Interstate 40 in Arkansas
Encyclopedia
Interstate 40 is an east–west Interstate Highway that has a 284.69 miles (458.16 km) section in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 connecting sections in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 to Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. The route enters Arkansas from the west just north of the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...

 near Dora
Dora, Arkansas
Dora is an unincorporated community in Crawford County in the western part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. It is located approximately 3 miles west of Van Buren on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border along Interstate 40. Dora shares its ZIP code and other municipal services with Van Buren.The community...

. It travels eastward across the northern portion of the state connecting the cities of Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...

, Clarksville
Clarksville, Arkansas
Clarksville is a city in Johnson County, Arkansas, United States. The population was approximately 9,300 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Johnson County.. Clarksville is nestled between the Arkansas River and the foot hills of the Ozark Mountains and Interstate 40 and US Hwy 64...

, Russellville
Russellville, Arkansas
Russellville is the county seat and largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 27,920, according to the 2010 Census. It is home to Arkansas Tech University and Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant...

, Morrilton
Morrilton, Arkansas
Morrilton is a city in Conway County, Arkansas, United States, northwest of Little Rock. The town was home to Harding College, now Harding University of Searcy, Arkansas, for about a decade in the 1920s and 1930s. The population was 6,550 at the 2000 census...

, Conway
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...

, Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

, Forrest City
Forrest City, Arkansas
Forrest City is a city in and the county seat of St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who used the location as a campsite for a construction crew completing a railroad between Memphis and Little Rock, shortly after the Civil War. The...

, and West Memphis
West Memphis, Arkansas
West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 27,666 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 28,181 in 2005, and 31,329 in 2011 ranking it as the state's 11th largest city, behind Hot Springs...

. I-40 continues into Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 heading through Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

. The highway has major junctions with Interstate 540
Interstate 540 (Arkansas)
Interstate 540 in Arkansas is a spur of Interstate 40 between Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas; the Northwest Arkansas segment is proposed to become part of an expanded Interstate 49. I-540 provides an Interstate Highway path between Fayetteville and Little Rock via Interstate 40. This links the...

 at Alma
Alma, Arkansas
Alma is a city in Crawford County located in the western part of U.S. state of Arkansas, along I-40 about 13 miles from the Oklahoma border. Alma's population is 4,734, making it the sixth largest city in the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, the main highway connecting to Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...

 and Bentonville
Bentonville, Arkansas
Bentonville, Arkansas is a city in Northwest Bahamas, and county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States The population was 35,301 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Interstate 30 in Little Rock, the Interstate linking south to Texarkana and Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

, and Interstate 55 to Blytheville
Blytheville, Arkansas
Blytheville is the largest city in and one of the two county seats of Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 15,620 at the 2010 census....

.

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
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

 Interstate 40 generally follows U.S. Route 64
U.S. Route 64 in Arkansas
U.S. Route 64 is a U.S. highway running from Teec Nos Pos, Arizona east to Nags Head, North Carolina. In the U.S. state of Arkansas, the route runs from the Oklahoma border in Fort Smith east to the Tennessee border in Memphis. The route passes through several cities and towns, including Fort...

 through the Ozark Mountains. East of Little Rock the route generally follows the routing of U.S. Route 70 until Tennessee.

Oklahoma to Little Rock

I-40 enters Arkansas from Oklahoma at Dora
Dora, Arkansas
Dora is an unincorporated community in Crawford County in the western part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. It is located approximately 3 miles west of Van Buren on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border along Interstate 40. Dora shares its ZIP code and other municipal services with Van Buren.The community...

 in Crawford County. It heads east into Van Buren
Van Buren, Arkansas
Van Buren is the second largest city in the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area and the county seat of Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. The city is located directly northeast of Fort Smith at the Interstate 40 - Interstate 540 junction...

, giving access to Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...

 as well across the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...

 to the south. Access is primarily via Interstate 540
Interstate 540 (Arkansas)
Interstate 540 in Arkansas is a spur of Interstate 40 between Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas; the Northwest Arkansas segment is proposed to become part of an expanded Interstate 49. I-540 provides an Interstate Highway path between Fayetteville and Little Rock via Interstate 40. This links the...

/US 71, which was built as a southern spur to Fort Smith in the 1970s. I-40 overlaps with its spur and US 71, forming a concurrency
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

 for 5.8 miles (9.3 km) until the newer northern alignment of I-540/US 71 breaks north to Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...

, Springdale
Springdale, Arkansas
As of the census of 2010, there were 69,797 people, 22,805 households, and 16,640 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 64.7% White, 0.82% Black or African American, 1.8% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 5.7% Pacific Islander, 22% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more...

