Interstate 40 in Arkansas

Interstate 40
Route of I-40 in red
Route information
Maintained by AHTD
Length:	284.69 mi[1] (458.16 km)
Major junctions
West end:	I‑40 at Oklahoma state line
	I-540 / US 71 in Van Buren I-49 in Alma I-430 in North Little Rock I-30 / US 65 / US 67 / US 167 in North Little Rock I-440 / AR 440 in North Little Rock I-55 / US 61 / US 63 / US 64 in West Memphis
East end:	I-40 at Tennessee state line
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Arkansas Highway System Interstate US State Business Spurs Scenic Heritage Trails ← AR 39 AR 41 →

Interstate 40 (I-40) is an east–west Interstate Highway that has a 284.69-mile (458.16 km) section in the U.S. state of Arkansas connecting sections in Oklahoma to Tennessee. The route enters Arkansas from the west just north of the Arkansas River near Dora. It travels eastward across the northern portion of the state connecting the cities of Fort Smith, Clarksville, Russellville, Morrilton, Conway, Little Rock, Forrest City, and West Memphis. I-40 continues into Tennessee heading through Memphis. The highway has major junctions with Interstate 540 at Van Buren (the main highway connecting to Fort Smith), Interstate 49 at Alma (the main highway connecting to Fayetteville and Bentonville), Interstate 30 in Little Rock (the Interstate linking south to Texarkana and Dallas, Texas) and Interstate 55 to Blytheville.

For the majority of its routing through Arkansas, I-40 follows the historic alignment of two separate United States highways. From Oklahoma to Little Rock, Interstate 40 generally follows U.S. Route 64 through the Ozark Mountains. East of Little Rock, the route generally follows the routing of U.S. Route 70 until Tennessee.

Route description

Oklahoma to Little Rock

Interstate 540/US 71 run south from I-40 at exit 7 in Van Buren, providing access to the larger city of Fort Smith.^[2]

Interstate 30 begins at I-40/US 65/AR 107 and runs south ad I-30/US 65/US 67/US 167.

I-40 enters Arkansas from Oklahoma at Dora in Crawford County.^[2] It heads east into Van Buren, giving access to Fort Smith as well across the Arkansas River to the south. Access is primarily via Interstate 540/US 71, which was built as a southern spur to Fort Smith in the 1970s. I-40 overlaps with US 71, forming a concurrency until the alignment of US 71 breaks north to Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, and its northern Arkansas terminus in Bella Vista.^[3][4] The route continues to parallel US 64 into the Ozark Mountains by entering Franklin County and providing access to the Pig Trail Scenic Byway in Ozark.^[5] Interstate 40 runs through Clarksville (where it has a junction with US 64), passes over part of Lake Dardanelle, and meets Highway 7 in Russellville.^[6][7] I 40 continues to the east through Morrilton before turning south to Conway and Faulkner County.^[8][9] In Conway, I-40 forms a concurrency with US 65 at exit 125, which will continue until exit 153a in Little Rock. The highway also has another junction with US 64 and US 65 Business in Conway before passing Lake Conway and entering the Little Rock metropolitan area.^[9]

Little Rock to Tennessee

In West Memphis, Arkansas, Interstate 40 is designated as a Blue Star Memorial Highway.

Now in Pulaski County, I-40 heads towards the south-southeast as it heads to the town of Maumelle. It continues towards this direction until it reaches Interstate 430, which provides access along the western side of Little Rock.^[10] Further southeast near the Arkansas River, the route has a high volume interchange as the northern terminus of Interstate 30 as well as concurrent routes with US 67/US 167; US 65 turns south at this intersection, breaking the concurrency formed in Conway.^[10] I-40 (now concurrent with US 67 and US 167) continues east for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) before the US 67/US 167 concurrency turns north as a separate northeasterly expressway.^[10] From this point onward, Interstate 40 begins to parallel US 70 rather than US 64, which was a more or less a parallel route until Conway. The interstate continues to the east to intersect the concurrency of I-440/AR 440 before entering Lonoke County.^[10] Passing through Lonoke, the route runs through rural Arkansas with straight alignments and relatively few junctions, forming an overlap with US 63 in Hazen and meeting US 49/AR 17 in Brinkley.^{[11][12][12][13]} Upon entering St. Francis County, Interstate 40 runs northeast to Forrest City, where it intersects with Highway 1.^[14] Continuing northeast, I-40 enters Crittenden County, where it intersects with US 79 at Shearerville and enters West Memphis.^[15]

The highway continues to the northeast to an interchange with Interstate 55, which form a concurrency east for 3.1 miles (5.0 km). I-40 continues east onto the Hernando De Soto Bridge over the Mississippi River. The Tennessee border is at the midpoint of the river, and Memphis, Tennessee begins at the east side of the bridge.^[15]

