Arkansas Highway 7

Highway 7
Route information
Maintained by AHTD
Length:	296.01 mi[1] (476.38 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
South end:	LA 558, Louisiana state line
	U.S. 63 / U.S. 167 near El Dorado U.S. 79 / U.S. 278 in Camden U.S. 67 in Arkadelphia I-30 in Caddo Valley U.S. 64 in Russellville I-40 in Russellville U.S. 65B / Hwy. 43 in Harrison U.S. 62 / U.S. 65 / U.S. 412 in Harrison
North end:	Lead Hill Public Use Area, Diamond City
Location
Counties:	Union, Ouachita, Dallas, Clark, Hot Spring, Garland, Perry, Yell, Pope, Newton, Boone
Highway system
Arkansas Highway System Interstates • US • State Business • Spurs • Scenic ← Hwy. 6 Hwy. 8 →

Arkansas Highway 7 (AR 7 and Hwy. 7) is a north–south state highway that runs across the state. The route runs 296.01 miles (476.38 km) from Louisiana Highway 558 at the Louisiana state line north to Bull Shoals Lake at Diamond City near the Missouri state line.^[2][3] With the exception of the segment north of Harrison, Highway 7 has been designated as one of the Arkansas Scenic Byways. The road passes through the heart of both the Ozark Mountains and the Ouachita Mountains, and features scenic views. It's the route favored by motorcycle riders touring the region.^[4]

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Auxiliary routes 4 See also 5 References

Route description

AR 7 begins at the Louisiana state line near Lockhart, Louisiana. It runs north and meets US 63/US 167, which it forms a concurrency with until El Dorado. North of El Dorado AR 7 shoots a spur route named the Calion Cutoff. The route continues north to cross AR 335 before entering Smackover. Arkansas Highway 7 Business goes through downtown Smackover, while the main route runs around the town meeting AR 172.^[2] AR 7 continues northwest to enter Ouachita County. AR 7 runs roughly parallel to AR 376 until meeting the route south of Cullendale. The route continues north to Camden, when it intersects US 79/US 278 (formerly AR 4).^[5] AR 7 continues north through downtown and heads northwest to enter Dallas County.

AR 7 enters Dallas County near Ouachita and continues north to meet AR 208 in Sparkman. The route continues north to AR 8/Dalark.^[6] AR 7 runs west after meeting AR 8, leading into Clark County. AR 7/AR 8 runs to meet AR 51/AR 128 east of Arkadelphia. In Arkadelphia, AR 7 meets US 67, which it follows north to Caddo Valley and Interstate 30.^[7] After crossing I-30, AR continues north through De Gray State Park, now entering Hot Spring County, where it meets AR 84 in Bismark.^[8]

AR 7 enters Garland County by crossing over Lake Hamilton and Lake Catherine and crossing through the community of Lake Hamilton. AR 7 continues into Hot Springs, crossing US 70/US 270. The route enters Hot Springs National Park with AR 128. The route meets AR 298 north of town, running with it until an area near the Perry County line.^[9] The route runs through the Ouachita National Forest until the Fourche Junction meeting with AR 60.^[10]

AR 7 continues in Yell County by running through Ola. The route meets AR 10 and AR 28 in Ola. AR 7 continues northeast to Centerville, meeting AR 154 and AR 247. AR 7 also meets AR 115 before Dardanelle.^[11] The route turns right at Union Street in Dardanelle, entering Pope County. The route continues through Russellville, meeting US 64 (Main Street) and O Street before leaving town. AR 7 also meets I-40 north of Russellville. Continuing north, AR 7 meets AR 164 in Dover.^[12] In the Ozark National Forest, AR 7 meets AR 16 and AR 123 before entering Newton County. AR 7 breaks north from AR 16 towards AR 74/Jasper.^[13] AR 7 crosses AR 206 upon entering Boone County. AR 7 enters Harrison, meeting AR 43/US 65 BUS and US 62/US 65/US 412. It is after this point that the route is no longer designated scenic.^[3] The route continues to AR 14/Lead Hill before Diamond City, where the route terminates.

History

The route now known as AR 7 first appears as a state highway in 1924, when the Arkansas General Assembly first created a state highway system. Two main routes, Arkansas State Road B-14 and Arkansas State Road A-5 form a rough trail similar to the modern-day AR 7.^[14] Upon creation of the U.S. Route system in 1925, the north and south portions of the highway were replaced by U.S. Route 65 to Harrison and U.S. Route 167, respectively.^[15] Arkansas numbered its highways in 1926, and the route became Arkansas Highway 7 (the north part of A-5 remains as Arkansas Highway 5).

Auxiliary routes

Arkansas Highway 7 has six total auxiliary routes.^[1] AR 7 business in Smackover runs into town while the city is bypassed by the parent route. El Dorado, Hot Springs, and Russellville all have short spur routes serving as connectors. AR 7 Truck also serves as a bypass in Russellville, where AR 7S near Marble Falls serves former amusement park Dogpatch USA.

See also

• List of longest state highways in the United States

References

Roads of Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Interstate Highways Interstate 30 Interstate 40 Interstate 430 Interstate 440 (East Belt Freeway) I-530 Scenic Byway Interstate 630 (Wilbur Mills Freeway) U.S. Routes US 64 US 65 US 67 US 70 US 165 US 167 US 270 US 65 Business US 70 Business Arkansas State Highways AR 5 AR 7 AR 9 AR 10 AR 13 AR 15 AR 25 AR 31 AR 35 AR 36 AR 38 AR 46 AR 60 AR 88 AR 89 AR 100 AR 107 AR 111 AR 113 AR 124 AR 155 AR 161 AR 176 AR 183 AR 190 AR 216 AR 222 AR 225 AR 229 AR 232 AR 236 AR 247 AR 256 AR 266 AR 285 AR 286 AR 287 AR 291 AR 294 AR 298 AR 300 AR 305 AR 310 AR 314 AR 319 AR 321 AR 324 AR 338 AR 365 AR 367 AR 381 AR 386 AR 391 AR 600 AR 801 AR 809 AR 825 AR 830 AR 834 AR 835 AR 839 AR 841 AR 842 AR 845 AR 846 AR 873 AR 876 AR 879 AR 880 AR 885 AR 886 AR 943 AR 980

Roads of the Hot Springs Metro Area U.S. Routes US 70 US 270 US 70 Business US 270 Business State Highways AR 5 AR 7 AR 88 AR 128 AR 171 AR 192 AR 227 AR 290 AR 298 AR 600 AR 887