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The Arkansas Highway System is made up of all the
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
s designated as
Interstates 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. T ...
,
U.S. Highways The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
and State Highways in the US state of
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 ...
. The system is 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), known as the Arkansas State Highway Department (AHD) until 1977 and the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) from 1977 to 2017. The system contains of Interstates, U.S. Routes, state highways, and special routes. The shortest members are unsigned state highways
Arkansas Highway 806 The following is a list of state highways in Arkansas. The state does not use a numbering convention. Generally the two-digit odd numbered highways run north–south with a few exceptions; and even-numbered two-digit state highways run east–w ...
and Arkansas Highway 885, both in length. The longest route is
U.S. Route 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 ...
, which runs from Texarkana to
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 ...
.


History


Early beginnings, the "Dollarway"

Travel in Arkansas has come from very humble beginnings. In the late nineteenth century, travelers would follow dirt paths riddled with potholes, and ruts. Bicycles would frequently stick in mud puddles. Trains never became popular in Arkansas, and instead travelers would use horse and buggy to get around the rural parts of state, and bicycles within cities. Across the nation, many cyclists began demanding better roads to use for travel, and these road enthusiasts formed groups to advance their cause. A group of Arkansas cyclists held a good roads convention in
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 ...
just before the turn of the century. Arkansas automobile salesmen quickly picked up on the notion that better roads would help their business as well, and became the driving force behind the Arkansas good roads movement. The enterprising salesmen greatly increased the movement's breadth by expanding their scope outside of city streets to farm to market routes, a move that enticed farmers to support the cause. The combination of money from Little Rock salesmen and the large number of farmers in the state made the good roads movement a formidable alliance. At this time, the roads were maintained by a state law that mandated all healthy men of middle age contribute five days of road work (or a monetary equivalent) annually. Another convention in 1907 formed road districts, but this did not help the situation either. Although the need for improvement was obvious, the citizens had trouble finding funding for their goals. In December 1913, Arkansas formed the "Dollarway", which was the name of a concrete road with
asphalt concrete Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and tarmac, bitumen macadam, or rolled asphalt in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parkin ...
topping. It was opened near Pine Bluff. By 1914, a segment of was opened, the longest paved stretch in the United States. Today, the route is mostly covered by Highway 365, although some original concrete segments are still visible, and the
Dollarway Road The Dollarway Road is a historic road in Jefferson County, Arkansas, that was built in 1914. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. History The nation began to focus on good roads at the start of the 20th century. A ...
portion has been 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 ...
.


Arkansas' "district approach" dooms hopes of unity

Now that Arkansas had discovered a durable paving system, concrete topped with asphalt of "Dollarway pavement", they could replace the often-broken
macadam Macadam is a type of road construction, pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam around 1820, in which crushed stone is placed in shallow, convex layers and compacted thoroughly. A binding layer of stone dust (crushed stone from the o ...
roads. Dollarway was also a more economical choice, as macadam would frequently need replacing. As Arkansans sought improved roads across the state, the General Assembly eschewed centralized planning and financing of transportation corridors, instead passing a law allowing local adjacent property owners to design, construct, and issue bonds for roads within their boundaries. The system led to a fractured series of roadways with inconsistent quality rather than a network, and was often driven by provincial interests, corruption, and fraud.McLaren, Christie. "Arkansas Highway History and Architecture, 1910-1965.
Article.
Page 9. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
In 1913, the Arkansas Highway Commission was ordered with the task of organizing the state's road system. In 1915, the Commission was charged with misappropriating funds for officials to use on automobiles and gasoline, making the financial situation even worse. The Alexander Road law of 1915 allowed those close to a route to form their own districts and subsequently contract out the work themselves. This resulted in wild variations of how the same road was paved from district to district and from county to county. In 1917, the
Arkansas General Assembly The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 ...
enacted Act 105, designating all public roads (except within cities) as state roads eligible to receive federal aid in response to the
Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 (also known as the Bankhead–Shackleford Act and Good Roads Act), , , was enacted on July 11, 1916, and was the first federal highway funding legislation in the United States. The rise of the automobile at the star ...
. The Act had a limited scope, small appropriation limits, and implementation was delayed nationwide due to
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The
Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921, also called the Phipps Act (, ), sponsored by Sen. Lawrence C. Phipps (R) of Colorado, defined the Federal Aid Road program to develop an immense national highway system. The plan was crafted by the head of th ...
, was passed in an effort to remedy the deficiencies of the 1917 legislation. It allowed for funds to be allocated for a
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 ...
system, as long as a central highway authority meeting certain requirements was in charge of disbursing funds, which was not the case in Arkansas at the time. The Arkansas legislature was slow to create an authority capable of meeting the Federal Aid Act's requirements, opting instead to stay with the district approach, which cost the state millions of dollars in funds. During this period, district leaders were caught charging exorbitant taxes for road projects, and especially where districts overlapped, bankrupting farmers. The federal government decided to withhold money from states without a unified highway authority. When the General Assembly again tried to create one, the local
county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civil ...
s (usually profiting from the exorbitant district fees) blocked the legislation. Since Arkansas was not in compliance with the Federal Aid Act of 1921, the state was declared ineligible for federal funds in 1923.


