Highway 302 (AR 302, Ark. 302, and Hwy. 302) is a designation for three 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 the

Arkansas Grand Prairie The Mississippi Alluvial Plain is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in seven U.S. states, though predominantly in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It parallels the Mississippi River from the Mid ...

. All three are low traffic rural highways. The first segment was created in 1963, with the other two added ten years later. One segment was part of the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

and is preserved as an Arkansas Heritage Trail. All are 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).

Route description

Rural Prairie County

Highway 302 begins at Highway 86 in western Prairie County, a flat agricultural county in the

Arkansas Delta The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...

. It runs due east as a

section line road In many jurisdictions in the United States, roads run along every section line, giving access to previously remote areas and serving in many instances as firebreaks. A road or arterial in which the centerline is laid out along a section line bound ...

through agricultural fields, bridging Mitchell Branch and Mellon Branch and passing rural residences and outbuildings. Continuing east, the highway crosses an overflow branch of Barnes Creek before intersecting Highway 249. Highway 302 terminates at this junction, with Highway 249 continuing east and south.

Cache River

Highway 302 begins at Highway 33 in eastern Prairie County south of DeValls Bluff, one of the dual

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

s. Though beginning in an agricultural area, the highway quickly enters the dense forests associated with the

riparian buffer A riparian buffer or stream buffer is a vegetated area (a "buffer strip") near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect the stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. It plays a key role in increasing water quality i ...

of the Cache River. State maintenance ends at an intersection with County Road 222 and Old Petty Lane near the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, with the roadway continuing east as County Road 218.

Monroe County

A third section of Highway 302 begins in Clarendon, the small-town county seat of

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

where the Cache River meets the White River. The route begins at US Highway 79 Business (US 79B, Madison Street) east of downtown near the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway tracks. Highway 302 runs north as 9th Street, passing the Clarendon High School and Harding Field, the Clarendon Lions high school football field. The highway turns north, exiting Clarendon and heading northward toward

Brinkley Brinkley may refer to: People * Brinkley (surname) Places * Brinkley, Arkansas, USA * Brinkley, Nottinghamshire, England * Brinkley, Cambridgeshire, England Fictional places * Brinkley Court The following is a list of recurring or notable fict ...

, roughly paralleling the Cache River through sparsely populated agricultural lands. Shortly after passing through the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

of Dobbs Landing, Highway 302 intersects Highway 241. Highway 302 continues northward through Allendale to an intersection with Highway 17 just south of US 70, where it terminates.

History

Highway 302 was created by the

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 ...

(ASHC) on April 24, 1963, east from Highway 33. In 1973, 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 ...

passed Act 9 of 1973. The act directed

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 and legislators to designate up to of county roads as state highways in each county. As a result of this legislation, the other two segments were created: in Prairie County and between Highway 241 and Highway 17 in Monroe County. The Monroe County segment later replaced Highway 241 south to Clarendon on January 26, 1977, to improve route continuity. The segment between Clarendon and Highway 17 was part of the

, and is designated as an Arkansas Heritage Trail.

Major intersections

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

{{commons category-inline, Arkansas Highway 302 Arkansas Heritage Trails System 302 Transportation in Monroe County, Arkansas Transportation in Prairie County, Arkansas