Interstate 440 (I-440) and Highway 440 (AR 440), in the central part of the

US state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

, form a partial loop of connecting U.S. Highway 67 (US 67), US 167, and

I-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 ...

with

I-30 i30, I30, i-30 or I-30 may refer to: *Interstate 30, an Interstate Highway in the southern United States *, an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine during World War II * (1940-1968), a Royal Australian Navy ''Tribal''-class destroyer *I30, a 9000 serv ...

and I-530 near

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 ...

. I-440, known as the East Belt Freeway during planning and construction, travels through much of the area's industrial core in the eastern part of the metropolitan area, near

Clinton National Airport Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport , also known as Adams Field, is a joint civil-military airport on the east side of Little Rock, Arkansas.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective December 30, 2021. It is operated by the Little Rock ...

and the Port of Little Rock. The route is mostly a six-lane

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

. North of the route continues as AR 440 until it reaches US 67/ US 167 (Future

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

) in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. This section is known as the North Belt Freeway.

Route description

I-440 begins at

at a large interchange with I-530. After this interchange, I-440 intersects AR 365 (Springer Boulevard) and Bankhead Drive near

(formerly Little Rock National Airport). The highway continues across Lindsey Road northeast to cross the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

. I-440 has interchanges with US 165 and US 70 before terminating at

. On the northside of I-440 transitions to AR 440, an extension of I-440 built to Interstate standards. AR 440 runs northeast to

, connecting North Little Rock's easternmost neighborhoods with US 67/ US 167 (Future

). There are

ghost ramps An unused highway is a highway or highway ramp that was partially or fully constructed, but went unused or was later closed. An unused roadway or ramp may often be referred to as an abandoned road, ghost road, highway to nowhere, stub ramp, g ...

at the terminus. AR 440 may be redesignated as I-440 when I-57 is designated along US 67. To avoid repeating the disturbance of the Fourche Creek floodplain by a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

section of I-30 (including what is now the I-30/I-440/I-530 interchange), most of I-440 between I-30 and the exit leading to the airport is an extended

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

through the floodplain, crossing Fourche Creek several times.

History

The idea of I-440 was first proposed in 1941. I-440 is part of a planned full loop around the metropolitan area, together with I-430. Part of that effort, an extended route from I-440's east end at I-40 to US 67/US 167, opened in 2003 as AR 440 and is also part of the North Belt Freeway project. However, completing the North Belt Freeway to I-430 has been put on hold after its cost was estimated at over $600 million.

Exit list

References

{{3di, 40 40-4 Arkansas 40-4 440 Arkansas State highways in Arkansas Transportation in Pulaski County, Arkansas