| Texarkana Loop | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 16 mi (26 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| CCW end: | I-30 east of Texarkana |
| US 67 US 82 US 71 |
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| CW end: | I-30 west of Texarkana |
| Highway system | |
| United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced Arkansas Highway System Interstates • US • State Business • Spurs • Scenic Highways in Texas Interstate • U.S. • TX (Loops – Spurs – Rec – FM) |
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The Loop is a beltway around Texarkana, a twin city in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Texas, running about 16 miles (26 km). Consisting of Highway 245 - sometimes called Loop 245 - in Arkansas, and Loop 151 and a section of U.S. Highway 59 in Texas, it forms a three-quarter loop around the east, south and west sides of the city. (Interstate 30 completes the circle on the north side.) Except for a portion of Highway 245 where it meets I-30 at a diamond interchange east of Texarkana, the Loop is built to freeway standards.
The south side is bisected by State Line Avenue, which runs north–south along the state line. The whole half in Arkansas is Highway 245; US 59 intersects the Loop near the southwest corner, and so only the south side in Texas is Loop 151. Old US 59 into Texarkana - Lake Drive - is now State Highway 93.
Contents |
North of the junction with Highway 549 and U.S. Highway 71, Highway 245 is part of the north–south Corridor, a planned extension of Interstate 49 north to Kansas City. (This extension will also include Highway 549.) The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department submitted this piece, as well as its continuation west to the state line, as Interstate 130 (I-130) in fall 2000. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials denied the part from US 71 west to Texas, as "the state of Texas has not submitted a companion application for a suitable terminus in Texas", but the piece from US 71 north to I-30 was approved on December 8, 2000 as Future I-130. Once it is upgraded to Interstate standards and added to the Interstate Highway System by the Federal Highway Administration, it will be signed as I-130.[1][2]
Arkansas is using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds to pave the final segment of future I-130, from the Arkansas Boulevard interchange to a new freeway-to-freeway interchange with I-30.[3] Once this section is opened, the only remaining requirement to become I-130 will be upgrading the at-grade intersection with 19th Street to a full interchange; the right-of-way for this was reserved years ago. However, with I-49 also pending completion between Texarkana and Shreveport, Louisiana (including a segment in Arkansas also being built with ARRA funds[3]), it is unknown at this point if it will become I-130 before being formally incorporated into I-49.
Loop 151 connects Highway 245 to US 59. Along with the south leg of Highway 245, it is the newest part of the Loop.
US 59 forms the final leg of the loop, from Lake Drive to Interstate 30. This section, known officially as Jarvis Parkway, also crosses West 7th Street (U.S. Highway 67) and New Boston Road (U.S. Highway 82).
Clockwise (CW) reads down and counterclockwise (CCW) reads up.
| Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|
| I-30 – Little Rock | At-grade intersection; north end of future I-130 |
| Arkansas Boulevard | |
| U.S. 67 – Texarkana, Hope | |
| 19th Street | |
| U.S. 82 (9th Street) | |
| Hwy 196 (Genoa Road) – Geona | |
| U.S. 71 – Texarkana, Shreveport | South end of future I-130 |
| Hwy 549 south – Shreveport | Future I-49 |
| South State Line Avenue | Border between Arkansas (above/east) and Texas (below/west) |
| FM 558 (Buchanan Road) | |
| FM 3527 (Leopard Drive) | CW exit and CCW entrance |
| U.S.59 south SH 93 north (Lake Drive), Leopard Drive (FM 3527) | |
| Frontage Road | CCW exit and CW entrance |
| U.S. 67 (7th Street) | |
| Westlawn Drive – Wake Village | |
| U.S.82 (New Boston Road) – New Boston | |
| I-30; U.S. 59 north – Ashdown, Dallas | CW exit and CCW entrance |
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