U.S. Route 270 (US 270) is a spur of US 70. It travels for from

Liberal, Kansas Liberal is the county seat of Seward County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 19,825. Liberal is home of Seward County Community College. History Early settler S. S. Rogers built the first house ...

at US 54 and US 83 to

White Hall, Arkansas White Hall is a city in Washington Township, located in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. With a population of 5,526 in the 2010 census, it is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and the greater Little Rock-Nor ...

Interstate 530 Interstate 530 (I-530) in Arkansas is a spur route of the Interstate highway system, traveling from Pine Bluff north-northwest to Little Rock at an interchange of I-30/ I-440/ U.S. Highway 65 (US 65)/ US 67/ US 167." rk ...

(I-530) and US 65. It travels through the states of

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. It travels through the cities of

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, Hot Springs, Arkansas, and McAlester, Oklahoma.

Route description

Kansas

US 270 begins in the southeast part of

, at an intersection with

US 83 U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while US ...

(running north–south through the intersection) and US 54. US 270 follows the south leg of this intersection, following US 83 south. US 270 only spends in Kansas before crossing into Oklahoma. Seward County is the only Kansas county that US-270 serves.

Oklahoma

US 270 enters Oklahoma in Beaver County, the eastern third of the

Oklahoma Panhandle The Oklahoma Panhandle (formerly called No Man's Land, the Public Land Strip, the Neutral Strip, or Cimarron Territory) is a salient in the extreme northwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, consisting of Cimarron County, Texas Count ...

. From here it continues east along US 64, then south towards

Beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

, the county seat, along SH-23. South of Beaver, the road joins with

US 412 (OK) U.S. Route 412 (abbreviated US-412) is a U.S. highway in the south-central portion of the United States, connecting Springer, New Mexico to Columbia, Tennessee. A section of the highway crosses the state of Oklahoma, traversing the state from ...

and

SH-3 The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engin ...

, the latter of which US 270 will overlap with through most of northwest Oklahoma. After leaving the Panhandle and picking up US 183 near Fort Supply, the highways turn southwest towards Woodward. US 412 splits away in Woodward. US 270, concurrent with US 183 and SH-3, proceed southeast toward Seiling. West of Seiling, US 183 splits off to the south, but in Seiling, it is replaced by US 281. The routes continue southwest to Watonga, where US 270/281 turn south along SH-8, while SH-3 continues due east to concur with SH-33. In Geary, US 270 splits off on an independent alignment, looping through

Calumet Calumet may refer to: Places United States *Calumet Region, in northern Illinois and Indiana **Calumet River **Calumet Trail, Indiana ** Calumet (East Chicago) * Calumet, Colorado *Calumet, Iowa * Calumet, Michigan *Calumet, Minnesota * Calumet ...

before joining with Interstate 40. US 270 remains concurrent with I-40 from Exit 115 through Exit 181, a distance of . US 270, attached to I-40, runs through the core of the Oklahoma City Metro area, passing through the western suburbs of El Reno and

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

into Oklahoma City proper. The partnership runs just south of

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

and the Bricktown entertainment district on the Crosstown Expressway. Major interchanges with I-44 and

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 ...

(the latter involving a concurrency with the interstate and its accompanying US Highway, US 62) are found in the city. I-40/US 270 also serve two eastern suburbs of Oklahoma City,

Del City Del City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 21,822 at the United States Census, 2020. Del City is located near two major interstate highways, both of wh ...

and

Midwest City Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,371, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The city was developed in r ...

and form the northern boundary between Midwest City's civilian areas and

Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City. The base, origina ...

. US-270 finally exits from I-40 on the west side of

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

. US 270 serves most of the towns anchoring the area east of Oklahoma City, including Shawnee,

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

, Seminole, Wewoka, and Holdenville. It continues southeast to the city of McAlester, a major southeastern Oklahoma city. It also serves many of the small towns east of McAlester, such as Krebs, Alderson, Bache, Haileyville, and Hartshorne. After passing through Hartshorne, the roads curves to the northeast before turning onto a due east course taking it through

Wilburton Wilburton is a small village of just over 1,000 inhabitants, situated in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 6 miles south west of Ely. While nominally an agricultural village, many of the inhabitants work in Cambridge, Ely or London. History Wilbu ...

, Red Oak, and Wister. In Wister, it turns south, running across

Wister Lake Lake Wister is a reservoir in Le Flore County, in southeast Oklahoma.Crain, Harold. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Wister The lake is created by the Poteau River and the Fourche Maline creek. Wister Lake was authorized for flood ...

's dam, and proceeding southeast to Heavener. There, it meets US 59, which it will follow for the rest of its time in Oklahoma. The town highways head south from Heavener, passing through the

Wister Wildlife Management Area Wister may refer to: People * Annis Lee Wister (1830–1908), American translator * John Caspar Wister (1887–1982), American horticulturist * Langhorne Wister (1834–1891), American Union Civil War brevet brigadier general * Owen Wister (1860– ...

before entering the Ouachita National Forest. The route serves as the northern terminus of

US 259 U.S. Route 259 (US 259, US-259) is a north–south spur of U.S. Route 59 that runs for through rural areas of northeast Texas and southeast Oklahoma. The highway's southern terminus is near Nacogdoches, Texas at an interchange with it ...

near Page. The road then squeezes into a valley between Black Fork Mountain and Rich Mountain. In this valley, it crosses the state line into Arkansas.

