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62-807: In the 1929 regular session, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 299, which was later entitled the State Road Patrol Act. The result of the act was the assignment of administrative oversight of the Arkansas Road Patrol to the Arkansas Highway Department. The men appointed to fill the twenty allocated positions for the patrol became the first enforcement officers in Arkansas to be officially commissioned by state law. The badges issued to

124-903: A commission as an Agent of the Commissioner of Revenues. In 1963, the enforcement effort that began as the State Road Patrol, once again became a part of the Arkansas Highway Department . In 1979, the Division's name was changed to the Arkansas Highway Police. In 1989, the powers and duties of the Transportation Safety Agency were transferred to the Highway Police and officers began to include enforcement of

186-586: A dichotomy between county roads and local roads (or private roads ). Although both systems are owned by the county, the "county road" system generally encompasses roads of county significance, or roads that would be used for through travel. The local road system encompasses dead ends or other highways that would generally not be used by the traveling public, except for adjacent property owners. Generally, local roads are not subject to improvement projects by county highway departments. No signing convention exists for county routes in Arkansas. Many counties do not sign

248-661: A fleet of patrol units as well as a network of Weigh Stations positioned on major highways through the state. Arkansas Highway System The Arkansas Highway System is made up of all the highways designated as Interstates , U.S. Highways and State Highways in the US state of Arkansas . The system is maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT), known as the Arkansas State Highway Department (AHD) until 1977 and

310-463: A good roads convention in Little Rock just before the turn of the century. Arkansas automobile salesmen quickly picked up on the notion that better roads would help their business as well, and became the driving force behind the Arkansas good roads movement. The enterprising salesmen greatly increased the movement's breadth by expanding their scope outside of city streets to farm to market routes,

372-442: A move that enticed farmers to support the cause. The combination of money from Little Rock salesmen and the large number of farmers in the state made the good roads movement a formidable alliance. At this time, the roads were maintained by a state law that mandated all healthy men of middle age contribute five days of road work (or a monetary equivalent) annually. Another convention in 1907 formed road districts, but this did not help

434-403: Is if a three-digit shield includes a "1", such as "100" or "314", in which case Series C is used. Arkansas does not have any four-digit highways. The outline of the state on state highway markers varies across the state based on what agency posts the shields. The Arkansas state outline is more realistic on the one- and two-digit shields, because on three digit shields the state is stretched to fit

496-402: Is in various stages of adding more Interstate highways within its borders. Interstate 555 , designated in 2016, serves as a spur to Jonesboro from Interstate 55 . Arkansas is also working to bring Interstate 49 along its western edge, eventually connecting Kansas City and New Orleans . This route is being constructed as Arkansas Highway 549 temporarily. The southeast portion of the state

558-620: Is mostly covered by Highway 365 , although some original concrete segments are still visible, and the Dollarway Road portion has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Now that Arkansas had discovered a durable paving system, concrete topped with asphalt of "Dollarway pavement", they could replace the often-broken macadam roads. Dollarway was also a more economical choice, as macadam would frequently need replacing. As Arkansans sought improved roads across

620-557: Is not signed. The lowest numbers in use are Highway 1 in east Arkansas and Highway 4. Most designations between 1-300 are in use, in some cases several times, with some highways in the 300s. ArDOT only uses 400 numbers as a prefix, such as 463 being a former alignment of US 63. Arkansas uses the 500 number to designate future signings, such as Highway 549 for pieces of a future I-49 extension. No discernible pattern exists in Arkansas's numbering system, although most even numbered highways are signed east-west and odds signed north-south. However,

682-452: Is seeing an extension of Interstate 530 , which will eventually connect Little Rock to Interstate 69 in Arkansas . Highways in Arkansas do not commonly form concurrencies with other state highways, they instead exist in many officially designated "sections". These sections are not apparent to the traveler except on mile markers. Because roads often stop and begin elsewhere, it appears that highways repeat themselves in multiple locations,