Arkansas creates the State Highway Commission, restores federal funding

Upon withdrawal of federal money in 1923, Governor Thomas McRae called a special session of the General Assembly to solve the problem. The result was Act 5, commonly known as the Harrelson Road Law. The most significant provision of the law created a state highway system, and the roads within it were eligible for federal funding to be disbursed by the Commission. The Commission gained significant influence over construction by having the ability to disburse federal aid to projects meeting its standards. The law also consolidated all construction and maintenance activities on public roads under the Highway Commission supervision, ensuring roads were built to Commission standards. The law also modified the number of commissioners, how they were appointed, and term limits. The state highway system was first created on October 10, 1923, by the Commission."The Public Roads of Arkansas and their Use." (Report to Committee on Roads and Highways of the Legislative Council) Arkansas State Highway Commission. July 1956. The group traced all roads designated as "county roads" onto an official map, which became the official State Highway System of Arkansas on December 31, 1924. This map was kept in
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 ...
as the official log of routes. The U.S. Route system came to Arkansas in 1926, and Arkansas gave its state highways numbers to match the national trend of numbered routes. This numbering remains largely intact today. During this time, many motor inns, such as the
Tall Pines Motor Inn The Tall Pines Inn is a historic log cabin resort located at the junction of Pivot Rock Road and United States Route 62 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Established in 1947, it features six rustic cabins built from surrounding forests and modernized ...
in
Carroll County, Arkansas Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,260. The county has two county seats, Berryville and Eureka Springs. Carroll County is Arkansas's 26th county, formed on November ...
, or the
Crystal River Tourist Camp Crystal River Tourist Camp (formerly Crystal River Cave Court, today Cave Courts Motel) is a motor inn built in 1932 in Cave City, Arkansas. It is the oldest operating motor court in the state. It is built of fieldstones from the Ozarks. Histor ...
became favored by motorists over roadside camping. Arkansans and Americans were quickly becoming an automobile culture, and the open road became more accessible to the public. The Harrelson Road Law also eased the tax burdens of farmers significantly. Property owners wouldn't be fully relieved of financial responsibility until the Martineau Road Law of 1927, when the State of Arkansas assumed all road debt. After assuming this debt, the state added many taxes to the road users instead of the property owners. The State Road Patrol was established in 1929 to police the roads. The State Highway Commission would redesignate Arkansas highways in 1929, including an additional . The situation would worsen with the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, when Arkansas was forced to default on many highway loans. The Federal Defense Highway Act of 1941 ordered construction funds be used only on important defense highways, but Arkansas's poorly maintained roads needed funding statewide..


