The Loop is a

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

around Texarkana, TX and Texarkana, AR, which are

twin cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

in the U.S. states of

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 ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Consisting of a section of Interstate 49 (I-49) in Arkansas, and Loop 151 and a section of I-369 and U.S. Route 59 (US 59) in Texas, it forms a three-quarter loop around the east, south and west sides of the city. (

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 ...

completes the circle on the north side.) The Loop is built to

Interstate Highway 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 ...

. The south side is bisected by

State Line Avenue State Line Avenue is a north–south arterial road in Texarkana, United States. It follows approximately of the Texas-Arkansas state line, and divides the cities. The street's centerline does not follow the state boundary precisely, but the ...

, which travels north–south along the state line. The entire half in Arkansas is I-49, except for a small portion which carries Arkansas Highway 151 (AR 151). US 59 has an

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

with the Loop near the southwest corner, only the south side in Texas is Loop 151. Old US 59 into Texarkana (Lake Drive) is now Texas State Highway 93 (SH 93).

Route description

The Loop consists of I-30, I-369, Loop 151, and AR 151. US 59 is concurrent with the beltway from the southwest corner of Texarkana to State Line Avenue. I-30 is the northern portion of the route, running north of both the twin cities. The eastern section of the Loop consists of I-49 and AR 151, and runs from US 59/ 71 north of I-30 to an interchange with I-49 on the southeast side of Texarkana. The southern section of the loop consists of Loop 151 and AR 151. It runs from I-49 in southeast Texarkana to I-369 in southwest Texarkana. The western section of the loop is formed by I-369. I-369 continues north on the western side of Texarkana to a

stack interchange A directional interchange, colloquially known as a stack interchange, is a type of grade-separated junction between two controlled-access highways that allows for free-flowing movement to and from all directions of traffic. These interchanges e ...

with I-30 in northwest Texarkana.

History

Previously in Texas, the "151" designation was originally used for Spur 151, which was designated on May 18, 1944, from Denison to the southern boundary of the Federal Government Property. Spur 151 was cancelled on May 21, 1946, and instead replaced by SH 75A, which in turn became SH 91 on December 21, 1994. Loop 151 was designated on August 27, 1958, from I-30 to

US 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a route extend ...

. On January 20, 1966, Loop 151 extended south to US 59. On December 21, 1982, Loop 151 was transferred to US 59, so Loop 151 was reassigned to the old route of US 59. On February 7, 1985, Loop 151 was transferred to SH 93, so Loop 151 was reused for the route from US 59 to Arkansas, its current route. In fall 2000, the

Arkansas State Highway and Transportation 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 is to provide a safe, efficient, aesthetically pleasing and env ...

had submitted its portion of the loop as Interstate 130 (I-130). However, the

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway A highway is any public or private road ...

denied the part from US 71 west to Texas, as "the state of Texas has not submitted a companion application for a suitable terminus in Texas", but the piece from US 71 north to I-30 was approved on December 8, 2000, as Future I-130. Once it was 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 ...

and added to the

Interstate Highway System 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 ...

by the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

, it was to be signed as I-130. Arkansas used the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a Stimulus (economics), stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed ...

(ARRA) funds to pave the final segment of future I-130, from the Arkansas Boulevard interchange to a new freeway-to-freeway interchange with I-30. (Though both are labeled "Hwy. 71" here, as described #030325 is AR 245/future I-130 & I-49, while #030354 is AR 549/future I-49.) Once this section was opened, the only remaining requirement to become I-130 would have been to upgrade the

at-grade intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections ar ...

with 19th Street to a full interchange; the right-of-way for this was reserved years ago. However, with I-49 also pending completion between Texarkana and

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

(including a segment in Arkansas also being built with ARRA funds), future I-130 was instead made part of I-49 by summer 2014. In May 2013, the final designated portion of AR 245 was removed from service and re-designated Four States Fair Parkway. AR 245 was the former designation of Arkansas's section of the loop. Interstate 369 was designated on May 30, and signs of the highway were installed on September 23, 2013.

Exit list

References

{{3di, 30

Texarkana The Texarkana metropolitan statistical area (MSA), as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is a two-county region anchored by the Twin cities (geographical proximity), twin cities of Texarkana, Texas (population 37,33 ...

Roads in Arkansas Roads in Texas Loop Texarkana, Arkansas Texarkana, Texas Freeways in the United States Freeways in Texas Transportation in Miller County, Arkansas Transportation in Bowie County, Texas Interstate 30

U.S. Route 59