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744-431: Is still flawed. This is due partly to the nature of Arkansas - many citizens prefer to live in many very small communities rather than in small towns (especially in delta region and South Arkansas ). This creates more need for connecting highways between these communities. Another cause of inefficiency is the use of Commissioners that represent geographical regions. The regions have not been reapportioned , and this causes

806-677: Is the maintenance and management of the over 16,000-mile (26,000 km) Arkansas Highway System . The department also conducts planning, public transportation , the State Aid County Road Program, the Arkansas Highway Police , and Federal-Aid project administration. Its headquarters are in Little Rock . Central control of highway transportation in Arkansas began with the creation of the State Highway Commission by Act 302 of

868-550: Is the only police agency in Arkansas that can conduct safety inspections of commercial motor vehicles and is the only agency that can cite drivers and companies for violations of commercial vehicle safety regulations. However any law enforcement officer can stop, cite, and/or arrest commercial operators in Arkansas with a violation of state traffic or criminal statutes. All officers of the Arkansas Highway Police, regardless of assignment, are also vested with full and complete law enforcement powers of arrest for all crimes both on and off

930-645: Is to provide a safe, efficient, aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sound intermodal transportation system for the user. The department is responsible for implementing policy made by the Arkansas State Highway Commission , a board of officials appointed by the Governor of Arkansas to direct transportation policy in the state. The department's director is appointed by the commission to hire staff and manage construction and maintenance on Arkansas's highways. The primary duty of ArDOT

992-479: Is used as the rule throughout the state, unless an officially designated "exception" occurs. These exceptions are not common and are the only instances of concurrencies in the State of Arkansas. State highways in Arkansas are not usually marked with "Begin" or "End" banners, which can compound the problem. The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department does provide by-county Route and Section Maps which show

1054-737: The Arkansas Highway Commission as its governing body; the Constitution still calls it the "State Highway Department", but the legislature added "and Transportation" to its name in 1977. Many people in Arkansas continue to call it the "Highway Department" to this day. On June 8, 2017, the AHTD announced that it would change its name and logo to the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) effective July 31, 2017. For administrative purposes, ArDOT divided

1116-944: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations. Today, the Arkansas Highway Police is a nationally recognized leader in the fields of drug interdiction, motor carrier safety and hazardous materials enforcement, and training. Highway Police officers serve as instructors for the Criminal Justice Institute, National Training Center, Transportation Safety Institute, and the Drug Interdiction Assistance Program. When enforcing commercial vehicle size, weight, and safety laws, AHP officers are authorized by Arkansas Law to stop and inspect commercial vehicles in Arkansas without establishing probable cause or reasonable suspicion. By statute, AHP

1178-527: The Great Depression , when Arkansas was forced to default on many highway loans. The Federal Defense Highway Act of 1941 ordered construction funds be used only on important defense highways, but Arkansas's poorly maintained roads needed funding statewide. By 1948, the state's highways had deteriorated so far to become a central political issue in the governor's race. Sid McMath , ran on a platform of business progressivism , with highway reform as

1240-642: The U.S. Numbered Highway System . Upon creation of the Harrelson Road Law, the US Route system came to Arkansas and the system was renumbered. This system has generally remained in place, with the major addition of the Interstate Highway System in 1965. The original system had just over 100 routes, mostly dirt paths that became unpassable after rain. Arkansas began using the same pavement techniques used for Dollarway Road , which

1302-602: The 1971 standard shield is used on freeways, three-digit U.S. routes and special U.S. routes. Special U.S. routes include a "B" for business routes or a "S" denoting a spur route . This is not standard MUTCD practice. Interstate Highways in Arkansas are signed with the state's name on every shield, with two-digit shields being 36 by 36 inches (91 cm × 91 cm), while three-digit shields are 36-by-42-inch (91 cm × 107 cm), and 24 by 24 inches (61 cm × 61 cm) and 25 by 30 inches (64 cm × 76 cm), respectively, on intersecting roads. In

