Arkansas Highway 73 (AR 73 and Hwy. 73) 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

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 ...

. The western route of runs from

US 278 U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is a parallel route of U.S. Route 78, US 78. It currently runs for from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to Wickes, Arkansas at U.S. Route 71, US 71/U.S. Route 59, US 59, passing through five states in the ...

north to Highway 355. An eastern alignment runs from

US 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues so ...

in east

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

Arkansas Highway 53 Highway 53 (AR 53, Ark. 53, and Hwy. 53) is a designation for two north–south state highways in Southwest Arkansas, United States. One route of begins at the Louisiana state line and runs north to US Highway 371 (US 371) south of Prescott. A ...

Route description

Royston Log House at Historic Washington State Park IMG 1485

Western segment

Highway 73 begins in

Hempstead County Hempstead County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,609. As of the 2020 census, the population decreased to 20,065. The county seat is Hope. Hempstead County is Arkansas's fourth cou ...

at Highway 355 near Millwood Lake, close to the Howard County line. The route briefly enters Howard County before reentering Hempstead County near

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

and the Columbus Presbyterian Church. Highway 73 runs along the southern border of the Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Wildlife Management Area past the Grandison D. Royston House before intersecting Highway 195 at Cross Roads. The route continues further southeast through rural country before terminating at

. The route is a low traffic road with less than 1000 vehicles per day (VPD) from its western terminus to the junction with Highway 195. East of the intersection the Average daily traffic (ADT) increases to about 1300 VPD (as of 2010).

Eastern segment

The route begins at

in the eastern portion of

. Highway 73 runs east through Rocky Mound into Nevada County. The route runs only briefly in the county before terminating at Highway 53. The route is two–lane undivided for its entire length. The route begins with an average of 2400 vehicles per day from US 67 in Hope to the intersection with Lake Shore Street, which provides access to William Jefferson Clinton Primary School (as of 2010). East of the school the route's ADT drops to approximately 900 VPD; ADT drops further to 120 VPD upon entering Nevada County.

History

Highway 73 was an original 1926 state highway, which is the first year Arkansas numbered its highways in a traditional format. The route ran from

Highway 55 The following highways are numbered 55: International * European route E55 * Arab Mashreq route M55 Argentina * San Luis Provincial Route 55 Australia * Carnarvon Highway * Castlereagh Highway * Karoonda Highway Belgium * N55 road (Belgiu ...

near Albrook east to Highway 4 in

, and was mostly graveled. Highway 55 was renumbered to Highway 355 around 1958 in anticipation of

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

in northeast Arkansas. This is due to Arkansas conventions to only use each number once among Interstates, US highways, and state highways. Highway 4 was replaced by US 278 across the state in 1998.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Arkansas Highway 73 073 Transportation in Hempstead County, Arkansas Transportation in Howard County, Arkansas Transportation in Nevada County, Arkansas Hope micropolitan area