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Interstate 40 in Arkansas facts for kids

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Interstate 40 marker

Interstate 40
I-40 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by AHTD
Length 284.69 mi (458.16 km)
Major junctions
West end I-40 at Oklahoma state line
  I-540 / US 71 in Van Buren
I-49 / US 71 in Alma
I-430 in North Little Rock
I-30 / US 65 / US 67 / US 167 in North Little Rock
Future I-57 / US 67 / US 167 in North Little Rock
I-440 / AR 440 in North Little Rock
I-55 / US 61 / US 63 / US 64 in West Memphis
East end I-40 at Tennessee state line
Location
Counties: Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Pope, Conway, Faulkner, Pulaski, Lonoke, Prairie, Monroe, St. Francis, Crittenden
Highway system
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Main • Auxiliary • Business

Arkansas Highway System
Interstates • US • State
Business • Spurs • Scenic

AR 39 AR 41

Interstate 40 (I-40) is an east–west Interstate Highway that has a 284.69-mile (458.16 km) section in the U.S. state of Arkansas connecting Oklahoma to Tennessee. The route enters Arkansas from the west just north of the Arkansas River near Dora. It travels eastward across the northern portion of the state connecting the cities of Fort Smith, Clarksville, Russellville, Morrilton, Conway, North Little Rock, Forrest City, and West Memphis. I-40 continues into Tennessee heading through Memphis. The highway has major junctions with Interstate 540 at Van Buren (the main highway connecting to Fort Smith), Interstate 49 at Alma (the main highway connecting to Fayetteville and Bentonville), Interstate 30 in North Little Rock (the Interstate linking south to Texarkana and Dallas, Texas), and Interstate 55 to Blytheville.

For the majority of its routing through Arkansas, I-40 follows the historic alignment of two separate United States highways. From Oklahoma to Little Rock, Interstate 40 generally follows U.S. Route 64 through the Ozark Mountains. East of Little Rock, the route generally follows the routing of U.S. Route 70 until the Tennessee state line.

Route description

Oklahoma to Little Rock

040i ar exit 007
Interstate 540/US 71 run south from I-40 at exit 7 in Van Buren, providing access to the larger city of Fort Smith.
I30EasternTerminus
Interstate 30 begins at I-40/US 65/AR 107 and runs south ad I-30/US 65/US 67/US 167.

I-40 enters Arkansas from Oklahoma at Dora in Crawford County. It heads east into Van Buren, giving access to Fort Smith as well across the Arkansas River to the south. Access is primarily via Interstate 540/US 71, which was built as a southern spur to Fort Smith in the 1970s. I-40 overlaps with US 71, forming a concurrency until the alignment of Interstate 49 breaks north to Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, and its northern Arkansas terminus in Bella Vista, with US 71 breaking away shortly afterwards at another interchange. The route continues to parallel US 64 into the Ozark Mountains by entering Franklin County and providing access to the Pig Trail Scenic Byway in Ozark. Interstate 40 runs through Clarksville (where it has a junction with US 64), passes over part of Lake Dardanelle, and meets Highway 7 in Russellville. I 40 continues to the east through Morrilton before turning south to Conway and Faulkner County. In Conway, I-40 forms a concurrency with US 65 at exit 125, which will continue until exit 153a in Little Rock. The highway also has another junction with US 64 and US 65 Business in Conway before passing Lake Conway and entering the Little Rock metropolitan area.

Little Rock to Tennessee

Blue Star I-40
In West Memphis, Arkansas, Interstate 40 is designated as a Blue Star Memorial Highway.