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1364-540: The 1990s, Arkansas had 20 weigh stations throughout the state. Due to consolidation and a shift in enforcement focus to mobile units, Arkansas current network of 11 Weigh Stations in Arkansas are all located near the borders of the state, and only on major traffic corridors. All patrol units operated by AHP are equipped to weigh, measure, and inspect commercial vehicles without being near a weigh station. The Arkansas Department of Transportation maintains over 200 roadside pads for AHP Officers on Secondary highways throughout

1426-634: The 39th Arkansas General Assembly in 1913. The commission was made up of the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands and two other governor-appointed members. The commission was tasked with coordination roadway construction standards and route planning among the state's myriad county agencies and road improvement districts, and had little power or funding. The situation was bad enough that the federal government, who had become involved in standardizing road construction, stopped sending federal highway dollars to Arkansas in 1923. An emergency session of

1488-493: The 44th Arkansas General Assembly enacted the Harrelson Road Law to meet federal requirements to receive funding. The act also reformed the Highway Commission into four members appointed from the state's agricultural districts by the governor, plus the Commissioner of State Lands (elected statewide) serving as chairman. The Highway Commission had purview over any road projects in the state meeting their standards. Given

1550-574: The Arkansas Highway Commission was ordered with the task of organizing the state's road system. In 1915, the Commission was charged with misappropriating funds for officials to use on automobiles and gasoline, making the financial situation even worse. The Alexander Road law of 1915 allowed those close to a route to form their own districts and subsequently contract out the work themselves. This resulted in wild variations of how

1612-648: The Arkansas Highway Police is tasked with preserving and protecting the State and Federal Highways of Arkansas. The Highway Police is the second largest statewide law enforcement agency in Arkansas, behind only the Arkansas State Police , with whom they share concurrent jurisdiction. The main focuses of the Highway Police is Size and weight regulation, Motor Carrier Enforcement, Hazardous Material enforcement, and lately, drug interdiction. The Arkansas Highway Police also regulates and permits all oversize loads coming through Arkansas. The Highway Police operates

1674-593: The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) from 1977 to 2017. The system contains 16,442.90 miles (26,462.28 km) of Interstates, U.S. Routes, state highways, and special routes. The shortest members are unsigned state highways Arkansas Highway 806 and Arkansas Highway 885 , both 0.09 miles (0.14 km) in length. The longest route is U.S. Route 67 , which runs 296.95 miles (477.89 km) from Texarkana to Missouri . Travel in Arkansas has come from very humble beginnings. In

1736-594: The Highway Department found widespread corruption and cronyism in early 1952, slowing McMath's reform efforts. He was ousted that fall and replaced by a more conservative Francis Cherry , who sought reforms within the Highway Department. The same election saw voters approving Constitutional Amendment No. 42 (known as the Mack-Blackwell Amendment) by a large margin, which created an autonomous Arkansas State Highway Commission to manage

1798-476: The Highway Department, reducing the governor's influence. Several other proposals for highway reform were studied during this period. The Arkansas Senate requested a feasibility study for designating all roads in the state (except those within municipal areas) as state highways in 1955. If feasible, Arkansas would have likely adopted a system similar to Missouri , which maintains a system of supplemental routes in addition to state highways. Arkansas considered

1860-403: The N, E, S, or W are signed in the same manner. The state of Arkansas has some special shields, including an airplane-themed shield for Arkansas Highway 980 , which is the designation for all state-maintained airport access roads. Another special shield is Highway 917, which is funded by marine fuel taxes. On two-digit, non-freeway U.S. routes, Arkansas uses the 1961 standard U.S. Route shield ;

1922-623: The Structural Inventory and Rating Section for existing bridges, and the Concrete & Steel Fabrication Section. Many of Arkansas's highway bridges are designed in-house by the relevant sections, with more complex or specialized bridges sometimes being bid out to consulting engineering firms. The oldest state law enforcement agency in Arkansas, the Arkansas Highway Police , is the Law Enforcement branch of ArDOT. Today,

