Arkansas Highway 103

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For the highway segment with this designation between 1926 and 1937, see Arkansas Highway 123.

Highway 103

AR 103 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ArDOT
Existedc. 1928[1][2][3]–present
Section 1
Length21.773 mi[4] (35.040 km)
South end I-40 in Clarksville
North end AR 215
Section 2
Length35.281 mi[5][6] (56.779 km)
South end AR 43 at the Buffalo National River
North end AR 21 at Oak Grove
Location
CountryUnited States
StateArkansas
CountiesJohnson, Newton, Carroll
Highway system
← AR 102→ AR 104

Highway 103 (AR 103, Ark. 103, and Hwy. 103) is a designation for two north–south state highways in Arkansas. One segment begins in Clarksville in the Arkansas River Valley and runs north to the Ozark National Forest. A second route runs through a sparsely populated segment of the Ozark Mountains between the Buffalo National River and Highway 21 near the Missouri state line.

The northern segment was created in 1928 and was designated as Arkansas Highway 21E (AR 21E) in the 1950s. Upon restoration as AR 103, the route saw extensions in 1957, 1960, and 1973. The second segment began as AR 123 in 1926 but was renumbered to AR 103 in a 1937 swap. This route was extended in the 1940s, 1963, and 1965, and truncated in 2024. Both routes are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT).

Route description

ArDOT maintains both segments of AR 103 as part of the state highway system. Excluding concurrencies, the highest traffic of either segment was immediately north of I-40 in Clarksville, estimated at 14,000 vehicles per day on average in 2021, dropping as it travels north, including 5,000 VPD on the University of the Ozarks campus to 740 north of Harmony. The northern segment was estimated at 280 VPD in rural Newton County, with counts peaking north of Green Forest at 1600 VPD in 2021.[7] For reference, roads under 400 VPD are classified as "very low volume local road" by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).[8]

No segment of AR 103 is part of the National Highway System (NHS),[9] a network of roads important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.[10]

Clarksville to Ozark National Forest

Highway 103 runs north through the University of the Ozarks campus in Clarksville

Highway 103 begins in Clarksville at Interstate 40 (I-40), exit 58 and runs north. Now entering the central part of the city, Highway 103 becomes Rogers Avenue and has an intersection with Highway 123 before meeting US Highway 64 in downtown Clarksville.[11] Now forming a 0.42 miles (0.68 km) concurrency westbound with US 64, the highways pass the Dunlap House and Johnson County Courthouse, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).[9][12] The concurrency ends when Highway 103 turns north and becomes College Avenue. Highway 103 passes the historic First Presbyterian Church before entering the University of the Ozarks campus, with the majority of the campus buildings including the historic Clarksville National Guard Armory and Munger-Wilson Memorial Chapel located on the west side of the highway.[12] Following the university, Highway 103 exits Clarksville and heads northwest to Harmony through sparsely populated forested land.

Harmony brings an intersection with Highway 164 near the Harmony Presbyterian Church before turning north and entering the Ozark National Forest, administrated by the United States Forest Service. The highway winds slowly through the dense forest, including hairpin turns, crossing the Mulberry River, a National Wild and Scenic River before an intersection with Highway 215, where the highway terminates.[13]

Buffalo River to Oak Grove

Highway 103 begins on the border of the National Park Service's Buffalo National River at Highway 43 in Newton County near Ponca.[14] The highway runs north into Carroll County to Osage and passes Stamps Store before forming a concurrency with US 412 to the west.[12][15] Following this overlap, Highway 103 runs north through Conner and Rule before forming a concurrency with US 62 in Green Forest. The highway turns north, ending this concurrency near the historic Green Forest Water Tower after which the route continues north through unincorporated areas to terminate at Highway 21 in Oak Grove near the Missouri state line.[12][15]

History

Highway 103 shield
Historic shield marker
Historic shields for the route

The first designation of Highway 103 was created during the original 1926 Arkansas state highway numbering between Lurton and Western Grove.[1] By the September 1, 1928 map, a second segment of AR 103 was created between Green Forest and Oak Gove.[2][3] In 1937, the segment between Lurton and Western Grove switched numbers with Highway 123, which ran between Clarksville to the Ozark National Forest boundary south of Oark.[16] Around 1945, the route was extended north to Oark.[a]

Between 1950 and 1955, the segment between Green Forest and Oak Grove was designated AR 21E.[19][20][21] The Arkansas General Assembly passed the Act 148 of 1957, the Milum Road Act, creating 10–12 miles (16–19 km) of new state highways in each county.[22] In response to the act, the Arkansas State Highway Commission extended the AR 103 designation south from Green Forest to Rule on July 10, 1957.[23] On June 29, 1960, the Highway Commission extended the designation south to AR 68 (now US 412) at Osage,[24] but changed the routing to run from Rule to AR 68 at Gobbler instead two months later.[25]