, Bentonville
Bentonville, Arkansas
Bentonville, Arkansas is a city in Northwest Bahamas, and county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States The population was 35,301 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Rogers
Rogers, Arkansas
Rogers is a suburban city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city has a population of 55,964. The city is located in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Area, in the northwest corner of the state.-History:...

 and its northern terminus in Bella Vista
Bella Vista, Arkansas
Bella Vista is a city in Benton County, Arkansas. It previously was the largest unincorporated community in the state of Arkansas; however, in November 2006 it voted to incorporate and form a municipality. The Bella Vista Property Owners Association estimates that there are currently 24,000...

. The route continues to parallel US 64
U.S. Route 64 in Arkansas
U.S. Route 64 is a U.S. highway running from Teec Nos Pos, Arizona east to Nags Head, North Carolina. In the U.S. state of Arkansas, the route runs from the Oklahoma border in Fort Smith east to the Tennessee border in Memphis. The route passes through several cities and towns, including Fort...

 into the Ozark Mountains
The Ozarks
The Ozarks are a physiographic and geologic highland region of the central United States. It covers much of the southern half of Missouri and an extensive portion of northwestern and north central Arkansas...

, entering Franklin County and providing access to the Pig Trail Scenic Byway
Arkansas Highway 23
Arkansas Highway 23 is a north–south state highway in north Arkansas. The route runs from US 71 near Elm Park north to the Missouri state line through Ozark and Eureka Springs. Between AR 16 at Brashears and Interstate 40 north of Ozark , Highway 23 winds through the Ozark National Forest and is...

 in Ozark
Ozark, Arkansas
Ozark is a city in Franklin County, Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Franklin County. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,525 at the 2000 census, making Ozark the ninth largest municipality in the metro area...

. Interstate 40 runs through Clarksville
Clarksville, Arkansas
Clarksville is a city in Johnson County, Arkansas, United States. The population was approximately 9,300 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Johnson County.. Clarksville is nestled between the Arkansas River and the foot hills of the Ozark Mountains and Interstate 40 and US Hwy 64...

 where it has a junction with US 64, passes over part of Lake Dardanelle, and meets Highway 7 in Russellville
Russellville, Arkansas
Russellville is the county seat and largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 27,920, according to the 2010 Census. It is home to Arkansas Tech University and Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant...

. I 40 continues to the east through Morrilton
Morrilton, Arkansas
Morrilton is a city in Conway County, Arkansas, United States, northwest of Little Rock. The town was home to Harding College, now Harding University of Searcy, Arkansas, for about a decade in the 1920s and 1930s. The population was 6,550 at the 2000 census...

 before turning south to Conway
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...

 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
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

. The highway also has a junction with US 64 and US 65 Business before passing Lake Conway
Lake Conway
Lake Conway, a lake in Arkansas, is the largest reservoir made by a game and fish commission in the United States. It is located just a few miles southeast of Conway, Arkansas.-Overview:...

 and entering Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

.

Little Rock to Tennessee

Now in Pulaski County, I-40 heads towards the south-southeast as it heads to the town of Maumelle
Maumelle, Arkansas
Maumelle is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States and a suburb of Little Rock. Founded by Jess Odom with federal assistance from the Urban Growth and New Community Development Act, it is a master-planned community....

. It continues towards this direction until it reaches Interstate 430
Interstate 430
Interstate 430 is a long Interstate highway in Pulaski County, Arkansas that bypasses the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock. I-430 begins at an interchange southwest of Downtown Little Rock with I-30, U.S. Route 67 and U.S. 70 and travels north to cross the Arkansas River and...

, 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
Interstate 30
Interstate 30 is an Interstate Highway in the southern United States. I-30 runs from Interstate 20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, Texas, and Texarkana, Texas, to Interstate 40 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The route parallels U.S. Route 67 except for the portion west of...

 as well as concurrent routes US 67
U.S. Route 67 in Arkansas
U.S. Route 67 in Arkansas runs from Texarkana to the Missouri state line in Northeastern Arkansas.-Route description:U.S. Route 67 runs parallel to Interstate 30 from Texarkana to Benton, where it then runs concurrent with I-30 to North Little Rock. It then runs east, concurrent with I-40, for...

/US 167 (US 65 turns south at this intersection, breaking the concurrency formed in Conway). I-40/US 67/US 167 continues east for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) before US 67/US 167 turn 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. Interstate 40 continues to the east to intersect Interstate 440
Interstate 440
Interstate 440 may refer to:*Interstate 440 , a partial loop near Little Rock*Interstate 440 , a loop route in Raleigh*Interstate 440 , now part of I-44 in Oklahoma City*Interstate 440 , a loop in Nashville...

/AR 440 before entering Lonoke County. Passing through Lonoke
Lonoke, Arkansas
Lonoke is the second most populous city in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States, and serves as its county seat. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,553...

