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"Interstate 540 traffic creeps to a stand still during many hours of the day.As construction pushes on, an estimated 52,000 drivers will be stalled by lane closures.Even first responders have to consider alternate routes on Interstate 540 during the construction.\"Are there other routes that you have found that still get you the same response time?\" our reporter asked.\"There is, there is. We've made some alternatives routes especially responding to peak times during the day,\" said Aaron Howell, a paramedic for Fort Smith EMS.For Fort Smith EMS, their priority is getting to a 911 scene quickly.The year and a half long construction project has veteran paramedics plotting new routes to take.Officials say response time hasn't changed, but their choice in roads have.\"If we're running in a construction zone they may not have a whole room to pull off on so -- pull off on the shoulder to get out of our way. So we're trying to divert ourselves around the traffic,\" said Howell.First responders said their ambulances are staged throughout the city.Like other drivers trying to avoid the construction, they depend on routes that run parallel and around Interstate 540.\"The construction, although a minor inconvenience right now, it's going to be a good thing for us and the community, for everybody involved.\" said Howell."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.4029tv.com/article/ems-crews-navigate-interstate-construction/4947329>