Highway 157 (AR 157, Ark. 157, and Hwy. 157) is a designation for two

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 ...

s in

Northeast Arkansas The geography of Arkansas varies widely. The state is covered by mountains, river valleys, forests, lakes, and bayous in addition to the cities of Arkansas. Hot Springs National Park features bubbling springs of hot water, formerly sought across t ...

. One segment begins at Highway 367 in Judsonia and runs north to Highway 14 near Oil Trough. A second, short industrial access road also carries the Highway 157 designation in Diaz. Both routes are maintained by the

Arkansas Department of Transportation 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 ...

(ArDOT). One of the oldest roads through the region, the path of present-day Highway 157 was part of the original

Southwest Trail The Southwest Trail was a 19th-century pioneer route that was the primary passageway for American settlers bound for Texas. History The Southwest Trail, also known as the Old Military Road, replaced the older Natchitoches Trace, which ran from t ...

in the 1820s, as was used by

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Samuel R. Curtis Samuel Ryan Curtis (February 3, 1805 – December 26, 1866) was an American military officer and one of the first Republicans elected to Congress. He was most famous for his role as a Union Army general in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the ...

' Army of the Southwest during the Pea Ridge Campaign of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Highway 157 became a state highway in 1937, and was extended over the years during periods of system expansion. The Diaz segment was created in 1976.

Route description

Both segments of Highway 157 are two-lane undivided highways. No segment of Highway 157 has been listed as part of the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.

Judsonia to Oil Trough

Highway 157 begins in Judsonia at Highway 367 on the edge of the

Central Arkansas Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of ...

region. The highway runs north as Sunny Dale Road, exiting the city limits and passing over a full interchange with US Highway 64 (US 64), which is

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with US 67 and US 167. This freeway was designated part of Future Interstate 57 (I-57) in 2017. Highway 157 continues northbound through a rural agricultural area, dotted with historic farmhouses like the 1905 Capt. Larned House,

Morris Hartsell Farmstead The Morris Hartsell Farmstead is a historic farm property in northern White County, Arkansas. Located on the north side of Arkansas Highway 157 in the hamlet of Steprock, it has one of the finest assemblages of 19th century farm buildings to b ...

, and the Hilger Homestead, all listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

(NRHP). The highway becomes a

section line road In many jurisdictions in the United States, roads run along every section line, giving access to previously remote areas and serving in many instances as firebreaks. A road or arterial in which the centerline is laid out along a section line bound ...

and junctions several minor state highways: Highway 13, Highway 385 at Plainview, and Highway 258 south of

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

. In northern White County, Highway 157 begins to wind and curve, intersecting Highway 124 at Sunnyside before entering Independence County. Arkansas Highway 157 in Pleasant Plains

Entering Pleasant Plains, a small town in southern Independence County, Highway 157 passes through downtown before an intersection with Highway 87 (Floral Road). Highway 87 continues westward to

Floral A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

, and Highway 157 turns east as Blackland Road. Highway 157 intersects US 167 along the eastern city limits of Pleasant Plains before turning northeast. The route runs becomes Blackland Road and runs towards Oil Trough, where it terminates at Highway 14. The ArDOT maintains Highway 157 like all other parts of the state highway system. As a part of these responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic using its roads in surveys using a metric called

average annual daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...

(AADT). ArDOT estimates the traffic level for a segment of roadway for any average day of the year in these surveys. For 2016, the highest traffic levels were estimated in downtown Pleasant Plains, with 7,600 vehicles per day (VPD). The highest estimated traffic outside city limits was between Fairview and Providence, with 2,600 VPD. The lowest AADT levels were the 830 VPD near the northern terminus.

Diaz

Highway 157 begins at Highway 17/Highway 18 (Main Street) in northern Diaz, a small town in the rural

Arkansas Delta The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...

. Known as Tucker Road, the highway runs due east as a section line road through an agricultural industrial area until intersecting Highway 367, where it terminates. As of 2016, the route had an

annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...

(AADT) of 1,900 vehicles per day (VPD).

History

Highway 157 first appears on the 1937 state highway map. It ran from US 67 to

in northern White County. It was extended north to the Independence County line in 1945, and to Highway 11 in Pleasant Plains in 1953. Following Act 9 of 1973, the highway was extended to the current northern terminus near Oil Trough. However, Act 9 of 1973 permitted a maximum of 12 miles (19 km) to be added to the state highway system per county, leaving the extension 0.47 miles (0.76 km) short of Highway 14. The gap was added to the system on February 27, 1974. Following a new alignment of US 167 in Pleasant Plains, Highway 157 was also rerouted in November 14, 2000. The Diaz segment was created on January 29, 1976. It was realigned in 1994 at the request of the mayor of Diaz.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Arkansas Highway 157 Arkansas Heritage Trails System 157 Transportation in White County, Arkansas Transportation in Independence County, Arkansas Transportation in Jackson County, Arkansas State highways in the United States shorter than one mile