Reform efforts

By 1948, the state's highways had deteriorated so far to become a central political issue in the governor's race.
Sid McMath Sidney Sanders McMath (June 14, 1912October 4, 2003) was a U.S. marine, attorney and the 34th governor of Arkansas from 1949 to 1953. In defiance of his state's political establishment, he championed rapid rural electrification, massive highway ...
, ran on a platform of business progressivism, with highway reform as the cornerstone issue. Taking over as governor after the 1948 election, McMath and the
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
passed a bond measure to raise construction and maintenance funds for roads and bridges. A special bond election on February 15, 1949, was voter approved for additional bond funds by an overwhelming margin. The unprecedented highway spending greatly improved and expanded the highway system, but also enabled local potentates to direct funds for political advantage. An audit commission of the Highway Department found widespread corruption and
cronyism Cronyism is the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs when appointin ...
in early 1952, slowing McMath's reform efforts. He was ousted that fall and replaced by a more conservative
Francis Cherry Francis Cherry may refer to: * Francis Cherry (governor) (1908–1965), governor of Arkansas, USA * Francis Cherry (diplomat) (1552–1605), English ambassador to the Court of Russia, 1598–1599 * Francis Cherry (non-juror) (1665–1713), English l ...
, who sought reforms within the Highway Department.. The same election saw voters approving Constitutional Amendment No. 42 (known as the Mack-Blackwell Amendment) by a large margin, which created an autonomous
Arkansas State Highway Commission 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 ...
to manage the Highway Department, reducing the governor's influence. Several other proposals for highway reform were studied during this period. The
Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...
requested a feasibility study for designating all roads in the state (except those within municipal areas) as state highways in 1955. If feasible, Arkansas would have likely adopted a system similar to
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 ...
, which maintains a system of supplemental routes in addition to state highways. Arkansas considered the systems of
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
,
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, Missouri, and
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. The first four states listed previously were the only states to have comprehensive state highway plans at the time. Arkansas decided not to begin a comprehensive program, and instead discovered that thousands of miles should no longer even receive county funding due to heavy population losses.


Interstate Highway system comes to Arkansas

Chief engineer Alfred Johnson was one of the main proponents of the Interstate System, and construction of interstate highways in Arkansas actually began before the system became official in 1956. The state's original five interstates,
Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels from I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas, to I-40 in North Little Rock, Ar ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Interstate 430 Interstate 430 (I-430) is a Interstate highway in Pulaski County, Arkansas, that bypasses the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock. I-430 begins at an interchange southwest of Downtown Little Rock with I-30, U.S. Highway 67 (U ...
, and Interstate 540 still exist in large part today. Arkansas had returned to the forefront of the highway world in 1962 because of the interstate system, just as the Dollarway had made Arkansas a leader decades earlier. 1957 brought the Milum Road Act, which created (at minimum) eleven additional miles of state highways in each of Arkansas' 75 counties.


Today

Arkansas still suffers from the impact of the districts. Despite the creation of a highway department and numerous attempts to keep politics away from road funding, the system is still flawed. This is due partly to the nature of Arkansas - many citizens prefer to live in many very small communities rather than in small towns (especially in delta region and
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 ...
). This creates more need for connecting highways between these communities. Another cause of inefficiency is the use of Commissioners that represent geographical regions. The regions have not been reapportioned, and this causes the growing
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 ...
region to be treated the same as the shrinking East Arkansas area. Arkansas' highway system was consistently ranked one of America's worst until the AHTD launched a $575 million program in 1999. The project was innovative in its funding as well, raising the
diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...
tax by four cents and matching federal dollars with state dollars to rehab over of Interstate highway in 54 separate projects. The state is in various stages of adding more Interstate highways within its borders.
Interstate 555 Interstate 555 (I-555) is an Interstate Highway that connects Turrell, Arkansas, at I-55 to Jonesboro at Highway 91 (AR 91). Formerly known as U.S. Highway 63 (US 63), the highway was upgraded in the early 21st cent ...
, designated in 2016, serves as a spur to Jonesboro from
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 ...
. Arkansas is also working to bring
Interstate 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 I-220 in Shreveport to the Arkansas s ...
along its western edge, eventually connecting
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
and
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
. This route is being constructed as
Arkansas Highway 549 Interstate 49 (I-49) is an Interstate Highway in the state of Arkansas. There are two main sections of the highway across different sides of the state. The southern section starts at the Louisiana state line, then runs to Texarkana, at the ...
temporarily. The southeast portion of the state is seeing an extension of
Interstate 530 Interstate 530 (I-530) in Arkansas is a spur route of the Interstate highway system, traveling from Pine Bluff north-northwest to Little Rock at an interchange of I-30/ I-440/ U.S. Highway 65 (US 65)/ US 67/ US 167." rk ...
, which will eventually connect
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 ...
to
Interstate 69 in Arkansas Interstate 69 (I-69) is a proposed Interstate Highway that will pass through the southeastern part of the US state of Arkansas. The only section of Future I-69 that is currently open to traffic is the eastern leg of the Monticello Bypass. ...
.


