Interstate 55 in Arkansas

This article is about the section of highway in Arkansas. For the entire length of highway, see Interstate 55.

Interstate 55 marker

Interstate 55

Route of I-55 in red
Route information
Maintained by AHTD
Length: 72.22 mi[1] (116.23 km)
Major junctions
South end: I-55 / US 61 / US 64 / US 70 at Tennessee state line
  I-40 in West Memphis
Future I-555 / US 61 / US 63 / AR 77 in Turrell
US 61 in Blytheville
North end: I-55 at Missouri state line
Highway system
← AR 54AR 56 →

Interstate 55 (I-55) is a north–south Interstate Highway that has a 72.22-mile (116.23 km) section in the U.S. state of Arkansas connecting sections in Tennessee and Missouri. The route enters Arkansas on the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge over the Mississippi River from Memphis. It travels northward through northeast Arkansas connecting the cities of West Memphis and Blytheville. I-55 continues into Missouri heading to St. Louis, Missouri. The highway overlaps Interstate 40 in West Memphis and has a junction with Future Interstate 555, a spur route to Jonesboro, in Turrell. For the majority of its routing through Arkansas, I-55 generally follows U.S. Route 61 (US 61) through Arkansas.

Route description

Interstate 55 splits from Interstate 40 in West Memphis.

I-55 enters Arkansas from Memphis, Tennessee on the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge over the Mississippi River, sharing the bridge with US 61/US 64/US 70/US 79. Shortly after entering the state the highway enters West Memphis, where US 70 exits the route and becomes Broadway Avenue. I-55/US 61/US 64/US 79 form a concurrency with Interstate 40 at exit 5, an overlap that lasts 3.1 miles (5.0 km).[2] The highways split at I-40 exit 277, with I-40/US 63/US 79 continuing west to Little Rock and I-55/US 61/US 63/US 64 running north into Marion. US 64 exits I-55/US 61/US 63 in Marion, continuing west as Old Military Road toward Wynne. Interstate 55 continues to run through farmlands of the Arkansas delta, paralleling Highway 77 until Turrell.

Diagram of I-55 interchange#23, I-55/US 63/US 61 meets AR 77 and becomes I-555/US 63, I-55/US 61, and AR 77.

In Turrell, I-55/US 61/US 63 meets the southern terminus of Future I-555, a spur route of I-55 connecting Jonesboro to the Interstate Highway system. Future I-555/US 63 run north to Jonesboro, while Highway 77 and US 61 become frontage roads for I-55. Slightly east of this junction these frontage roads depart I-55, with Highway 77 running near Birdsong and US 61 serving Wilson. I-55 runs northeast to enter Mississippi County, Arkansas, having junctions with Highway 118 to Joiner, Highway 181 to Bassett, Highway 14 near Marie, and Highway 181 near Keiser. In Osceola, the route has a junction with Highway 140 near Osceola Municipal Airport.[3] I-55 continues northeast, intersecting minor state highways in rural Mississippi County before a junction with US 61 in south Blytheville. Interstate 55 intersects Highway 18 in Blytheville before exiting town headed due north. The route has a junction with Highway 150 just before crossing the Missouri state line.

Exit list

{{ARint|exit

CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
Mississippi River I-55 south / US 61 south / US 64 east / US 70 east / US 79 eastContinuation into Tennessee
CrittendenWest Memphis1Bridgeport Road
3A AR 131 (Mound City Road)Northbound exit only
3B US 70 west (Broadway Avenue) – West MemphisNorthern end of US 70 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
4Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to I-40 east – Memphis
5 I-40 westSouthern end of I-40 overlap, east exit 279B; northbound exit and southbound entrance.
279AIngram Boulevard
278 AR 191 north / 7th Street
7 AR 77 / Missouri StreetSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
 8 I-40 west – Little RockNorthern end of I-40 overlap, east exit 277.
Marion10 US 64 west – Marion, Sunset, Wynne
 14James Mill Road
 17 AR 50 – Jericho
 21 AR 42
location=Turrell mile= exit=23 type=concur road= Future I-555 / US 61 north / US 63 north / AR 77 south notes=Northern end of US 61 overlap; signed as exits 23A (US 63) and 23B (AR 77) southbound} No southbound entry from Nb AR 77}
Mississippi 34 AR 118 – Tyronza, Joiner
 36 AR 181 – Bassett
 41 AR 14 – Lepanto, Marie
 44 AR 181 – Keiser, Marie
 48 AR 140 – Osceola
 53 AR 158 – Victoria, Luxora
 57 AR 148 – Burdette
Blytheville63 US 61 – Blytheville
67 AR 18 – Blytheville
 71 AR 150 – Arkansas Int'l Airport
 72Arkansas Travel Info Center
Missouri state line I-55 north – St. LouisContinuation into Missouri
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ↑ Planning and Research Division (March 28, 2012). "Arkansas Road Log Database" (MBD). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ General Highway Map, Crittenden County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. January 2, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  3. ↑ General Highway Map, Mississippi County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. January 11, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2012.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

Media related to Interstate 55 in Arkansas at Wikimedia Commons

Interstate 55
Previous state:
Tennessee		 Arkansas Next state:
Missouri
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, January 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.