Arkansas Highway 59 is a north–south

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

Northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville, the surrounding towns of Benton an ...

. The route runs from

Arkansas Highway 22 Highway 22 (AR 22, Ark. 22, and Hwy. 22) is an east–west state highway in the Arkansas River Valley. It is maintained by the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD). The highway runs from US 64/ US 71B east to ...

in Barling north to the

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

state line through Van Buren, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Crawford County. Highway 59 parallels

US 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway Sy ...

(in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

) between

Siloam Springs Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city shares a border on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line with the city of West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma, which is within the Cherokee Nation territory. The town was founded i ...

and Fort Smith. Since US 59 goes through Arkansas, AR 59 is the only Arkansas state highway to share its numbering with a federal highway that goes through Arkansas.

Route description

Highway 59 north of Highway 45 junction, Washington County, AR

The route begins in Barling at

AR 22 Highway 22 (AR 22, Ark. 22, and Hwy. 22) is an east–west state highway in the Arkansas River Valley. It is maintained by the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD). The highway runs from US 64/ US 71B east to ...

. The route runs north to enter Van Buren, crossing I-540 and briefly

concurring In law, a concurring opinion is in certain legal systems a written opinion by one or more judges of a court which agrees with the decision made by the majority of the court, but states different (or additional) reasons as the basis for their deci ...

with

US 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

. The concurrency begins near the Joseph Starr Dunham House and before crossing

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

. The route exits town northbound, intersecting rural highways AR 162 and AR 220 in Cedarville and crossing Lee Creek on the historic Lee Creek Bridge. At this time, AR 59 is running through the

Boston Mountains The Boston Mountains is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Part of the Ozarks, the Boston Mountains are a deeply dissected plateau. The ecoregion is steeper ...

subdivision of

The Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

. North of Cedarville, AR 59 curves west toward

, coming within of the border. Entering Washington County, the route meets

Arkansas Highway 156 Highway 156 (AR 156, Ark. 156, and Hwy. 156) is a designation for three east–west state highways in Washington County, Arkansas. The first segment was created in 1937, with two more created in 1973. All are minor state highways established to pro ...

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in S ...

and AR 244 in

Tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...

. The route continues north to Dutch Mills and Summers before entering

. Upon entering Benton County, AR 59 concurs with

US 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of the ...

east around the southeast edge of Siloam Springs. The concurrency ends and AR 59 continues north to

Gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

. AR 59 passes near Kansas City-Southern Railway cars and Kansas City-Southern Depot in Decatur. The route continues north to

AR 72 Highway 72 (AR 72, Ark. 72, and Hwy. 72) is a designation for two east–west List of Arkansas state highways, state highways in Benton County, Arkansas. A western route of runs east from Arkansas Highway 43, Highway 43 at Maysville, Arkansa ...

and the Kansas City Southern Railway Caboose No. 383 in Gravette. The highway runs further north to Wee Pine Knot, the Adar House, and Butler Creek Cemetery in

Sulphur Springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage under ...

. AR 59 meets

Missouri Route 59 Route 59 is a highway in southwest Missouri running from Interstate 44/Interstate 49/U.S. Route 71 at Fidelity to the Arkansas state line where it continues as Highway 59. It replaced a large section of U.S. Route 71 and Alternate US 71 in sec ...

at the

state line and terminates.

History

When Arkansas established its first numbered state highway system in 1926, Arkansas Highway 59 was designated for a route that led from the

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

state line to Eudora. The

South Arkansas South Arkansas lies within the southernmost portions of Arkansas Gulf Coastal Plain and Delta regions. It encompasses the lower 15 counties of the state. History In the 1920s, nationwide attention focused on South Arkansas when the Smackover F ...

route later became AR 159, and the 59 number moved to

northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville, the surrounding towns of Benton an ...

. In 1936, AR 59 traveled from Van Buren north to

. From AR 72 at Gravette, north to the Missouri state line, AR 59 is the original alignment of US 71. The roadway continues north into

. The route was widened by the

AHTD The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT), formerly the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, is a government department in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its mission is to provide a safe, efficient, aesthetically pleasing and en ...

in 2007 around Siloam Springs."Annual Report - 2007". ATHD
Publication.
Retrieved on March 2, 2009.

Major intersections

Special routes

AR 59 has two

special route In road transportation in the United States, a special route is a road in a numbered highway system that diverts a specific segment of related traffic away from another road. They are featured in many highway systems; most are found in the Int ...

s, both in

Gentry business route

Highway_59B_turns_onto_Main_Street_in_Gentry,_AR

Arkansas Highway 59 Business is a

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

Gentry spur

Arkansas Highway 59 Spur is a

spur route A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, Interstate Highway, or motorway. A bypass or beltway should not be considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the s ...

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Arkansas Highway 59 059 Transportation in Sebastian County, Arkansas Transportation in Crawford County, Arkansas Transportation in Washington County, Arkansas Transportation in Benton County, Arkansas U.S. Route 71 Siloam Springs, Arkansas