Routes and sections

Highways in Arkansas do not commonly form concurrencies with other state highways, they instead exist in many officially designated "sections"." rkansasState Highways 2009 (Database)." April 2010. AHTD: Planning and Research Division
Database.
Retrieved April 11, 2011.
These sections are not apparent to the traveler except on mile markers. Because roads often stop and begin elsewhere, it appears that highways repeat themselves in multiple locations, the most recurring being Highway 74. All highways follow this convention in ArDOT bookkeeping, including
Interstates 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. T ...
and
U.S. Routes The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
. A route remains a single segment until it meets a route of greater importance, or often a county line. This is the procedure for all highways in Arkansas, unless an officially designated "exception" occurs, which means a concurrency does form. These occur on mile markers and on bridge designation signs, however, mile markers are uncommon in Arkansas, and bridge markers are also frequently missing. Sectioning is used as the rule throughout the state, unless an officially designated "exception" occurs. These exceptions are not common and are the only instances of concurrencies in the State of Arkansas. State highways in Arkansas are not usually marked with "Begin" or "End" banners, which can compound the problem. The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department does provid
by-county Route and Section Maps
which show the section number and mileage per section.


Signage

Two-digit U.S. and Arkansas highways are marked with a black sign with black numbers contained within a white outline of Arkansas, with three-digit shields using a area. One-digit routes use MUTCD Series D, two-digit routes use MUTCD Series C, and three-digit routes use MUTCD Series B font. The exception is if a three-digit shield includes a "1", such as "100" or "314", in which case Series C is used. Arkansas does not have any four-digit highways. The outline of the state on state highway markers varies across the state based on what agency posts the shields. The Arkansas state outline is more realistic on the one- and two-digit shields, because on three digit shields the state is stretched to fit the third number. Major changes usually involve Arkansas's eastern border along the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
and 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 ...
Bootheel. Although the Bootheel actually cuts into the state forming an acute angle, some shields represent the Bootheel as a square intrusion into the state. The state line is indeterminate along the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, and different variants have different levels of accuracy along the eastern border. For
business routes 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 ...
and spurs, Arkansas uses the standard state highway shields with a small "B" for a business routes or a "S" for spur. The letter is raised up in an almost-
exponential Exponential may refer to any of several mathematical topics related to exponentiation, including: *Exponential function, also: **Matrix exponential, the matrix analogue to the above * Exponential decay, decrease at a rate proportional to value *Exp ...
format. Single-digit special routes are printed on shields, with two- and three-digit routes using the dimensions. Some routes have directional components, and the N, E, S, or W are signed in the same manner. The state of Arkansas has some special shields, including an airplane-themed shield for
Arkansas Highway 980 Highway 980 (AR 980, Ark. 980, and Hwy. 980) is a state highway designation for all state maintained airport roads in Arkansas." rkansasState Highways 2009 (Database)." April 2010. AHTD: Planning and Research DivisionDatabase.. Retrieved November ...
, which is the designation for all state-maintained airport access roads. Another special shield is Highway 917, which is funded by marine fuel taxes. On two-digit, non-freeway U.S. routes, Arkansas uses the 1961 standard U.S. Route shield; the 1971 standard shield is used on freeways, three-digit U.S. routes and special U.S. routes. Special U.S. routes include a "B" for
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 ...
s or a "S" denoting 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 ...
. This is not standard MUTCD practice. Interstate Highways in Arkansas are signed with the state's name on every shield, with two-digit shields being , while three-digit shields are , and and , respectively, on intersecting roads. In the field, however, signs posted by municipalities sometimes lack the "Arkansas" banner and often use non-standard numbering font. Arkansas does not have any special Interstate routes.