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1984-579: The ability to control where federal highway dollars were spent, the Highway Commission became very powerful, and subject to political and provincial interests. This Commission became so powerful, the Commissioner of State Lands was unofficially referred to as the Highway Commissioner almost everywhere except official state documents. The "Highway" in AHTD's name was largely required by the Arkansas Constitution which created

2046-602: The actual pavement belongs to either the one highway or the other, not both. Despite being a state of average size, Arkansas has an expansive highway system. This is due to a variety of issues, including a largely rural early geography, a historical tendency to settle in rural settlements rather than incorporated municipalities, topography (especially in the northwestern half of the state), legislation, government and politics. The highest numbers used for highway designations include Highway 889 in Little Rock, although this route

2108-407: The actual roadways carrying these designations may be switched. Highway 600 is the designation for all state park roads in Arkansas, with designations higher generally being unsigned minor routes connecting state property or facilities to the state highway system. County highway systems in Arkansas use a variety of signs, and vary widely from one county to another. County road systems in Arkansas have

2170-568: The cornerstone issue. Taking over as governor after the 1948 election , McMath and the General Assembly passed a bond measure to raise construction and maintenance funds for roads and bridges. A special bond election on February 15, 1949, was voter approved for additional bond funds by an overwhelming margin. The unprecedented highway spending greatly improved and expanded the highway system, but also enabled local potentates to direct funds for political advantage. An audit commission of

2232-592: The county road numbers, relying instead on names posted on traditional "blade" street signs. The U.S. Forest Service maintains Federal Forest Highways in Arkansas within the National Forests of Arkansas. As of January 2017, the total mileage of these roads is 285.452 miles (459.390 km). Almost all Forest Roads are gravel or dirt, leading to campgrounds, maintenance areas, or trails. Levee roads in Arkansas are owned and maintained by levee authorities. Most of these routes are narrow, unpaved paths atop

2294-692: The current format circa 1971, though all numbers were within square shields. A wider sign was created later to allow three-digit routes to use the same font size as two-digit routes. In 2019, contribution of Arkansas to Transportation safety in the United States makes Arkansas has 210 out of 19,499 fatalities in Urban area and 306 out of 16,410 in rural areas. Although routes are sometimes dually signed (I-49 and US 71 in Northwest Arkansas for example) due to Arkansas' use of concurrencies ,

2356-500: The district approach, which cost the state millions of dollars in funds. During this period, district leaders were caught charging exorbitant taxes for road projects, and especially where districts overlapped, bankrupting farmers. The federal government decided to withhold money from states without a unified highway authority. When the General Assembly again tried to create one, the local county judges (usually profiting from

2418-465: The eastern border. For business routes and spurs , Arkansas uses the standard state highway shields with a small "B" for a business routes or a "S" for spur. The letter is raised up in an almost- exponential format. Single-digit special routes are printed on 24-by-24-inch (61 cm × 61 cm) shields, with two- and three-digit routes using the 24-by-36-inch (61 cm × 91 cm) dimensions. Some routes have directional components, and

2480-488: The exorbitant district fees) blocked the legislation. Since Arkansas was not in compliance with the Federal Aid Act of 1921, the state was declared ineligible for federal funds in 1923. Upon withdrawal of federal money in 1923, Governor Thomas McRae called a special session of the General Assembly to solve the problem. The result was Act 5, commonly known as the Harrelson Road Law. The most significant provision of

2542-411: The field, however, signs posted by municipalities sometimes lack the "Arkansas" banner and often use non-standard numbering font. Arkansas does not have any special Interstate routes. Arkansas first established a statewide state highway system in 1924. This system labeled its routes in a "letter-number number" system such as A-11. The roads were all designated as "State Road l-nn" prior to the creation of