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Crawford	Fort Smith	0.00	0.00		I‑40 west – Oklahoma City	Continuation into Oklahoma
				1	SH-64D south – Fort Smith, Dora	Eastbound exit is in Oklahoma and is signed as exit 330
	Van Buren			3	Lee Creek Road
				5	AR 59 – Van Buren, Siloam Springs
				7	I-540 south / I-49 south / US 71 south – Van Buren, Fort Smith	Western end of US 71 concurrency; I-540 south to US 271 and temporary concurrency with I-49 and US 71; I-540 exits 0A-B
	Alma			12	I-49 – Fayetteville, Texarkana	I-49 to I-40 east exit 20; temporary southern end of I-49 segment.
				13	US 71 north – Alma	Eastern end of US 71 concurrency
	Mulberry			20	Dyer, Mulberry
				24	AR 215 – Mulberry
Franklin	Ozark			35	AR 23 – Ozark, Huntsville
				37	AR 219 – Ozark
	Wiederkehr Village			41	AR 186 – Altus
Johnson				47	AR 164 – Hartman, Coal Hill
	Clarksville			55	US 64 to AR 109 – Hartman, Scranton, Clarksville
				57	Crawford Street
				58	AR 103 to AR 21 – Clarksville
	Lamar			64	US 64 – Lamar
	Knoxville			67	AR 315 – Knoxville
Pope	London			74	AR 333 – London
				78	US 64 – Russellville
	Russellville			81	AR 7 (Arkansas Ave.) – Russellville
				83	AR 326 (Weir Rd.) – Russellville
				84	AR 331 to US 64 – Russellville
	Pottsville			88	AR 363 – Pottsville
	Atkins			94	AR 105 – Atkins
Conway				101	Blackwell
	Morrilton			107	AR 95 – Morrilton
				108	AR 9 – Morrilton
	Plumerville			112	AR 92 north – Plumerville
	Menifee			117	Menifee
Faulkner	Conway			124	AR 25 north – Conway, Wooster	As of May 1, 2008 this exit now includes on-ramps and off-ramps in both directions.
				125	US 65 north / US 65B south – Greenbrier, Harrison, Conway	Western end of US 65 concurrency
				127	US 64 – Vilonia, Conway, Beebe
				129	US 65B north / AR 286 (Dave Ward Drive) to AR 60	Signed as exits 129A (east) and 129B (north/west) westbound
	Mayflower			135	AR 89 to AR 365 – Mayflower
Pulaski				142	AR 365 – Morgan, Maumelle
	North Little Rock			147	I-430 south – Texarkana	I-430 exits 13A-B
				148	AR 100 (Crystal Hill Road)
				150	Burns Park
				152	AR 365 – Levy	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				152A	AR 176 – Levy	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				153A	AR 107 north
				153B	I-30 west / US 65 south / US 67 south / US 167 south – Little Rock	Eastern end of US 65 concurrency; western end of US 67/US 167 concurrency; I-30 exits 143A-B
				154	Lakewood	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				155	US 67 north / US 167 north – Little Rock AFB, Jacksonville	Eastern end of US 67/US 167 concurrency
				156	Springhill Drive — Baptist Health Medical Center-NLR
				157	AR 161 – Prothro Junction
				159	I-440 west / AR 440 east – Jacksonville, Texarkana	I-440 exits 11A-B.
				161	AR 391 – Galloway
Lonoke				165	Kerr Road
				169	AR 15 (Remington Road)
	Lonoke			175	AR 31 – Lonoke, Beebe
	Carlisle			183	AR 13 – Carlisle
Prairie	Hazen			193	US 63 south / AR 11 – Hazen, Des Arc	Western end of US 63 concurrency
				202	AR 33 – Biscoe, De Valls Bluff
Monroe	Brinkley			216	US 49 to AR 17 – Brinkley, Cotton Plant
St. Francis	Wheatley			221	AR 78 – Wheatley, Marianna
	Palestine			233	AR 261 – Palestine
				239	AR 1 – Wynne, Marianna
	Forrest City			241	AR 1B – Forrest City, Wynne	Signed as exits 241A (south) and 241B (north)
				242	AR 284 (Crowley's Ridge Road)
				247	AR 38 east – Hughes, Widener
				256	AR 75 – Parkin
				260	AR 149 – Earle
Crittenden	Jennette			265	AR 218 to US 79 – Hughes
	West Memphis			271	AR 147
				275	AR 118 (College Boulevard)
				276	To AR 77 (Missouri Street) / Rich Road	Eastbound exit only
				277	I-55 / US 61 / US 63 north / US 64 west – Blytheville, Jonesboro, St. Louis	Eastern end of US 63 concurrency; western end of I-55/US 61/US 64 concurrency, south exit 8.
				278	AR 77 (Missouri Street) / AR 191 (7th Street)
				279A	Ingram Boulevard
				279B	I-55 / US 61 south / US 64 east – Memphis, Tennessee, Jackson, Mississippi	Eastern end of I-55/US 61/US 64 concurrency, north exit 5; eastbound exit and westbound entrance.
				280	Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Drive
				281	AR 131 (Mound City Road)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		284.69	458.16		I-40 – Nashville, Knoxville	Hernando de Soto Bridge crossing; Tennessee state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

1. Planning and Research Division (2010). "Arkansas Road Log Database" (Database). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
2. General Highway Map, Crawford County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
3. General Highway Map, Washington County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
4. General Highway Map, Benton County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
5. General Highway Map, Franklin County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
6. General Highway Map, Johnson County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
7. General Highway Map, Pope County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2006. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
8. General Highway Map, Conway County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
9. General Highway Map, Faulkner County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
10. General Highway Map, Pulaski County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
11. General Highway Map, Lonoke County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
12. General Highway Map, Prairie County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
13. General Highway Map, Monroe County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
14. General Highway Map, St. Francis County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2007. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
15. General Highway Map, Crittenden County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2011.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

Media related to Interstate 40 in Arkansas at Wikimedia Commons