, forming an overlap with US 63 in Hazen
Hazen, Arkansas
Hazen is a city in Prairie County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,637 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hazen is located at ....

, and meeting US 49/AR 17 in Brinkley
Brinkley, Arkansas
Brinkley is the most populous city in Monroe County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 3,940 at the 2000 census.It is located almost exactly half-way between Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee; the city has used the slogan "We'll Meet You Half-Way" in some of its advertising...

 the route runs through rural Arkansas with straight alignments and relatively few junctions. Upon entering St. Francis County Interstate 40 runs northeast to Forrest City
Forrest City, Arkansas
Forrest City is a city in and the county seat of St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who used the location as a campsite for a construction crew completing a railroad between Memphis and Little Rock, shortly after the Civil War. The...

 where it intersects Highway 1
Arkansas Highway 1
Arkansas Highway 1 is a north–south state highway in east Arkansas. The route of runs from McGehee to Clay County and the Missouri state line. One of the original 1926 state highways, Highway 1 has remained very close to its original routing. The highway contains an overlap of approximately with...

. Continuing northeast, I-40 enters Crittenden County where it intersects US 79 at Shearerville and enters West Memphis
West Memphis, Arkansas
West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 27,666 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 28,181 in 2005, and 31,329 in 2011 ranking it as the state's 11th largest city, behind Hot Springs...

.

The highway continues to the northeast to a interchange with Interstate 55, which form a concurrency east for 3.1 miles (5 km). I-40 continues east onto the Hernando De Soto Bridge
Hernando de Soto Bridge
The Panda Bridge is a through arch bridge carrying Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee...

 over the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. The Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 border is at the midpoint of the river, and Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

 begins at the east side of the bridge.

Route description

County Location #
Exit number
An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore....

Destinations Notes
Crawford 1 - Fort Smith, Dora
Dora, Arkansas
Dora is an unincorporated community in Crawford County in the western part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. It is located approximately 3 miles west of Van Buren on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border along Interstate 40. Dora shares its ZIP code and other municipal services with Van Buren.The community...

Eastbound exit is in Oklahoma and is signed as exit 330
Van Buren 3 Lee Creek Road
5
7 West end of I-540/U.S. 71 overlap
Alma 12 East end of I-540 overlap
13 East end of U.S. 71 overlap
Mulberry 20 Dyer
Dyer, Arkansas
Dyer is a town in Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 585 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dyer is located at ....

, Mulberry
Mulberry, Arkansas
Mulberry is a city in Crawford County, Arkansas, United States and part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,627 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mulberry is located at ....

24
Franklin Ozark 35
37
Wiederkehr Village 41
Johnson 47
Clarksville 55
57 Clarksville
Clarksville, Arkansas
Clarksville is a city in Johnson County, Arkansas, United States. The population was approximately 9,300 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Johnson County.. Clarksville is nestled between the Arkansas River and the foot hills of the Ozark Mountains and Interstate 40 and US Hwy 64...

58
Lamar 64
Knoxville 67
Pope London 74
78
Russellville 81 (Arkansas Ave.)
83 (Weir Road)
84
Pottsville 88
Atkins 94
Conway 101 Blackwell
Morrilton 107
108
Plumerville 112
Menifee 117 Menifee
Menifee, Arkansas
Menifee is a town in Conway County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 311 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Menifee is located at ....

Faulkner Conway 124 , Wooster As of May 1, 2008 this exit now includes on-ramps and off-ramps in both directions.
125 West end of U.S. 65 overlap
127
129 Signed as exits 129A (east) and 129B (north/west) westbound
Mayflower 135
Pulaski 142
North Little Rock
North Little Rock, Arkansas
the city was 62.55% White, 33.98% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.18% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races...

147
148
150 Burns Park
Burns Park (North Little Rock, Arkansas)
Burns Park is a park in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The park features two golf courses, Funland Amusement Park, sports facilities and a camping area....

152 Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
152 Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
153A
153B East end of U.S. 65 overlap; west end of U.S. 67/U.S. 167 overlap
154 Lakewood Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
155 East end of U.S. 67/U.S. 167 overlap
156 Springhill Drive — Baptist Health Medical Center-NLR
157
159
161
Lonoke 165 Kerr Road
169
Lonoke 175
Carlisle 183
Prairie Hazen 193 West end of U.S. 63 overlap
202
Monroe Brinkley 216
St. Francis Wheatley 221
Palestine 233
239
Forrest City 241 Signed as exits 241A (south) and 241B (north)
242
247
256
260
Crittenden Jennette 265
West Memphis 271
275
276 Eastbound exit only
277 , St. Louis East end of U.S. 63 overlap; west end of I-55/U.S. 61/U.S. 64 overlap
278
279A Ingram Boulevard
279B East end of I-55/U.S. 61/U.S. 64 overlap; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
280 Club Road
281 Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
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