Highway 138 (AR 128, Ark. 138, and Hwy. 138) is an 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 ...
in south Arkansas. The route runs from
US Route 278 north to
Arkansas Highway 1
Highway 1 (AR 1, Ark. 1, and Hwy. 1) is a north–south state highway in east Arkansas. The route of runs from US Route 278 (US 278) in McGehee north to Supplemental Route BB at the Missouri state line. One of the origina ...
in
Kelso.
Route description
Highway 138 begins at
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 ...
in
Monticello
Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...
. The highway runs northeast past
Ellis Field to intersect
Highway 293 in rural Drew County. North of this junction, Highway 138 passes two cemeteries, including the nearby
Taylor Log House and Site. Highway 138 continues northeast through farmland to enter
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
in the northeast corner of the county. Just east of Winchester, Highway 138 intersects
US 65
U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of In ...
/
US 165
U.S. Route 165 is a north–south United States highway spur of U.S. Highway 65. It currently runs for 412 miles (663 km) from U.S. Route 90 in Iowa, Louisiana north to U.S. Highway 70 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The route passes throu ...
, a
divided highway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
at an
at-grade intersection
An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections a ...
.
The route next enters
Desha County
Desha County ( ) is a county located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of Arkansas, with its eastern border the Mississippi River. At the 2010 census, the population was 13,008. It ranks 56th of Arkansas's 75 counties in terms of populati ...
, serving as the southern terminus of
Highway 159. Highway 159 is a minor route within the county, serving only county roads from this point eastward. The highway meets
Highway 1 at
Kelso, where it terminates. The road is a two-lane, undivided, rural route for its entire length.
FHWA
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
maps indicate that Highway 138 is on the
National Highway System east of US 65 / US 165, even though it is a minor two-lane road.
History
The route became a state highway in 1930, running from
Highway 4 south to
McGehee, with Highway 4 running east to
Tillar.
Prior to 1940, Highway 4 was rerouted onto the former Highway 138, with the former routing to Tillar becoming Highway 138. This change is still apparent on the highway map, as Highway 4 was later replaced by US 278, which creates today's "kink" in US 278 in east Drew County. The routing of today's Highway 138 appears on the state highway maps beginning in the mid–1950s, but is not numbered. Around 1960, a segment from Winchester to Kelso becomes Highway 138, in addition to a segment from Tillar north to Winchester. The Kelso segment was redesignated
Arkansas Highway 277
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 ...
in the mid-1960s, which enabled a contemporaneous extension of Highway 138 from Winchester west to the current
Highway 293. By 1966, the route was extended to Monticello. The road was paved from Monticello north in 1967, as the segment between US 65/US 165 and Kelso was paved upon its earlier designation.
Major intersections
See also
*
List of state highways in Arkansas
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–we ...
References
External links
{{commons category-inline, Arkansas Highway 138
138
Transportation in Desha County, Arkansas
Transportation in Drew County, Arkansas