Interstate 530 (I-530) in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

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 ...

of the

Interstate highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

system, traveling from Pine Bluff north-northwest to

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

at an interchange of

I-30 i30, I30, i-30 or I-30 may refer to: *Interstate 30, an Interstate Highway in the southern United States *, an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine during World War II * (1940-1968), a Royal Australian Navy ''Tribal''-class destroyer *I30, a 9000 serv ...

/ I-440/ U.S. Highway 65 (US 65)/ US 67/ US 167." rkansasState Highways 2009 (Database)." April 2010. AHTD: Planning and Research Division
Database.
Retrieved May 25, 2011. The highway also travels through the cities of Redfield and

White Hall White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

. In the future, I-530 will be extended to

I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...

west of

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

. A short section near the future I-69 alignment has been signed as Highway 530 (AR 530).

Route description

Interstate 530, Pulaski County, Arkansas

The route begins at a high volume intersection with

/ I-440/ US 65/ US 67/ US 167 in southeast

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. This intersection handles over 100,000 vehicles per day on average. I-530 runs south with US 65 and US 167 through marshland, entering Saline County briefly to split with US 167 south (exit 10). At exit 10, the junction can only accessed by southbound I-530. Northbound I-530 must take exit 9 then come back southbound to access exit 10. After returning to Pulaski County, I-530 has an exit at Hensley with Hensley Road (exit 15, which also connects to AR 365) before entering Jefferson County. I-530 continues south, passing through forested land and clear cut areas, also running parallel to AR 365. I-530 intersects

AR 46 Highway 46 (AR 46, Ark. 46, and Hwy. 46) is a state highway in South Arkansas. The route begins at AR 9 and runs east to White Bluff Road near Redfield. The highway was created during the 1926 Arkansas highway numbering and extended throu ...

(exit 20) in Redfield before entering

. After an intersection with AR 256 (Holland Avenue, exit 32), the route runs south to serve as the eastern terminus for US 270 at exit 34. This exit also contains Highway 365 Spur (AR 365 Spur) eastbound to White Hall and Sheridan Street. Continuing south to Pine Bluff, I-530 serves as a

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

around the city. I-530 skirts the city to the southwest, including exits for

AR 190 Highway 190 (AR 190, Ark. 190, and Hwy. 190) is a designation for four List of Arkansas state highways, state highways in Arkansas. Three are low-traffic rural highways in Grant County, Arkansas, Grant County, with one designation along city stre ...

(West 19th Street, exit 37), US 79/ U.S. Highway 79 Business (US 79B, South Camden Road, exit 39), and US 63/ US 63B (South Olive Street, exit 43). The Interstate ends at a very large junction with US 63/US 65/ US 65B/US 79/ US 425/AR 190, after which the roadway continues south as US 65/US 425 toward Dumas. This Interstate Highway is unusual in that its exit number increase south rather than north. However, the standard for spurs is to increase from the beginning at the parent.

I-530 State Scenic Byway

I-530 is designated as one of ten

Arkansas Scenic Byways __NOTOC__ The Arkansas Scenic Byways Program is a list of highways, mainly state highways, that have been designated by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) as scenic highways. The Arkansas General Assembly designates routes for scenic ...

for from AR 256 northwest of

to US 65 in southern Pine Bluff. The route passes over

Bayou Bartholomew Bayou Bartholomew is the longest bayou in the world, meandering approximately between the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 3, 20 ...

and the

Mississippi Alluvial Plain The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is an alluvial plain created by the Mississippi River on which lie parts of seven U.S. states, from southern Louisiana to southern Illinois (Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Lou ...

. The southern portion was formerly a wetland preserve, but now the land is being developed.

Points of interest

Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame
* Arkansas Railroad Museum *

Pine Bluff Commercial Historic District The Pine Bluff Commercial Historic District encompasses a portion of the historic city center of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It extends from Barraque Street south along Main Street, extending in places to properties alongside streets. The area's com ...

History

The current route was formerly designated as US 65. Today, I-530 and US 65 run concurrently as a four-lane,

limited-access A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...

spur route. The route formally gained the I-530 designation after a full Interstate-grade bypass of Pine Bluff (known locally as the Wiley Branton Highway) replaced a segment of US 65 through Pine Bluff that contains at-grade intersections. This segment (known locally as the Martha Mitchell Expressway) was redesignated US 65B; US 65 was rerouted to the bypass before gaining the I-530 codesignation.

Exit list

Future

Arkansas Highway 530

A planned extension of the route pushes the Interstate south to US 278 in Wilmar. The first segment of the extension from US 278 north to

AR 35 Arkansas Highway 35 is a northwest–southeast state highway in southeast Arkansas. The route runs from Dewey near the Mississippi River northwest to Arkansas Highway 5 in Benton. Route description The route begins in Dewey at Macon Lake R ...

opened as a

two-lane expressway A two-lane expressway or two-lane freeway is an expressway or freeway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes ris ...

designated Arkansas Highway 530 (AR 530) on June 6, 2006. This extension is intended to connect to the proposed southern extension of

; US 278 at Wilmar also provides four-lane access to the future I-530 from the larger cities of

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

and

, thus allowing both to champion its completion. Though sufficient right-of-way was provided and grading done for interchanges at both ends as well as two additional lanes, this segment presently has stop signs at both ends and an intersection with Bradley County Road 96 (CR 96)/Barkada Road; it is otherwise a two-lane expressway in between. The second segment of the extension opened in September 2013. It connects the I-530 interchange in Pine Bluff with AR 11 in Lincoln County and is in length. Currently, the segment is two lanes until further funding is available. The remaining segments between AR 35 and Pine Bluff will also be built as a partial two-lane freeway, similar to the existing AR 35–US 278 segment and Pine Bluff intersection to AR 114 segment. Initially, the only full interchange will be with the present I-530 at Pine Bluff; grade crossings will be built at other planned interchanges, but the stretches between grade crossings will be true two-lane expressways with grade separations and service roads where needed. The route includes sufficient right-of-way to build interchanges and two additional lanes later; the Pine Bluff interchange will be a full freeway-to-freeway facility designed for the future four-lane freeway. On August 18, 2015, the next segment—AR 114 to AR 11—was open to traffic. The segment from AR 11 to AR 35 is not yet built. Eventually, the route will connect Pine Bluff and Little Rock to I-69.

Major intersections

References

{{3di, 30 30-5 5 30-5 Transportation in Jefferson County, Arkansas Transportation in Little Rock, Arkansas Transportation in Pine Bluff, Arkansas Transportation in Pulaski County, Arkansas Transportation in Redfield, Arkansas Transportation in Saline County, Arkansas Arkansas Scenic Byways