Now in Pulaski County, I-40 heads towards the south-southeast as it heads to the town of Maumelle. It continues towards this direction until it reaches Interstate 430, which provides access along the western side of Little Rock. Further southeast near the Arkansas River, the route has a high volume interchange as the northern terminus of Interstate 30 as well as concurrent routes with US 67/US 167; US 65 turns south at this intersection, breaking the concurrency formed in Conway. I-40 (now concurrent with US 67 and US 167) continues east for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) before the US 67/US 167 concurrency turns north as a separate northeasterly expressway. From this point onward, Interstate 40 begins to parallel US 70 rather than US 64, which was a more or less a parallel route until Conway. The interstate continues to the east to intersect the concurrency of I-440/AR 440 before entering Lonoke County. Passing through Lonoke, the route runs through rural Arkansas with straight alignments and relatively few junctions, forming an overlap with US 63 in Hazen and meeting US 49/AR 17 in Brinkley. Upon entering St. Francis County, Interstate 40 runs northeast to Forrest City, where it intersects with Highway 1. Continuing northeast, I-40 enters Crittenden County, where it intersects with US 79 at Shearerville and enters West Memphis.

The highway continues to the northeast to an interchange with Interstate 55, which form a concurrency east for 3.1 miles (5.0 km). I-40 continues east onto the Hernando De Soto Bridge over the Mississippi River. The Tennessee border is at the midpoint of the river, and Memphis, Tennessee begins at the east side of the bridge.

