Highway 344 (AR 344, Ark. 344, and Hwy. 344) is a former 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 Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
in
Columbia County, Arkansas
Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,801. The county seat is Magnolia. The county was formed on December 17, 1852, and was named for Christopher Columbus. The Magnolia, ...
. Between 1973 and 1978, the county road carried a state highway designation and was maintained by the
Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), formerly the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, is a government department in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its mission is to provide a safe, efficient, aesthetically pleasing and env ...
(AHTD).
Route description
The designation follows present-day Columbia County Route 85; beginning at
AR 98 in the
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
of
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
in the
Piney Woods of
South Arkansas
South Arkansas lies within the southernmost portions of Arkansas Gulf Coastal Plain and Delta regions. It encompasses the lower 15 counties of the state.
History
In the 1920s, nationwide attention focused on South Arkansas when the Smackover Fi ...
. AR 344 ran east before curving south, roughly paralleling the Big Carnie Creek through a rural area. State maintenance ended at the
Union County line less than two miles (3.2 km) from the
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
state line, with the roadway continuing as Atlanta Road under county maintenance.
History
In 1973, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 9 of 1973. The act directed
county judge
The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civi ...
s and legislators to designate up to 12 miles (19 km) of county roads as state highways in each county.
On May 23, 1973, the
Arkansas State Highway Commission
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), formerly the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, is a government department in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its mission is to provide a safe, efficient, aesthetically pleasing and en ...
designated a county road from Atlanta to the Union County line as Highway 344.
The route was decommissioned as a state highway and returned to county maintenance by the Highway Commission on June 29, 1978, at the request of the Columbia County judge as part of a route swap to extend
AR 98 and
AR 355 within the county.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
344
Year 344 ( CCCXLIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Leontius and Bonosus (or, less frequently, year 1097 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 344 for this y ...
Transportation in Columbia County, Arkansas