Arkansas Highway 56

Highway 56
Route information
Maintained by AHTD
Length:	42.44 mi[1] (68.30 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
West end:	AR 5 – Calico Rock
	AR 9 – Brockwell US 167
East end:	AR 58 – Poughkeepsie
Location
Counties:	Izard, Sharp
Highway system
Arkansas Highway System Interstate US State Business Spurs Scenic Heritage Trails ← I-55 AR 57 →

Arkansas Highway 56 (AR 56 and Hwy. 56) is an east–west state highway in Sharp and Izard Counties. The route runs 42.44 miles (68.30 km) from Arkansas Highway 5 in Calico Rock east and south to Poughkeepsie.^[2]

Route description

AR 56 begins in Calico Rock at Arkansas Highway 5, running north to Pineville. In Pineville, AR 56 serves as the southern terminus for AR 223, which runs north to Missouri.^[3] The route continues to run east through rural country to meet AR 9 in Brockwell near the historic Pine Ridge School Building and AR 289 in Franklin south of Horseshoe Bend. After Franklin, the route enters Sharp County, and a concurrency begins south with US 167 south of Ash Flat. AR 56 follows US 167 south for 11.4 miles (18.3 km) until Evening Shade, when AR 56 turns east.^[2] The highway continues east to AR 58 in Poughkeepsie, where the route terminates near the Poughkeepsie School Building on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Arkansas Highway 56 was one of the original 1926 Arkansas state highways.^[4] The route ran from Calico Rock to Ash Flat, terminating at AR 11. The modern alignment follows this alignment very closely, with one exception. The Evening Shade – Poughkeepsie segment was added to the state highway system in 1965 as an unpaved route, which was paved in 1986. US 167 was extended north in 1938, replacing AR 11 in the area. Most of the western segment was repaved around 2002.^[1]

Major intersections

Mile markers reset at concurrencies.

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Izard	Calico Rock	0.00	0.00	AR 5 – Mountain View, Mountain Home, Ozark Folk Center, Blanchard Springs Caverns
		2.8	4.5	AR 223 north – Pineville, Bexar
	Brockwell	14.3	23.0	AR 9 – Salem, Batesville, Melbourne
	Franklin	24.7	39.8	AR 289 north – Horseshoe Bend
Sharp	Ash Flat	34.53	55.57	US 167 north to US 62 – Hardy	West end of US 167 overlap
	Evening Shade	0.00	0.00	US 167 south – Batesville	East end of US 167 overlap
	Poughkeepsie	7.91	12.73	AR 58
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. "[Arkansas] State Highways 2009 (Database)." April 2010. AHTD: Planning and Research Division. Database. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
2. General Highway Map - Sharp County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (4/27/07 ed.). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
3. General Highway Map - Izard County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (1/8/02 ed.). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
4. "Map of State of Arkansas showing System of State Highways." Arkansas State Highway Department. 1926.Map. Retrieved April 15, 2011.