U.S. Route 67 (US 67) is a

U.S. highway 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 ...

running from

Presidio, Texas Presidio is a city in Presidio County, Texas, United States. It is situated on the Rio Grande (''Río Bravo del Norte'') River, on the opposite side of the U.S.–Mexico border from Ojinaga, Chihuahua. The name originates from Spanish and means "f ...

northeast to

Sabula, Iowa Sabula is a city in Jackson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 506 at the 2020 census. Sabula is the site of Iowa's only island city. The island has a beach and a campground, as well as a harbor with boat docks and storage sheds to ...

. In the

U.S. 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 sover ...

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 route runs from the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

border in Texarkana northeast to 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 ...

border near Corning. The route passes through several cities and towns, including

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

, Benton,

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 ...

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 ...

, Cabot, Beebe, Walnut Ridge, and

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

Route description

US 67 enters Arkansas from Texas in Texarkana, concurrent with

US 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...

, along the one-way 7th Street; the other half of the one-way couplet, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, carries traffic toward

Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2020 census. ...

. Upon crossing

State Line Avenue State Line Avenue is a north–south arterial road in Texarkana, United States. It follows approximately of the Texas-Arkansas state line, and divides the cities. The street's centerline does not follow the state boundary precisely, but the ...

, the two routes share a brief concurrency with

US 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstat ...

before that route turns to the south along Hickory Street. Past this intersection, the one-way couplet merges onto 9th Street. Shortly thereafter, US 67 separates from US 82 and travels to the northeast along Broad Street, crossing

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 ...

and passing

Texarkana Regional Airport Texarkana Regional Airport , also known as Webb Field, is a public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) northeast of the central business district of Texarkana, a city in Miller County, Arkansas, United States. It is owned ...

. US 67 then runs parallel to

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 ...

, passing through cities such as

, Prescott,

Arkadelphia Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderso ...

, and

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

. Near Benton, US 67 merges with I-30. The two routes run concurrently to

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 ...

, where the freeway also picks up

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 ...

and

US 167 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. In

North Little Rock North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...

, US 67 and US 167 turn to the east, concurrent with

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 ...

for about , before branching off to the northeast as a freeway. In Beebe, the two routes begin a concurrency with

U.S. 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

. The three routes part ways in

Bald Knob Bald Knob is the highest summit of Back Allegheny Mountain in Pocahontas County, West Virginia and is part of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. At an altitude of above sea level, Bald Knob is the third-highest point in West Virginia and the Alle ...

, with US 67 continuing as a freeway to the northeast. Just north of

US 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of the ...

in Walnut Ridge, the freeway ends at a large, partially-complete interchange, and US 67 becomes a five-lane undivided highway north to

. From Pocahontas, the road turns northeasterly and then easterly as a two-lane highway concurrent with

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada ...

. In Corning, US 62 continues to the east while US 67 turns northward again before crossing the Missouri state line.

History

The southwest-northeast bisector of Arkansas has always been an integral motor route. Prior to designation as US 67, the route was known as the

Southwest Trail The Southwest Trail was a 19th-century pioneer route that was the primary passageway for American settlers bound for Texas. History The Southwest Trail, also known as the Old Military Road, replaced the older Natchitoches Trace, which ran from t ...

, an old military road around 1803. The Southwest Trail connected

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

with

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

Fulton, Arkansas Fulton is a town in Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 201 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area. The community is named after steamboat inventor Robert Fulton. Geography Fulton is ...

. The main railroad was built along the Southwest Trail, which developed many towns along the route. President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

appropriated money for the route in 1831, and designated it as a National Road. Although the route shifted slightly, it always has followed the natural break between the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

and the

Ouachita Mountains The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...

and the

Mississippi Alluvial Plain The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is an alluvial plain created by the Mississippi River on which lie parts of seven U.S. states, from southern Louisiana to southern Illinois (Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Lou ...

. Money for road maintenance was raised individually by county in the early 20th century, which hindered development of the route. In the 1920s, federal money became available, and the route was designated U.S. Route 67. The routing followed the Lakes to Gulf Highway and the

Bankhead Highway The Bankhead Highway was a United States cross-country automobile highway connecting Washington, D.C., and San Diego. The Bankhead Highway's beginnings can be traced back to 1916 when the Bankhead Highway Association was organized to promote the h ...

