Highway 53 (AR 53, Ark. 53, and Hwy. 53) is a designation for two north–south

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

Southwest 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 ...

, United States. One route of begins at the

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

state line and runs north to US Highway 371 (US 371) south of Prescott. A second route of begins at Highway 24 and runs north through Gurdon to Highway 8. Both routes are maintained by the

Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department 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 ...

(AHTD).

Route description

Louisiana to US 371

Highway 24 to Highway 8

History

Highway 53 was created during the

1926 Arkansas state highway numbering In 1926, Arkansas renumbered its highways into a more traditional format. The system to be replaced was established in 1924 as Arkansas' first comprehensive highway plan.McLaren, Christie. "Arkansas Highway History and Architecture, 1910-1965.Art ...

as a route between State Road 24 in eastern Nevada County and Gurdon. The route was extended from Gurdon north to Holly Grove on July 10, 1957, adding . Six years later, Highway 53 was extended from Holly Grove north to Hollywood, creating a new overlap with Highway 51, on April 24, 1963. The highway was extended north for the last time from Hollywood to Highway 8 on June 23, 1965. Between September 1929 and March 1930, a second segment between and Bodcaw and State Road 19 (now US 371) was added to the state highway system. The route was extended south from Bodcaw to Falcon on July 10, 1957, and extended south to US 82 at Buckner on April 24, 1963. A third section of Highway 53 was created in Lafayette County between the Louisiana state line and McKamie on March 7, 1961. The gap between the two southern routes was closed two years later when Highway 53 was extended north from McKamie to US 82 Truck in Stamps on June 23, 1965..

Major intersections

Notes

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Arkansas Highway 53

053 53 may refer to: * 53 (number) * one of the years 53 BC, AD 53, 1953, 2053 * FiftyThree, an American privately held technology company that specializes in tools for mobile creation and visual thinking * 53rd Regiment Alabama Cavalry * 53rd Regiment ...

Transportation in Clark County, Arkansas Transportation in Lafayette County, Arkansas Transportation in Nevada County, Arkansas