U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a north-south U.S. highway that begins in

Ruston, LA Ruston is a small city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2020 population was 22,166. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex region and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Ruston is the prin ...

. In the US state 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 ...

the highway enters the state from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

concurrent with

US 167 U.S. Route 167 is a north-south United States Highway within the U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas. It runs for from Ash Flat, Arkansas at U.S. Route 62/ U.S. Route 412 to Abbeville, Louisiana at Louisiana Highway 14. It goes through th ...

in Junction City. The highway runs north through the eastern part of the state, serving rural areas of

South Arkansas South Arkansas lies within the southernmost portions of Arkansas Gulf Coastal Plain and Delta regions. It encompasses the lower 15 counties of the state. History In the 1920s, nationwide attention focused on South Arkansas when the Smackover Fi ...

and the

Arkansas Delta The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...

, as well as Pine Bluff and Jonesboro. The highway exits the state at

Mammoth Spring Mammoth Spring is a large, first magnitude karst spring that arises in the Ozark Plateau within the state of Arkansas. It is the largest spring in Arkansas and the third-largest spring within the Ozark Plateau region behind Big Spring and Gr ...

traveling into

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 ...

Route description

U.S. 63 enters into Arkansas from Louisiana concurrent with

in Junction City. Just a few miles into the state, the two highways run on the eastern edge of

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

as an expressway. US 167 splits here, traveling towards

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

. US 63 bypasses the town of

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

, crossing

US 270 U.S. Route 270 (US 270) is a spur of U.S. Route 70, US 70. It travels for from Liberal, Kansas at U.S. Route 54, US 54 and U.S. Route 83, US 83 to White Hall, Arkansas at Interstate 530 (I-530) and U.S. Route 65, US&n ...

. US 63 passes through the rural Cleveland County, then enters into Jefferson County. In Jefferson County, US 63 serves the city of Pine Bluff. US 63 bypasses the city, running on the last 3 miles of I-530. Also in Pine Bluff, the highway overlaps 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 ...

and

US 79 U.S. Route 79 (US 79) is a United States highway in the Southern United States. The route is officially considered and signed as a north–south highway, but its path is actually more of a diagonal northeast–southwest highway. The highway's n ...

. US 63 runs northeast with US 79 until

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, where the highway runs north to Hazen. Just north of Hazen, US 63 overlaps with

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway in the southeastern and southwestern portions of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and ...

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 ...

. In Brinkley, US 63 begins an overlap with US 49 north to Jonesboro. US 63 leaves US 49 and follows

I-555 Interstate 555 (I-555) is an Interstate Highway connecting I-55 in Turrell with Highway 91 in Jonesboro. It provides a complete freeway corridor between Jonesboro, Arkansas's fifth-largest city, and Memphis, Tennessee. Formerly kno ...

until I-555 terminates, together serving as a bypass for southern Jonesboro. In Hoxie, US 63 intersects with

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 ...

. Northwest of here near

Portia Portia may refer to: Biology * ''Portia'' (spider), a genus of jumping spiders *Portia tree, a plant native to Polynesia *''Anaea troglodyta'' or Portia, a brush-footed butterfly Other uses *Portia (given name), the history and usage of the give ...

the highway overlaps with

US 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of th ...

. In Imboden,

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 ...

joins this overlap. In

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, ...

, US 63 leaves the two highways. In

, US 63 crosses into

, traveling to West Plains.

History

Portions of U.S. 63 in northern Arkansas have their origins in the work of the Ozark Trails Association, which established a network of roads in northern Arkansas and southern

beginning in the 1910s. A portion of roadway was mapped out in Arkansas between Mammoth Spring 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 ...

, and built c. 1918–22. This roadway was eventually designated Highway A-7, and was later designated U.S. 63. Some of the original infrastructure of this early construction has survived the 1927 Mississippi flood and the realignment of U.S. 63 in 1967. Northwest of Tyronza, Old U.S. 63 runs for about 1 miles of original concrete pavement; it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2009. Four bridges built in the 1920s (three before the 1927 flood and one after, are also on the National Register; three southeast of Marked Tree, and one southeast of Tyronza. On March 11, 2016,

Interstate 555 Interstate 555 (I-555) is an Interstate Highway connecting Interstate 55 in Arkansas, I-55 in Turrell, Arkansas, Turrell with Arkansas Highway 91, Highway 91 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Jonesboro. It provides a complete freeway corridor be ...

(I-555) was dedicated after a new resolution passed in December 2015 allowing farm equipment to use the roadway when it became an interstate. In April 2019, ArDOT submitted an application to

AASHTO The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test quality control, protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction through ...

to reroute US 63

concurrent 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 ...

with US 49 between Brinkley and Jonesboro, eliminating the concurrencies with I-55 and I-555, and part of the concurrency with I-40. The rerouting took effect in 2021. However, a small section of US 63 in Jonesboro was redesignated as I-555 on November 23 of the same year, making US 63 partly concurrent with I-555 again.

Major intersections

References

External links

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links