U.S. Highway 412 (US 412) runs east-to-west through northern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

for about . The route begins at the

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

state line near Siloam Springs, and ends at the

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

state line east of Paragould.

Route description

Oklahoma to Alpena

US 412 continues from Oklahoma, and heads directly towards the east. The route travels through the town of Siloam Springs, intersecting AR 16 and AR 59 along the way. The route continues to head east into the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area, mainly traveling through the city of Springdale. The route intersects

I-49 Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway with multiple segments. The original portion is entirely within Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from I-220 in Shreveport to the Arkansas state line, three ne ...

, and US 71B, sharing a short concurrency with it. Afterwards, the route travels into the

Boston Mountains The Boston Mountains is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Part of the Ozarks, the Boston Mountains are a deeply dissected plateau. The ecoregion is steepe ...

, intersecting the communities of Hindsville and

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

along the way. The route continues through the mountains and is very rural. It reaches

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) is an east–west United States Highway in the southern and northeastern United States. It runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian bo ...

in Alpena. This would be the western end of the concurrency with US 62.

US 62/63 concurrency

US 412 shares a concurrency with US 62 for about , beginning in Alpena, and ending in Imboden. During this time, the routes intersect several communities and many highways along the way, traveling through the cities of Harrison, Yellville, Mountain Home, and Cherokee Village. Both routes also share a concurrency with

US 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of I ...

for about , beginning north of Harrison, and ending in Bellefonte. US 62/412 also intersect

US 63 U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south United States Highway primarily in the Midwestern and Southern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 (I-20) in Ruston, Louisiana; the northern terminus is at US&nbs ...

Hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, ...

, and also share a concurrency with the route for about . US 412 also shares a concurrency with US 63 beginning in

, and ending just east of Portia. US 62 is still concurrent with both routes during this time, however, the east end of the US 62 concurrency ends at Imboden, about before the east end of the US 63 concurrency. US 412 splits apart from US 63 just east of Portia, and continues to head east towards Walnut Ridge.

Portia to Missouri

US 412 continues directly east, intersecting the communities of Walnut Ridge and Paragould, and several highways along the way, including

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in two segments. It runs through Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. I-57 parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route north of I-55. The Interstate ...

US 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas Presidio is a c ...

in Walnut Ridge, and US 49 in Paragould. The route continues into the

Missouri Bootheel The Missouri Bootheel is a Salient (geography), salient (protrusion) located in the southeasternmost part of the U.S. state of Missouri, extending south of 36°30′ north latitude, so called because its shape in relation to the rest of the sta ...

just east of Paragould. The entire route in Arkansas, including concurrencies, is about long.

History

US Route 412 was initially built in 1987, as a route that spanned from

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

, to

Walnut Ridge, Arkansas Walnut Ridge is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 5,098 at the United States Census's 2019 estimate. Walnut Ridge lies immediately north of Hoxie. The two towns form a contiguous urban ...

. In 1988, US 412 was extended all the way to

, following numerous other highways that have previously been built.

Arkansas Highway 68

US 412 between the

state line and Alpena was formerly known as Arkansas Highway 68 until 1988 when US 412 was extended to Oklahoma. The route began at OK 33 at the Oklahoma state line near Siloam Springs (now US 412), and ended at

in Alpena.

Future

In Springdale, a bypass will be constructed to serve as a bypass for US 412. A portion between I-49 and AR 112 opened April 30, 2018, and is currently designated as AR 612. On May 20, 2021, Senator

Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe (; ; November 17, 1934 – July 9, 2024) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

of Oklahoma introduced legislation to designate the portion of US-412 between

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico–Uni ...

Noble County, Oklahoma Noble County is a County (United States), county located in the north central part of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 10,924. Its county seat is Perry, Oklahoma, Perry. It was part of the Cherokee ...

, and I-49 in Springdale as a future Interstate. The bill, titled the "Future Interstate in Oklahoma and Arkansas Act" (), was cosponsored by senators

John Boozman John Nichols Boozman ( ; born December 10, 1950) is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. repre ...

and

Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician and United States Army, Army veteran serving since 2015 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Arkansas. A memb ...

, both from Arkansas. The senators' stated reasons for seeking an Interstate designation along US-412 included encouraging economic development, expanding opportunities for employment in the region, making travel safer and shipping easier, attracting new businesses, and better connecting rural and urban communities. Other supporters of the measure include the mayor of Tulsa, G. T. Bynum, and the heads of both ArDOT and the

Oklahoma Department of Transportation The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an government agency, agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Se ...

(ODOT). In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, part of the route is designated as a future interstate. The bill says “the route that generally follows United States Route 412 from its intersection with Interstate Route 35 in Noble County, Oklahoma, passing through Tulsa, Oklahoma, to its intersection with Interstate Route 49 in Springdale, Arkansas.” Interstate 42 (I-42) was the proposed designation but was withdrawn. However, ArDOT and ODOT later resubmitted the application to the Spring 2024 meeting; AASHTO approved the route as Interstate 42, conditional on it being upgraded to

Interstate standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway t ...

Major intersections

References

External links