Interstate 55 in Arkansas explained

State:AR
Type:I
Route:55
Map Custom:yes
Map Notes:I-55 highlighted in red
Length Mi:72.22
Length Ref:[1]
Direction A:South
Direction B:North
Terminus A: at Tennessee state line
Terminus B: at Missouri state line
Counties:Crittenden, Mississippi
Previous Type:AR
Next Type:AR
Previous Route:54
Next Route:56
Established:1957
Junction: in West Memphis
in West Memphis
in Marion
in Turrell
in Blytheville
in Blytheville

Interstate 55 (I-55) is a north–south Interstate Highway that has a 72.22miles section in the US state of Arkansas connecting sections in Tennessee and Missouri. The route enters Arkansas on the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge over the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee. 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 I-40 in West Memphis and has a junction with I-555, a spur route to Jonesboro, in Turrell. For the majority of its routing through Arkansas, I-55 generally follows U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) and has a 67.08miles long concurrency with US 78 from the Tennessee state line in Memphis to Blytheville for most of its length.

Route description

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 78/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 78/US 79 form a concurrency with I-40 at exit 5, an overlap that lasts 3.1miles.[2] The highways split at I-40 exit 277, with I-40/US 79 continuing west to Little Rock and I-55/US 61/US 64/US 78 running north into Marion. US 64 exits I-55/US 61/US 78 in Marion, continuing west as Old Military Road toward Wynne. I-55 continues to run through farmlands of the Arkansas delta, paralleling Highway 77 (AR 77) until Turrell.

In Turrell, I-55/US 61/US 78 meets the southern terminus of I-555, a spur route of I-55 connecting Jonesboro to the Interstate Highway System. I-555 run north to Jonesboro, while AR 77 and US 61 become frontage roads for I-55/US 78. Slightly east of this junction, these frontage roads depart I-55, with AR 77 running near Birdsong and US 61 serving Wilson. I-55 runs northeast to enter Mississippi County, having junctions with AR 118 to Joiner, AR 181 to Bassett, AR 14 near Marie, and AR 181 near Keiser. In Osceola, the route has a junction with AR 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. US 78 departs from I-55 where it intersects AR 18 in Blytheville before exiting town headed due north. The route has a junction with AR 150 just before crossing the Missouri state line.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Arkansas Road Log Database . Planning and Research Division . March 28, 2012 . Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department . MBD . April 13, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110623010127/http://arkansashighways.com/planning_research/technical_services/databases/Road%20Log%20Database.zip . June 23, 2011 .
  2. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department . General Highway Map, Crittenden County, Arkansas . Planning and Research Division . PDF . January 2, 2007 . 1:62500 . April 26, 2012 . February 26, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120226223642/http://www.arkansashighways.com/maps/counties/county%20PDFs/CrittendenCounty.pdf . dead .
  3. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department . General Highway Map, Mississippi County, Arkansas . Planning and Research Division . PDF . January 11, 2010 . 1:62500 . April 26, 2012 . January 15, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210115013658/http://www.arkansashighways.com/maps/Counties/County%20PDFs/MississippiCounty.pdf . dead .