Interstate 555 in Arkansas
| I-555 | |||
| Get started | Turrell | ||
| End | Jonesboro | ||
| Length | 44 mi | ||
| Length | 71 km | ||
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Interstate 555 or I -555 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The freeway forms a north-south link in the northeast of the state, connecting the city of Jonesboro with Interstate 55, the highway to Memphis. The highway is 71 kilometers long.
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Travel directions
I-555 at Jonesboro.
I-555 begins at an interchange with Interstate 55 at Turrell, about 20 miles north of West Memphis. The highway has 2×2 lanes and runs in a northwesterly direction, through a flat and agricultural area well west of the Mississippi River. The highway opens up several villages, of which Trumann is the largest. The highway ends in the town of Jonesboro at US 49.
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History
The highway was originally constructed as a 2×2 divided highway, the US 63. Jonesboro’s southern bypass was constructed as a freeway in the early 1970s. The most substandard section was the southern section between Turrell and Marked Tree, where there were several intersections. In the late 1990s, a viaduct over US 63 from County Road 631 was provided with access and exit ramps, which became a connection. In 2007, a junction opened at Marked Tree, replacing two intersections. Two connections were also built at Tyronza around 2007, as well as further south at Gilmore. The connection to I-55 at Turrell was originally a parklandwith six connecting roads. This was converted into a grade-separated interchange in 2006, albeit with tight loops, but a flyover for traffic from Memphis to Jonesboro, the busiest exit connection. The last adjustment was the construction of a frontage road so that slow traffic no longer had to drive on the road. Certain agricultural vehicles would otherwise have to make a detour of 150 kilometers.
interstate status
Since the early 2000s, the road had the status of ‘Future Interstate 555’. The formal grant of Interstate status followed on December 2, 2015, between I-55 and AR-18 in Jonesboro. The official ceremony followed on March 11, 2016. On May 24, 2016, the AASHTO approved a short extension of interstate status in Jonesboro, between AR-18 and AR-91, which is I-555 8 kilometers longer. This part was already a freeway at that time.
I-555 was the second Interstate Highway to have all three numbers the same, after Interstate 444 in Oklahoma, with I-555 also being the first to be actually signposted.
Interstate 57 in Arkansas
| I-57 | |||
| Get started | North Little Rock | ||
| End | Walnut Ridge | ||
| Length | 123 mi | ||
| Length | 198 km | ||
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Interstate 57 or I -57 is a future Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The route has been established from North Little Rock to Walnut Ridge over a distance of 198 kilometers, and is planned in due course to the border with the state of Missouri.
Travel directions
On the north side of Little Rock, I-57 exits from Interstate 40 as a freeway. I-40 runs from Oklahoma City to Memphis. One then passes through a few northern suburbs of Little Rock, and SR-440 ends at I-57, the last interchange in the metropolitan area. You pass Jacksonville, a last suburb where an air force base is also located. I-57 continues in its northeasterly direction, passing through an area of meadows and small forests. At Beebe, the US 64. joinsin, which comes from Conway. 43 kilometers later, US 64 exits again to Memphis in the east. South of Newport one crosses the White River, a fairly large tributary of the Mississippi. I-57 ends at Walnut Ridge on US 412 in the northeast of the state.
History
The freeway from Little Rock to the northeast was originally developed as a part of US 67.
The freeway from Little Rock to Walnut Ridge has been extended northeast in phases. The section between North Little Rock and Jacksonville is one of the oldest highways in Arkansas, opening to traffic about 1961, connecting to both I-30 and I-40 in North Little Rock in 1962. The second part didn’t open until 1970 to Beebe. The freeway was subsequently extended in stages during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, reaching the northeast side of Newport in 1994. On October 10, 2009, a 17-mile extension from Newport to Cash opened.
A more recent major project was the construction of the freeway from Cash to Hoxie over a distance of 28 kilometers. Construction was slow, work started around 2010 and the project was largely completed by mid-2015, but it took another year for the highway to open. The freeway opened to traffic on August 11, 2016. The Hoxie and Walnut Ridge bypass is older and is believed to have opened around 2001. At Walnut Ridge, preparations have been made for an extension of the freeway further northeast.
Opening history
| from | nasty | length | date |
| Exit 1 McCain Blvd (North Little Rock) | Exit 11 Jacksonville (north) | 16 km | 1961 |
| Exit 0 I-40 (North Little Rock) | Exit 1 McCain Boulevard | 2 km | 1962 |
| Exit 11 Jacksonville (north) | Exit 28 Beebe | 27 km | 1970 |
| Exit 28 Beebe | Exit 42 Searcy (South) | 23 km | 1974 |
| Exit 42 Searcy (South) | Exit 51 Judsonia | 14 km | 1976 |
| Exit 51 Judsonia | Exit 55 Bald Knob | 6 km | 1977 |
| Exit 55 Bald Knob | Exit 60 Russell | 8 km | 1983 |
| Exit 60 Russell | Exit 74 Ingleside | 23 km | 1987 |
| Exit 74 Ingleside | Exit 82 Newport (SR-17) | 13 km | 1991 |
| Exit 82 Newport (SR-17) | Exit 85 Newport (SR-18) | 5 km | 1994 |
| exit ? Walnut Ridge (US 63) | exit ? Walnut Ridge (US 412) | 5 km | 2002 |
| Exit 85 Newport (SR-18) | Exit 102 Cash | 27 km | 10-10-2009 |
| Exit 102 Cash | exit ? Walnut Ridge (US 63) | 28 km | 11-08-2016 |
Future
The highway is planned as Interstate 57, in 2016 the probability of Interstate status for US 67 increased, and in 2017 it was included in the list of the High Priority Corridors of the Federal Highway Administration. On September 24, 2017, the number I-57 was approved by the AASHTO.
Traffic intensities
I-57 has 72,000 vehicles at Little Rock, declining gradually northwards to 23,000 vehicles at Searcy and 7,700 vehicles at Newport. 7,400 vehicles drove between Walnut Ridge and Pocahontas, and 4,000 vehicles crossed the Missouri border daily.
