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Interstate 555

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Interstate 555 marker
Interstate 555
Map
I-555 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-55
Maintained by ArDOT
Length49.8 mi[1] (80.1 km)
ExistedMarch 11, 2016 (2016-03-11)[2][3]–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South end I-55 / US 61 / AR 77 in Turrell
Major intersections US 49 in Jonesboro
North end US 63 / AR 18 / AR 91 in Jonesboro
Location
CountryUnited States
StateArkansas
CountiesCrittenden, Poinsett, Craighead
Highway system
AR 549 AR 612

Interstate 555 (I-555) is an Interstate Highway that connects Turrell, Arkansas, at I-55 to Jonesboro at Highway 91 (AR 91). Formerly known as U.S. Highway 63 (US 63), the highway was upgraded in the early 21st century to Interstate Highway standards. While I-555 is the second Interstate with all three digits the same to exist, it is the first to be signed as an Interstate. (I-444 in Oklahoma, which was the first highway, is unsigned.)

Route description

I-555 exit 44 signage

The road provides a limited-access highway corridor between Memphis, Tennessee, and Arkansas's fifth-largest city, Jonesboro.

I-555 begins at an interchange of I-55, US 61, and AR 77 in Turrell. I-55 goes south to Memphis, Tennessee. The road parallel to the Interstate, AR 463, is a former alignment of US 63. I-555 passes through farmlands. It passes through Gilmore. Then, it passes through Tyronza and Marked Tree. The section between Tyronza and Marked Tree is also used for farm equipment vehicles to drive on. Next, it passes through Trumann before entering Jonesboro. It briefly has an overlap with US 49. I-555 ends in Jonesboro at an interchange with AR 91; from there, the road continues as US 63.

History

The I-555 route was approved on January 10, 2001, consisting of upgrading the section of US 63 between Turrell to Jonesboro to Interstate standards. A few mainline bridges between Marked Tree and Turrell are from the original two-lane US 63 and are narrower than current Interstate Highway standards, but I-530 was approved in 1999 despite having a similar issue.

The last requirement to formally designate this route as I-555 was the construction of a parallel access road across a floodway between Payneway and Marked Tree, so that farm equipment would no longer have to use US 63 to cross the floodway. To date, no crossing has ever been built, but an exemption of agricultural vehicles was added to I-555 between Marked Tree and Payneway. The exemption was introduced by US Representative Rick Crawford and passed as part of the House Transportation Bill on December 4, 2015. It was announced in December 2015 that I-555 would be officially designated in the spring of 2016.[4] The road was officially dedicated on March 11, 2016, in Jonesboro.

Exit list

CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
CrittendenTurrell0.00.01

I-55 / US 61 south / AR 77 south – Turrell, Blytheville, Memphis TN
I-55 exits 23A-B; signed as exits 1A (I-55/US 61 south) and 1B (I-55 north); US 61 north and AR 77 south continue past interchange; southern end of AR 77 overlap.
Gilmore1.93.12
AR 77 north – Gilmore
Northern end of AR 77 overlap
Poinsett7.111.47 AR 135 – Lepanto
Tyronza8.714.08 AR 118 – Tyronza
Marked Tree13.221.213
US 63B north / AR 149 – Marked Tree, Earle
14.222.914
US 63B south (AR 14 east) / AR 75 – Marked Tree, Lepanto, Parkin
South end of AR 14 overlap
18.229.318
AR 14 west – Payneway, Harrisburg
North end of AR 14 overlap
24.038.624 AR 463 – Trumann
Trumann28.746.229 AR 69 – Trumann
CraigheadBay34.655.735 AR 463 – Bay
Jonesboro36.258.336Nestlé Road
39.162.939 AR 18S (Commerce Drive)
40.364.940

US 63B north / AR 463 south (Nettleton Avenue)
41.767.142
US 49 north / AR 1 (Stadium Boulevard/Red Wolf Boulevard) / Caraway Road – Paragould
South end of US 49 overlap, former AR 173
43.469.844 AR 1B (Harrisburg Road)
44.872.145


US 49 south / US 63 south (Southwest Drive) / AR 18 east
North end of US 49 overlap; south end of US 63/AR 18 overlaps
45.873.746
AR 226 west (Wood Springs Road) / Strawfloor Road
47.175.847Washington Avenue
49.479.549
AR 91 (Dan Avenue / AR 18 west) / US 63 north
North end of freeway; north end of AR 18 overlap; northern terminus of I-555
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ "Interstate 555" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  2. ^ Reaves, Johnathan (March 9, 2016). "I-555 to Be Dedicated Friday in Jonesboro". Jonesboro, Arkansas: KASU-FM. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  3. ^ "40 Years in the Making, I-555 in Arkansas Becoming Reality". Little Rock, Arkansas: KATV-TV. Associated Press. March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  4. ^ "Highway Commission Approves I-555 Designation for Section of US 63". Times Record. Arkansas News Bureau. December 3, 2015.
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