History

Exit list

County Location Mile Roads intersected Notes
Crawford Fort Smith 0.00 0.00 I-40 west – Oklahoma City Continuation into Oklahoma
0.03–
0.70
0.048–
1.13
1 Dora, Fort Smith Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Van Buren 3.12 5.02 3 Lee Creek Road
5.26 8.47 5 AR 59 – Van Buren, Siloam Springs
7.35 11.83 7 I-540 south / US 71 south – Van Buren, Fort Smith Western end of US 71 concurrency; I-540 south to US 271; I-540 exits 0A-B, northern terminus; tri-stack interchange.
Alma 12.26 19.73 12 I-49 – Fayetteville, Texarkana I-49 to I-40 east exit 20; temporary southern end of I-49 segment; to use AR 549 freeway in Fort Smith; I-49 south to Texarkana not yet built besides AR 549.
Former northern branch of I-540
13.25 21.32 13 US 71 north – Alma Eastern end of US 71 concurrency
Mulberry 20.00 32.19 20 Dyer, Mulberry
23.95 38.54 24 AR 215 – Mulberry
Franklin Ozark 34.52 55.55 35 AR 23 – Ozark, Huntsville
37.26 59.96 37 AR 219 – Ozark
Wiederkehr Village 40.83 65.71 41 AR 186 – Altus
Johnson 46.40 74.67 47 AR 164 – Hartman, Coal Hill
Clarksville 54.70 88.03 55 US 64 to AR 109 – Hartman, Scranton, Clarksville
57.01 91.75 57 Crawford Street
58.05 93.42 58 AR 103 to AR 21 – Clarksville
Lamar 63.68 102.48 64 US 64 – Lamar
Knoxville 66.47 106.97 67 AR 315 – Knoxville
Pope London 73.84 118.83 74 AR 333 – London
77.61 124.90 78 US 64 – Russellville
Russellville 80.90 130.20 81 AR 7 (Arkansas Avenue) – Russellville Arkansas Scenic 7 Byway
82.99 133.56 83 AR 326 (Weir Road) – Russellville
83.97 135.14 84 AR 331 to US 64 – Russellville
Pottsville 87.99 141.61 88 AR 363 – Pottsville
Atkins 93.71 150.81 94 AR 105 – Atkins
Conway 100.53 161.79 101 Blackwell
Morrilton 106.33 171.12 107 AR 95 – Morrilton
107.83 173.54 108 AR 9 – Morrilton
Plumerville 112.33 180.78 112 AR 92 north – Plumerville
Menifee 117.37 188.89 117 Menifee
Faulkner Conway 123.40 198.59 124 AR 25 north – Conway, Wooster As of May 1, 2008 this exit now includes on-ramps and off-ramps in both directions.
124.94 201.07 125 US 65 north / US 65B south – Greenbrier, Harrison, Conway Western end of US 65 concurrency
126.59 203.73 127 US 64 – Vilonia, Conway, Beebe
128.53 206.85 129 US 65B north / AR 286 (Dave Ward Drive) to AR 60 Signed as exits 129A (east) and 129B (north/west) westbound
Gold Creek 132.14 212.66 132 AR 365 – Gold Creek
Mayflower 135.27 217.70 135 AR 89 to AR 365 – Mayflower
Pulaski 142.17 228.80 142 AR 365 – Morgan, Maumelle
North Little Rock 147.18–
147.42
236.86–
237.25
147 I-430 south – Texarkana I-430 exits 13A-B
148.01 238.20 148 AR 100 (Crystal Hill Road)
150.16 241.66 150 Burns Park
151.85 244.38 152 AR 365 – Levy Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
151.91 244.48 152A AR 176 – Levy Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
152.70 245.75 153A AR 107 north (JFK Boulevard) No eastbound entrance from northbound JFK Boulevard; southern terminus of AR 107
153.02 246.26 153B I-30 west / US 65 south / US 67 south / US 167 south – Little Rock Eastern terminus of I-30; eastern end of US 65 concurrency; western end of US 67/US 167 concurrency; I-30 exits 143A-B; left exit westbound.
154.11 248.02 154 Lakewood Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
154.61 248.82 155 Future I-57 north / US 67 north / US 167 north – Little Rock AFB, Jacksonville Eastern end of US 67/US 167 concurrency; future southern terminus of I-57
155.55 250.33 156 Springhill Drive — Baptist Health Medical Center-NLR
156.32 251.57 157 AR 161 – Prothro Junction
158.73 255.45 159 I-440 west / AR 440 east – Jacksonville, Texarkana I-440 exits 11A-B.
160.60 258.46 161 AR 391 – Galloway
Lonoke 164.58 264.87 165 Kerr Road
168.35 270.93 169 AR 15 (Remington Road)
Lonoke 172.87 278.21 173 AR 89 – Lonoke
174.35 280.59 175 AR 31 – Lonoke, Beebe
Carlisle 182.25 293.30 183 AR 13 – Carlisle
Prairie Hazen 192.93 310.49 193 US 63 south / AR 11 – Hazen, Des Arc Western end of US 63 concurrency
201.91 324.94 202 AR 33 – Biscoe, De Valls Bluff
Monroe Brinkley 215.42 346.68 216 US 49 to AR 17 – Brinkley, Cotton Plant
St. Francis Wheatley 220.70 355.18 221 AR 78 – Wheatley, Marianna
Palestine 232.88 374.78 233 AR 261 – Palestine
238.72 384.18 239 AR 1 – Wynne, Marianna
Forrest City 240.40 386.89 241 AR 1B – Forrest City, Wynne Signed as exits 241A (south) and 241B (north)
241.42 388.53 242 AR 284 (Crowley's Ridge Road)
246.70 397.03 247 AR 38 east – Hughes, Widener
255.86 411.77 256 AR 75 – Parkin
259.51 417.64 260 AR 149 – Earle
Crittenden Jennette 264.67 425.95 265 AR 218 to US 79 – Jennette, Hughes
West Memphis 270.78 435.78 271 AR 147 – LeHi, Horseshoe Lake
274.81 442.26 275 AR 118 (College Boulevard)
276.14 444.40 276 To AR 77 (Missouri Street) / Rich Road Eastbound exit only
276.70 445.31 277 I-55 / US 61 / US 63 north / US 64 west – Blytheville, Jonesboro, St. Louis Eastern end of US 63 concurrency; western end of I-55/US 61/US 64 concurrency, south exit 8
277.22 446.14 278 AR 77 (Missouri Street) / AR 191 (7th Street)
279.11 449.18 5 Ingram Boulevard Exit number follows I-55; provides access for motorists merging onto I-40 from I-55
279.37 449.60 279B I-55 / US 61 south / US 64 east – Memphis, Jackson MS Eastern end of I-55/US 61/US 64 concurrency, north exit 5; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
278.97 448.96 279A Ingram Boulevard
280.18 450.91 280 Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Drive
280.68 451.71 281 AR 131 (Mound City Road) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
284.03 457.10 I-40 – Memphis, Nashville Hernando de Soto Bridge crossing; Tennessee state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi


Interstate 40
Previous state:
Oklahoma
Arkansas Next state:
Tennessee


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