed to get the connector added to the Interstate Highway System by rounding down the number of miles allocated to each state under the law, and then taking the rounding differences and adding them to the Arkansas state quota. The interstate spur was completed in 1985 and cost $130 million.

The interstate bears an even number despite naming conventions designating spurs by odd numbers.

References

• Doug Smith, "Freeway Takes Winding Road to Completion," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 29, 1985.