. Federal designation brought paving to the route, which grew the small towns along the route. In early 2009, the

Arkansas legislature 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 10 ...

passed a bill naming the portion of US-67 from the Missouri state line to Jackson County "Rock n' Roll U.S. 67" as a tribute to the route that many musicians of the 1950s and 1960s took as they traveled. Governor

Mike Beebe Mickey Dale Beebe ( ; born December 28, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 45th governor of Arkansas from 2007 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Amagon, Arkansas, Beebe is a graduate of Arkan ...

stated that he had hopes that the naming would bring tourism to northeast Arkansas. Portions of the route, and also

Arkansas Highway 7 Highway 7 (AR 7, Ark. 7, Hwy. 7, and partially Scenic 7 Byway) is a north–south state highway that runs across the state of Arkansas. As Arkansas's longest state highway, the route runs from Louisiana Highway 558 at the Louisiana state line n ...

between

and

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

frequently used by

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

is designated The Highway of Hope by Arkansas Code § 27-67-220.

National Register of Historic Places

Several portions of the original late 1920s alignment of US 67 have survived, some of which are 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 ...

. One listed segment is in Lawrence County, which is about in length, and runs north from Alicia to

Hoxie Hoxie may refer to: Places ;United States * Hoxie, Arkansas, a city in Lawrence County * Hoxie, Kansas, a city in Sheridan County ** the Hoxie meteorite landed near Hoxie, Kansas (see meteorite falls) Ships * SS ''Hoxie'', American cargo sh ...

, most of this being sandwiched between the present

Arkansas Highway 367 Arkansas Highway 367 (AR 367 or Hwy. 367) is a designation for two north–south state highways in Arkansas. A southern route of travels north from U.S. Route 167 (US 167) in East End north to US 70 in Little Roc ...

and US 67, and the adjacent railroad tracks. Near the village of Village Creek Relief it briefly turns west, crossing Village Creek, and then rejoining the railroad tracks near the town of

Relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

. A second listed segment, also about in length, extends from Biggers in central eastern

Randolph County Randolph County is the name of eight counties in the United States: *Randolph County, Alabama *Randolph County, Arkansas *Randolph County, Georgia *Randolph County, Illinois *Randolph County, Indiana *Randolph County, Missouri *Randolph County, Nort ...

, northeast to Datto in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

, and then straight north to a junction with

Arkansas Highway 211 Arkansas Highway 211 (AR 211 and Hwy. 211) is a north–south state highway in Clay County, Arkansas. The route of runs from US 62/US 67 (Future I-57) near Datto north through Success to the Missouri state line. Route description AR 211 begin ...

Mandeville

Listed on the NRHP as Old US 67, Mandeville, a historic roadway section of US 67 is preserved in

Miller County, Arkansas Miller County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,462. The county seat is Texarkana. Miller County is part of the Texarkana, TX-AR, Metropolitan Statistic ...

. It travels parallel to railroad tracks of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

for from an intersection with Highway 237, just north of the Texarkana Airport, northeast to Miller County Road 63. The southern portion of this road is called Mandeville Road, and is designated

Arkansas Highway 296 Highway 296 (AR 296, Ark. 296, and Hwy. 296) is an east–west state highway in Miller County. The route begins at US Highway 59 (US 59) and US 71 in Texarkana ( State Line Avenue) and runs east to US 82 in the eas ...

. It is eventually redesignated Miller County Road 138, and is an unnamed side road of the current alignment of U.S. Route 67 (US 67) in its northernmost stretch. Built in 1929 out of concrete, it is the longest stretch of original pavement on the Old US 67 alignment in Miller County. The roadway was listed on the

in 2004.

Future

Arkansas is upgrading US 67 to

Interstate standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway to ...

from Little Rock to the Missouri state line, and the corridor is slated to become an extension of

Interstate 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 essen ...

. The freeway currently runs from Little Rock to Walnut Ridge, but it is unknown when and where the freeway north of there to the state line will be constructed.

Major intersections

References