Arkansas

US 270 enters Arkansas with US 59, and runs east to

Acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

, where it meets US 71. The route then travels 15 miles north on US 71 to Y City where it splits off and continues east. The route then meets AR 88 in Pencil Bluff and AR 27 in Mt. Ida before heading to

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 ...

. Entering the city, US 270 meets US 70 southwest of town and runs

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with it around Hot Springs using the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway before leaving the freeway and running along Malvern Avenue southeast of the city. US 270 intersects with I-30 just outside Malvern, running a short distance northeast on the freeway before interchanging with the George Hopkins Loop bypass and running south around the city. After meeting with US 67 east of town, the alignment then turns east-southeast meeting AR 229 in Poyen and AR 190/ AR 291 in Prattsville before crossing paths with US 167 in

Sheridan Sheridan may refer to: People Surname *Sheridan (surname) *Philip Sheridan (1831–1888), U.S. Army general after whom the Sheridan tank is named *Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), Irish playwright (''The Rivals''), poet and politician ...

. The route trails east towards Pine Bluff terminating at and interchanging with

I-530 Interstate 530 (I-530) in Arkansas is a spur route of the Interstate highway system, traveling from Pine Bluff north-northwest to Little Rock at an interchange of I-30/ I-440/ U.S. Highway 65 (US 65)/ US 67/ US 167." rk ...

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 ...

White Hall White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

. Directly east of this interchange, the highway used to continue along Sheridan Road before terminating at

AR 365 Arkansas Highway 365 (AR 365 and Hwy. 365) is a north–south state highway in Central Arkansas. The route of runs from US 65B/ US 79B in Pine Bluff north through Little Rock to US 65B/ AR 60 in Conway. The route is a redesignation of for ...

/Dollarway Road in northwest Pine Bluff. This former section of the route is now signed AR 365 Spur.

History

The route was extended into Arkansas in 1931, supplanting State Road 8 from Oklahoma to Acorn and State Road 6 between Y City and Hot Springs. The roadway was mostly

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

or graded earth, with some segments in the Ouachita Mountains still under construction upon designation. In 1935, the US 270 designation supplanted the remainder of State Road 6 between Hot Springs and US 65 west of Pine Bluff. By this time, the entire route was gravel surfaced. Between February 1937 and January 1938, US-270 was extended into Kansas, and overlapped K-27 from Johnson north to US-50 in Syracuse, where it terminated. KDOT requested that US-270 be extended north along K-27 to I-70 south of Goodland. This request was denied by the American Association of State Highway Officials in an October 14, 1967 meeting. In a November 14, 1980 resolution, the

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test quality control, protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction through ...

approved a request by KDOT to truncate US-270 to its current terminus in Liberal. Then in a May 18, 1981 resolution, US-270 was truncated to Liberal and the designation was removed from K-27.

Future

In Arkansas, it has been proposed that part of AR-51 will become part of US-270. On I-30's current concurrency with US-270, going east, drivers can take exit 99 and make a right on US-270 East. If drivers make a left when they take exit 99, they must make a left to get on I-30 West/US-270 West because there is currently no outlet past that. That road has been proposed to be extended to AR-51. This will form the future northern terminus of AR-51. This means that drivers can make a left to get on AR-51 South and will have to make a right to get on US-270 West. Then, US-270 will meet the current US-270. Drivers can make a left to get on the future US-270 Business East and must make a right to get on US-270 West, just like AR-51 did. From east to west, the future US-270 will go through the cities of Rockport,

Butterfield Butterfield may refer to: * Butterfield (surname) * Butterfield Market Places * Butterfield, Dublin, a suburb and townland of Dublin, Ireland * Butterfield Green, Luton, England United States * Butterfield, Minnesota * Butterfield, Misso ...

, and Magnet Cove.

Major intersections

Special routes

Hot Springs business route

U.S. Highway 270B is a

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

in Garland County, Arkansas. It runs through downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Major intersections

Malvern business route

U.S. Highway 270B is a business route of US 270 in

Malvern, Arkansas Malvern is a city in and the county seat of Hot Spring County, Arkansas, United States. Founded as a railroad stop at the eastern edge of the Ouachita Mountains, the community's history and economy have been tied to available agricultural and min ...

, the small-town

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 ...

Hot Spring County Hot Spring County is located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,923. The county seat is Malvern. Hot Spring County was formed on November 2, 1829, from a portion of Clark County. It was named for the ...

. Created in 2006 from a former alignment of the parent route, US 270B passes through downtown Malvern, before forming an overlap with US 67.

Major intersections

Other loops and spurs

* Seminole, Oklahoma; Short highway connecting U.S. 270 to OK-9. This highway is disputed as a state or U.S. highway, as both signs are posted. * Magnet Cove, Arkansas (''decommissioned'')

References

External links