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2604-469: The growing Northwest Arkansas region to be treated the same as the shrinking East Arkansas area. Arkansas' highway system was consistently ranked one of America's worst until the AHTD launched a $ 575 million program in 1999. The project was innovative in its funding as well, raising the diesel fuel tax by four cents and matching federal dollars with state dollars to rehab over 350 miles (560 km) of Interstate highway in 54 separate projects. The state

2666-472: The highways of Arkansas. In addition, officers share concurrent jurisdiction with both the Arkansas State Police and all county Sheriff's Offices in the state. AHP is organizationally divided into five Districts, operating 11 weigh stations and roughly 80 mobile patrol units. Both fixed weigh station facilities and patrol units are dispersed geographically around the state to ensure maximum coverage of major commercial transportation highway routes. Prior to

2728-526: The interstate system, just as the Dollarway had made Arkansas a leader decades earlier. 1957 brought the Milum Road Act, which created (at minimum) eleven additional miles of state highways in each of Arkansas' 75 counties . Arkansas still suffers from the impact of the districts. Despite the creation of a highway department and numerous attempts to keep politics away from road funding, the system

2790-481: The late nineteenth century, travelers would follow dirt paths riddled with potholes, and ruts. Bicycles would frequently stick in mud puddles. Trains never became popular in Arkansas, and instead travelers would use horse and buggy to get around the rural parts of state, and bicycles within cities. Across the nation, many cyclists began demanding better roads to use for travel, and these road enthusiasts formed groups to advance their cause. A group of Arkansas cyclists held

2852-476: The law created a state highway system, and the roads within it were eligible for federal funding to be disbursed by the Commission. The Commission gained significant influence over construction by having the ability to disburse federal aid to projects meeting its standards. The law also consolidated all construction and maintenance activities on public roads under the Highway Commission supervision, ensuring roads were built to Commission standards. The law also modified

2914-606: The most recurring being Highway 74 . All highways follow this convention in ArDOT bookkeeping, including Interstates and U.S. Routes . A route remains a single segment until it meets a route of greater importance, or often a county line. This is the procedure for all highways in Arkansas, unless an officially designated "exception" occurs, which means a concurrency does form. These occur on mile markers and on bridge designation signs, however, mile markers are uncommon in Arkansas, and bridge markers are also frequently missing. Sectioning

2976-646: The national trend of numbered routes. This numbering remains largely intact today. During this time, many motor inns, such as the Tall Pines Motor Inn in Carroll County, Arkansas , or the Crystal River Tourist Camp became favored by motorists over roadside camping. Arkansans and Americans were quickly becoming an automobile culture, and the open road became more accessible to the public. The Harrelson Road Law also eased

3038-489: The number of commissioners, how they were appointed, and term limits. The state highway system was first created on October 10, 1923, by the Commission. The group traced all roads designated as "county roads" onto an official map, which became the official State Highway System of Arkansas on December 31, 1924. This map was kept in Little Rock as the official log of routes. The U.S. Route system came to Arkansas in 1926, and Arkansas gave its state highways numbers to match

3100-552: The officers were inscribed with, "Arkansas State Highway Police". Through the years following the creation of the Patrol, the unit was transferred between various agencies, never for more than 15 years. For a time, the agency was a part of the Arkansas Revenue Department, creating a working relationship that transcended all subsequent relocations of the enforcement group. Today, all Highway Police Officers carry

3162-598: The same road was paved from district to district and from county to county. In 1917, the Arkansas General Assembly enacted Act 105, designating all public roads (except within cities) as state roads eligible to receive federal aid in response to the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 . The Act had a limited scope, small appropriation limits, and implementation was delayed nationwide due to World War I . The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 ,

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3224-443: The section number and mileage per section. Two-digit U.S. and Arkansas highways are marked with a 24-by-24-inch (61 cm × 61 cm) black sign with black numbers contained within a white outline of Arkansas, with three-digit shields using a 24-by-36-inch (61 cm × 91 cm) area. One-digit routes use MUTCD Series D, two-digit routes use MUTCD Series C, and three-digit routes use MUTCD Series B font. The exception

