Interstate 40 (I-40) is an east–west

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

that has a section in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

, connecting

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 ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. The route enters Arkansas from the west just north of the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

near Dora. It travels eastward across the northern portion of the state, connecting the cities of Fort Smith, Clarksville, Russellville, Morrilton,

Conway Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway Townshi ...

North Little Rock North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the twin city of Little Rock. In the late nineteenth century, it was annexed by Little Ro ...

Forrest City 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, a notable Confederate war hero who later became the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Shortly ...

, and

West Memphis West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 24,520 at the 2020 census, ranking it as the state's 20th largest city. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, and is located directly acro ...

. I-40 continues into

, heading through

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

. The highway has major junctions with I-540 at Van Buren (the main highway connecting to Fort Smith),

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 ...

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...

(the main highway connecting to

Fayetteville Fayetteville may refer to: *Fayetteville, Alabama *Fayetteville, Arkansas ** The Fayetteville Formation *Fayetteville, Georgia *Fayetteville, Illinois *Fayetteville, Indiana *Fayetteville, Washington County, Indiana *Fayetteville, Missouri *Fayette ...

and Bentonville),

I-30 i30, I30, i-30 or I-30 may refer to: *Interstate 30, an Interstate Highway in the southern United States *, an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine during World War II * (1940-1968), a Royal Australian Navy ''Tribal''-class destroyer *I30, a 9000 serv ...

and

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 ...

, and

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) 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, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

to Blytheville. For the majority of its routing through Arkansas, I-40 follows the historic alignment of two separate U.S. Highways. From Oklahoma to Little Rock, I-40 generally follows U.S. Highway 64 through the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

. East of Little Rock, the route generally follows the routing of US 70 until the Tennessee state line.

Route description

Oklahoma to North Little Rock

I-40 enters Arkansas from Oklahoma at Dora in

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

. It heads east into Van Buren, giving access to Fort Smith as well across the

to the south. Access is primarily via I-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 Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

until the alignment of

breaks north to

, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, and its northern Arkansas terminus in Bella Vista, with US 71 breaking away shortly afterward at another interchange. The route continues to parallel US 64 into the

by entering Franklin County and providing access to the

Pig Trail Scenic Byway The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an Omnivore, omnivorous, Domestication, domesticated, even-toed ungulate, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of ...

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cov ...

. I-40 runs through Clarksville (where it has a junction with US 64), passes over part of

Lake Dardanelle Lake Dardanelle is a major reservoir on the Arkansas River in Arkansas, USA. and is an integral part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS), which allows barge transportation from the Mississippi River to the Tulsa Port o ...

, and meets Highway 7 (AR 7) in Russellville. I-40 continues to the east through Morrilton before turning south to

and

Faulkner County Faulkner County is a county located in the Central Arkansas region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 123,498, making it the fifth most populous of Arkansas's 75 counties. The county seat and largest city ...

. In Conway, I-40 forms a concurrency with US 65 at exit 125, which continues until exit 153A in

. The highway also has another junction with US 64 and U.S. Highway 65 Business (US 65B) in Conway before passing

Lake Conway Lake Conway is a lake in Arkansas. Lake Conway is the largest lake ever created by a state wildlife commission and the first to be created by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Lake Conway is located directly east of Mayflower, Arkansas, and ...

and entering the

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

metropolitan area.

North Little Rock to Tennessee

Now in Pulaski County, I-40 heads toward the south-southeast as it heads to the town of Maumelle. It continues toward this direction until it reaches

I-430 Interstate 430 (I-430) is a Interstate Highway System, Interstate highway in Pulaski County, Arkansas, Pulaski County, Arkansas, that bypasses the cities of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas, North Little R ...

, which provides access along the westside of Little Rock. Further southeast near the Arkansas River, the route has a high volume interchange as the northern terminus of

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 before the latter two routes branch off to the northeast with

. From this point onward, I-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 I-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 until meeting US 49/ AR 17 in

Brinkley Brinkley may refer to: People * Brinkley (surname) Places * Brinkley, Arkansas, U.S., a city ** Brinkley School District, the city's school district ** Brinkley High School, the city's high school * Brinkley, Nottinghamshire, England, a haml ...

. Upon entering St. Francis County, I-40 runs northeast to

, where it intersects with AR 1. Continuing northeast, I-40 enters Crittenden County, where it intersects with US 79 at Shearerville and enters

. The highway continues to the northeast to an interchange with

, and the two routes form a concurrency east for . I-40 continues east onto the

Hernando de Soto Bridge The Hernando de Soto Bridge is a tied-arch bridge carrying Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The design is a continuous cantilevered cable-stayed steel through arch, with beds ...

over the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. The

border is at the midpoint of the river, and

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, begins at the eastside of the bridge.

Exit list

References

External links