Historic shields

Arkansas first established a statewide state highway system in 1924. This system labeled its routes in a "letter-number number" system such as A-11. The roads were all designated as "State Road l-nn" prior to the creation of the U.S. Numbered Highway System. Upon creation of the Harrelson Road Law, the US Route system came to Arkansas and the system was renumbered. This system has generally remained in place, with the major addition of the
Interstate Highway System 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 ...
in 1965. The original system had just over 100 routes, mostly dirt paths that became unpassable after rain. Arkansas began using the same pavement techniques used for
Dollarway Road The Dollarway Road is a historic road in Jefferson County, Arkansas, that was built in 1914. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. History The nation began to focus on good roads at the start of the 20th century. A ...
, which was the longest continuous
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
pavement in the United States when completed in 1913. These routes were signed with white cut-out shapes of Arkansas, which said "State Road" in addition to the route number. In the 1950s, the Arkansas Highway Department removed the "State Road" and instead printed "ARKANSAS" on top of the shields, with a line underneath the state name. The shields were changed to the current format circa 1971, though all numbers were within square shields. A wider sign was created later to allow three-digit routes to use the same font size as two-digit routes.


Safety

In 2019, contribution of Arkansas to
Transportation safety in the United States Transportation safety in the United States encompasses safety of transportation in the United States, including automobile crashes, airplane crashes, rail crashes, and other mass transit incidents, although the most fatalities are generated ...
makes Arkansas has 210 out of 19,499 fatalities in Urban area and 306 out of 16,410 in rural areas.


Highway systems

Although routes are sometimes dually signed (I-49 and US 71 in
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 ...
for example) due to Arkansas' use of concurrencies, the actual pavement belongs to either the one highway or the other, not both.


Interstates


U.S. routes


State Highways

Despite being a state of average size, Arkansas has an expansive highway system. This is due to a variety of issues, including a largely rural early geography, a historical tendency to settle in rural settlements rather than incorporated municipalities, topography (especially in the northwestern half of the state), legislation, government and politics. The highest numbers used for highway designations include Highway 889 in Little Rock, although this route is not signed. The lowest numbers in use are Highway 1 in east Arkansas and Highway 4. Most designations between 1-300 are in use, in some cases several times, with some highways in the 300s. ArDOT only uses 400 numbers as a prefix, such as 463 being a former alignment of US 63. Arkansas uses the 500 number to designate future signings, such as Highway 549 for pieces of a future I-49 extension. No discernible pattern exists in Arkansas's numbering system, although most even numbered highways are signed east-west and odds signed north-south. However, the actual roadways carrying these designations may be switched. Highway 600 is the designation for all state park roads in Arkansas, with designations higher generally being unsigned minor routes connecting state property or facilities to the state highway system.


Scenic Byways


County highways

County highway systems in Arkansas use a variety of signs, and vary widely from one county to another. County road systems in Arkansas have a dichotomy between ''county roads'' and ''local roads'' (or ''private roads''). Although both systems are owned by the county, the "county road" system generally encompasses roads of county significance, or roads that would be used for through travel. The local road system encompasses dead ends or other highways that would generally not be used by the traveling public, except for adjacent property owners. Generally, local roads are not subject to improvement projects by county highway departments. No signing convention exists for county routes in Arkansas. Many counties do not sign the county road numbers, relying instead on names posted on traditional "blade" street signs.


Forest routes

The
U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
maintains Federal Forest Highways in Arkansas within the National Forests of Arkansas. As of January 2017, the total mileage of these roads is . Almost all Forest Roads are gravel or dirt, leading to campgrounds, maintenance areas, or trails.


Levee roads

Levee roads in Arkansas are owned and maintained by levee authorities. Most of these routes are narrow, unpaved paths atop a levee to provide access for levee maintenance. Levee roads are mostly located in eastern Arkansas, especially along the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
.


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Transportation of 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 ...


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Arkansas Highways
{{US state highways, hide=yes Transportation in Arkansas