3286-404: The situation either. Although the need for improvement was obvious, the citizens had trouble finding funding for their goals. In December 1913, Arkansas formed the "Dollarway", which was the name of a concrete road with asphalt concrete topping. It was opened near Pine Bluff . By 1914, a segment of 23 miles (37 km) was opened, the longest paved stretch in the United States. Today, the route

3348-795: The state of Arkansas into 10 districts supervised by district offices along with 75 county area maintenance headquarters and 31 resident engineer offices located across the state. Most districts covered multiple counties . As a state agency, its central offices are located in Little Rock , which is covered by District 6. The ArDOT currently is divided into 23 divisions. Several of these divisions are administrative: Computer Services, Equipment and Procurement, Fiscal Services, Human Resources, Internal Audit, Legal, Maintenance, and Retirement. Others lead various aspects of highway construction design, construction, financing, planning or coordination. Divisions are further subdivided into Sections. The Bridge Division contains six Sections: four of bridge design engineers,

3410-417: The state, the General Assembly eschewed centralized planning and financing of transportation corridors, instead passing a law allowing local adjacent property owners to design, construct, and issue bonds for roads within their boundaries. The system led to a fractured series of roadways with inconsistent quality rather than a network, and was often driven by provincial interests, corruption, and fraud. In 1913,

3472-502: The state. These pads are not fixed weigh stations but extended portions of roadways that give AHP officers room to safely weigh and inspect trucks on highways not provided with weigh stations. Arkansas Highway Department The Arkansas Department of Transportation ( ArDOT ), formerly the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department , is a government department in the U.S. state of Arkansas . Its mission

3534-443: The systems of Delaware , North Carolina , Virginia , West Virginia , Tennessee , Missouri, and Mississippi . The first four states listed previously were the only states to have comprehensive state highway plans at the time. Arkansas decided not to begin a comprehensive program, and instead discovered that thousands of miles should no longer even receive county funding due to heavy population losses. Chief engineer Alfred Johnson

3596-599: The tax burdens of farmers significantly. Property owners wouldn't be fully relieved of financial responsibility until the Martineau Road Law of 1927, when the State of Arkansas assumed all road debt. After assuming this debt, the state added many taxes to the road users instead of the property owners. The State Road Patrol was established in 1929 to police the roads. The State Highway Commission would redesignate Arkansas highways in 1929, including an additional 1,812 miles (2,916 km). The situation would worsen with

3658-599: The third number. Major changes usually involve Arkansas's eastern border along the Mississippi River and the Missouri Bootheel . Although the Bootheel actually cuts into the state forming an acute angle, some shields represent the Bootheel as a square intrusion into the state. The state line is indeterminate along the Mississippi River , and different variants have different levels of accuracy along

3720-477: Was one of the main proponents of the Interstate System , and construction of interstate highways in Arkansas actually began before the system became official in 1956. The state's original five interstates, Interstate 30 , Interstate 40 , Interstate 55 , Interstate 430 , and Interstate 540 still exist in large part today. Arkansas had returned to the forefront of the highway world in 1962 because of

3782-433: Was passed in an effort to remedy the deficiencies of the 1917 legislation. It allowed for funds to be allocated for a state highway system, as long as a central highway authority meeting certain requirements was in charge of disbursing funds, which was not the case in Arkansas at the time. The Arkansas legislature was slow to create an authority capable of meeting the Federal Aid Act's requirements, opting instead to stay with

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3844-406: Was the longest continuous concrete pavement in the United States when completed in 1913. These routes were signed with white cut-out shapes of Arkansas, which said "State Road" in addition to the route number. In the 1950s, the Arkansas Highway Department removed the "State Road" and instead printed "ARKANSAS" on top of the shields, with a line underneath the state name. The shields were changed to

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