Highway 72 (AR 72, Ark. 72, and Hwy. 72) is a designation for two east–west

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

Benton County, Arkansas Benton County is a county within the Northwest Arkansas region with a culture, economy, and history that have transitioned from rural and agricultural to suburban and white collar since the growth of Walmart, which is headquartered in Benton C ...

. A western route of runs east from Highway 43 at Maysville to U.S. Route 71B (US 71B) in Bentonville. A second route of begins at Interstate 49/ US Route 71 (I-49/US 71) in Bentonville and runs northeast to US 62 near Avoca. The route is one of the original Arkansas state highways.

Route description

Maysville to Bentonville

The route begins at Highway 43 in Maysville and runs east to Gravette. Highway 72 intersects Highway 59 in Gravette near the Kansas City Southern Railway Caboose No. 383 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 ...

. The highway continues east past the Banks House to the community of Hiwasse within Gravette, having an interchange with

I-49 Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in multiple segments: the original portion entirely within the state of Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from Interstate 220 (Louisiana), I-220 in S ...

just west of the community, where the highway passes the

Hiwasse Bank Building The Hiwasse Bank Building is a historic commercial building in the rural community of Hiwasse, Arkansas. It is located on Arkansas Highway 279, a short way south of its junction with Arkansas Highway 72, abutting a similar but slightly newer comm ...

. Upon reaching Hiwasse, Highway 72 has an

officially designated exception The Arkansas Highway System is made up of all the highways designated as Interstates, U.S. Highways and State Highways in the US state of Arkansas. The system is maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT), known as the Arkansas ...

of with Highway 279. The highway runs southeast into Centerton, having another interchange with I-49 southeast of Hiwasee. Highway 72 has a junction with Highway 102B before entering Bentonville. In Bentonville the highway becomes Central Avenue, running east through subdivisions until meeting US 71B and terminating a few blocks west of the

Bentonville town square Downtown Bentonville is the historic business district of Bentonville, Arkansas. The region is the location of Walmart Home Office; city and county government facilities; and most of Bentonville's tourist attractions for the city and contains ma ...

Bentonville to Avoca

Highway 72 begins at

/ US 71 in Bentonville and runs northeast to Pea Ridge. The highway has an overlap with Highway 94 through Pea Ridge before turning southeast and runs through

Pea Ridge National Military Park Pea Ridge National Military Park is a United States National Military Park located in northwest Arkansas near the Missouri border. The park protects the site of the Battle of Pea Ridge, fought March 7 and 8, 1862. The battle was a victory for th ...

. South of the park Highway 72 terminates at

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada ...

History

Between Bentonville and Gravette, Highway 72 follows a former alignment of

U.S. Route 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstat ...

. In the late 1990s Highway 72 was rerouted away from downtown Bentonville along US 71B, Highway 102, and Highway 112.

Major intersections

Bentonville spur

Highway 72 Spur (AR 72B, Ark. 72B, and Hwy. 72B) is a former

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 ...

in Bentonville. Its southern terminus was at an intersection with

(now U.S. Route 71B ) with a northern terminus at an intersection with Arkansas Highway 72 (aka Central Ave) in Bentonville. Running a total distance of , it was an older alignment of U.S. 71 and at one time was part of U.S. Route 71B.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Arkansas Highway 72 072 Transportation in Benton County, Arkansas Bentonville, Arkansas Pea Ridge, Arkansas U.S. Route 71