U.S. Highway 412 (US 412) runs east-to-west through northern

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 ...

for about . The route begins at the

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

state line near

Siloam Springs Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city shares a border on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line with the city of West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma, which is within the Cherokee Nation territory. The town was founded i ...

, and ends at 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 ...

state line east of

Paragould Paragould is the county seat of Greene County, and the 19th-largest city in Arkansas, in the United States. The city is located in northeastern Arkansas on the eastern edge of Crowley's Ridge, a geologic anomaly contained within the Arkansas delta ...

Route description

Oklahoma to Alpena

US 412 continues from Oklahoma, and heads directly towards the east. The route travels through the town of

, intersecting AR 16 and AR 59 along the way. The route continues to head east into the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area, mainly traveling through the city of Springdale. The route intersects

I-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 Interstate 220 (Louisiana), I-220 in S ...

, and US 71B, sharing a short concurrency with it. Afterwards, the route travels into the

Boston Mountains The Boston Mountains is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Part of the Ozarks, the Boston Mountains are a deeply dissected plateau. The ecoregion is steeper ...

, intersecting the communities of Hindsville and

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

along the way. The route continues through the mountains and is very rural, intersecting almost no other communities and only a couple of signed highways along the way, before reaching

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 Alpena. This would be the western end of the concurrency with US 62.

US 62/63 concurrency

US 412 shares a concurrency with US 62 for about , beginning in Alpena, and ending in Imboden. During this time, the routes intersect several communities and many highways along the way, traveling through the cities of

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

, Yellville, Mountain Home, and Cherokee Village. Both routes also share a concurrency with

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 ...

for about , beginning north of

, and ending in Bellefonte. US 62/412 also intersect

US 63 U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south United States Highway primarily in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 (I-20) in Ruston, Louisiana; the northe ...

in Hardy, and also share a concurrency with the route for about . US 412 also shares a concurrency with US 63 beginning in Hardy, and ending just east of Portia. US 62 is still concurrent with both routes during this time, however, the east end of the US 62 concurrency ends at Imboden, about before the east end of the US 63 concurrency. US 412 splits apart from US 63 just east of Portia, and continues to head east towards Walnut Ridge.

Portia to Missouri

US 412 continues directly east, intersecting the communities of Walnut Ridge and

, and several highways along the way, including US 67/Future I-57 in Walnut Ridge, and

US 49 U.S. Route 49 (US 49) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Piggott, Arkansas, at an intersection with US Route 62/ Highway 1/ Highway 139 (US 62/AR 1/AR 139). Its southern terminus ...

in Paragould. The route continues into the

Missouri Bootheel The Missouri Bootheel is a salient located in the southeasternmost part of the U.S. state of Missouri, extending south of 36°30′ north latitude, so called because its shape in relation to the rest of the state resembles the heel of a boot. ...

just east of Paragould. The entire route in Arkansas, including concurrencies, is about long.

History

US Route 412 was initially built in 1987, as a route that spanned from

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...

, to

Walnut Ridge, Arkansas Walnut Ridge is a city in Lawrence County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 5098 at the United States Census's 2019 estimate. The city is the county seat of Lawrence County. Walnut Ridge lies immediately north of Hoxie. The two towns f ...

. In 1988, US 412 was extended all the way to

, following numerous other highways that have previously been built.

Arkansas Highway 68

US 412 between the

state line and Alpena was formerly known as Arkansas Highway 68 until 1988 when US 412 was extended to Oklahoma. The route began at OK 33 at the Oklahoma state line near

(now US 412), and ended at

in Alpena.

Future

In Springdale, a bypass will be constructed to serve as a bypass for US 412. A portion between I-49 and AR 112 opened April 30, 2018, and is currently designated as AR 612. On May 20, 2021, Senator

Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Commit ...

of Oklahoma introduced legislation to designate the portion of US-412 between

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

Noble County, Oklahoma Noble County is located in the north central part of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,561. Its county seat is Perry. It was part of the Cherokee Outlet in Indian Territory until Oklahoma Territory was created in 1890, and ...

, and I-49 in Springdale as a future Interstate. The bill, titled the "Future Interstate in Oklahoma and Arkansas Act" (), was cosponsored by senators

John Boozman John Nichols Boozman ( ; born December 10, 1950) is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. repre ...

and

Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician, attorney, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator for Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the U.S. House of R ...

, both from Arkansas. The senators' stated reasons for seeking an Interstate designation along US-412 included encouraging economic development, expanding opportunities for employment in the region, making travel safer and shipping easier, attracting new businesses, and better connecting rural and urban communities. Other supporters of the measure include the mayor of Tulsa,

G. T. Bynum George Theron Bynum IV (born August 28, 1977) is an American politician and lobbyist from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, Bynum is the 40th mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prior to becoming mayor, he served as a city councilo ...

, and the heads of both ArDOT and the

Oklahoma Department of Transportation The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an government agency, agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Sec ...

(ODOT). In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, part of the route is designated as a future interstate. The bill says “the route that generally follows United States Route 412 from its intersection with Interstate Route 35 in Noble County, Oklahoma, passing through Tulsa, Oklahoma, to its intersection with Interstate Route 49 in Springdale, Arkansas.”

Major intersections

References

External links