Interstate 630

Interstate 630 marker

Interstate 630
Eisenhower Memorial Highway
Route information
Maintained by AHTD
Length: 7.400 mi[1] (11.909 km)
Existed: September 30, 1985[2] – present
Major junctions
West end: I-430 / Shackleford Road / Financial Centre Parkway in Little Rock
  US 70 in Little Rock
East end: I-30 / US 65 / US 67 / US 167 in Little Rock
Highway system
I-555AR 818

Interstate 630 (abbreviated I-630) in Arkansas is an eastwest connector within Little Rock. It is also known as the Wilbur D. Mills Freeway and starts at Interstate 30/US Route 65/US Route 67/US Route 167 (I-430/US 65/US 67/US 167) traveling west through downtown Little Rock to Interstate 430 and an at-grade intersection with Shackleford Road and Financial Centre Parkway.[2][3]

History

The project was first conceived in the 1930s, and was first planned by the Pulaski County Planning Board in their 1941 report.[4] After the having many higher powers denying their plans construction was started by the city of Little Rock in the 1960s as the eastwest Expressway or 8th Street Expressway and was not originally an Interstate or an Arkansas state highway.[2] In the 1970s, U.S. Rep. Wilbur D. Mills (D-AR) was responsible for the route's addition to the Interstate system by rounding down the mileage allocations of all other states, then adding the rounding differences to Arkansas' total; this kept the total nationwide allocation within the original limit of 42,500 miles (68,400 km).[2]

After it was added to the Interstate system, Little Rock initially renamed it for Mills; however, when the Arkansas State Highway Department (AHTD) formally brought it into the state highway system as required by Arkansas law, they removed the name, as their policy at the time prohibited the naming of state highways after individuals. The AHTD later changed its policy and re-adopted the Mills name early in the new millennium.

The highway connects burgeoning West Little Rock to the downtown core. It feeds into I-430, a northsouth route which serves western Little Rock.[2]

Exit list

The entire route is in Little Rock, Pulaski County.

mi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
0.000.00139 I-30 / US 65 / US 67 / US 167 North Little Rock, TexarkanaEastbound exit and westbound entrance; eastern terminus and signed as exits 139A (east) and 139B (west); exit nos. correspond to I-30
0.000.00115th StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance
0.460.741AMain Street, Center Street
0.741.191B US 70 (Broadway), Center Street
1.101.772AChester Street
1.452.332BDr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Marshall Street
2.433.913AWoodrow Street
3.806.123BPine Street, Cedar Street
5.008.054Fair Park Boulevard
5.488.825University AvenueSigned as exits 5A (north) and 5B (south) westbound; second westbound entrance from McKinley Avenue
5.809.336ARodney Parham Road, Mississippi Avenue
6.2510.066BBarrow Road
6.8210.987Baptist Health
7.4011.918 I-430Signed as exits 8A (north) and 8B (south); no eastbound exit 8B (access is via N Shackleford Road); I-430 exit 6
7.4011.918CS Shackleford Road to Markham Street, N Shackleford Road to Kanis RoadAt grade intersection, road continues as Financial Centre Parkway, Chenal Parkway and western terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Route map: Bing

  1. 1.0 1.1 Planning and Research Division (2010). "Arkansas Road Log Database" (DATABASE). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Bill Stanton, ed. (1985). "Final Section of I-630 opens in Little Rock". Arkansas Highways (PDF) 31 (Winter ed.). Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. p. 8. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  3. Route and Section Map, Pulaski County Supplemental Sheet (PDF) (Map). Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  4. Bill Stanton, ed. (1985). "I-630 History: "A dream becomes a reality"". Arkansas Highways (PDF) 31 (Winter ed.). Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. p. 10. Retrieved October 24, 2011.