On April 24, 1963, the highway was extended south to Jamestown, an area which has since been annexed into Clarksville.[26] The designation was extended south once more on June 23, 1965 to Lakeview Drive near the Spadra Creek Use Area along the Arkansas River.[27] The road south of I-40 was returned to local maintenance on August 7, 2024 as part of a swap with ArDOT widening part of AR 113 near Oppelo in exchange for transferring several highways to local maintenance to offset the project's cost.[28]

A third segment of AR 103 was created pursuant to Act 9 of 1973, which directed county judges and legislators to designate up to 12 miles (19 km) of county roads as state highways in each county.[22] Though initially running from AR 43 to the Newton/Carroll County line,[29] the roadway was extended into Carroll County to AR 68 the following month, thus combining the new segment with the previously extant highway from Gobbler to Oak Grove.[30]

Major intersections

Mile markers reset at some concurrencies.

CountyLocationmi[4][31]kmDestinationsNotes
JohnsonClarksville0.0000.000 I-40 – Little Rock, Fort SmithSouthern terminus
0.971.56 AR 123 (Poplar St)AR 123 southern terminus
1.407–
0.000		2.264–
0.000		 US 64 (Main St)
Harmony8.5413.74
 AR 164 west – Horsehead Lake Public Fishing		AR 164 eastern terminus
​20.0432.25Bridge over the Mulberry River
​20.36632.776 AR 215Northern terminus
Gap in route
NewtonBuffalo National River0.0000.000 AR 43 – Ponca, HarrisonSouthern terminus
Carroll​11.901–
0.000		19.153–
0.000		 US 412 – Huntsville, Alpena
Green Forest13.11–
0.000		21.10–
0.000		 US 62 (Main Street) – Berryville, Green Forest
Oak Grove10.27016.528 AR 21 – Berryville, Blue EyeNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Notes

  1. ^ Per illegible handwritten note on 1936-1939 Johnson County map.[17][18]

References

  1. ^ a b Arkansas State Highway Department (April 1, 1926). State of Arkansas Showing System of State Highways (TIF) (Map). 1:500,000. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2022 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
  2. ^ a b Arkansas State Highway Department (May 1, 1928). State of Arkansas Showing System of State Highways (TIF) (Map). 1:500,000. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2022 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
  3. ^ a b Arkansas State Highway Department (September 1, 1928). State of Arkansas Showing System of State Highways (TIF) (Map). Scale not given. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2022 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
  4. ^ a b Planning and Research Division (October 7, 2024). State Highway Route and Section Map, Johnson County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62,500. Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Transportation Planning and Policy Division (September 17, 2021). State Highway Route and Section Map, Newton County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62,500. Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  6. ^ Transportation Planning and Policy Division (September 17, 2021). State Highway Route and Section Map, Carroll County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62,500. Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  7. ^ System Information & Research Division (2021). Annual Average Daily Traffic Estimates (Map). Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  8. ^ American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (2019). Guidelines for Geometric Design of Low-Volume Roads (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. pp. 2–8. ISBN 978-1-56051-726-9. OCLC 1140203768.
  9. ^ a b System Information and Research Division (2016). "Arkansas Road Log Database" (MDB). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  10. ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 29, 2017). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  11. ^ Transportation Planning and Policy Division (April 2019). General Highway Map, Clarksville, Johnson County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). Arkansas Department of Transportation. §§ B6, C6, D6, E6. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  13. ^ Planning and Research Division (January 23, 2012) [April 10, 2002]. General Highway Map, Johnson County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62500. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. OCLC 913579244. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  14. ^ Planning and Research Division (July 2, 2003). General Highway Map, Newton County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. OCLC 915349425. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Policy Division (September 7, 2017) [November 4, 2005]. General Highway Map, Carroll County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62500. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. OCLC 909903607. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  16. ^ Arkansas State Highway Commission (1937). Official Highway Service Map (TIF) (Map). Scale not given. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2022 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
  17. ^ Arkansas State Highway Commission (July 1, 1939) [1936]. General Highway and Transportation Map, Johnson County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62500. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  18. ^ Arkansas State Highway Commission (1945). Map of the State Highway System of Arkansas (TIF) (Map). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 20, 2022 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
  19. ^ Arkansas State Highway Commission (April 1950). Official Highway Map of Arkansas (TIF) (Map) (1st Printing ed.). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 20, 2022 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
  20. ^ Arkansas State Highway Commission (July 1950). Official Highway Map of Arkansas (TIF) (Map) (2nd Printing ed.). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 20, 2022 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
  21. ^ "Minutes of the Meeting of the Arkansas State Highway Commission" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. 1953–1969. p. 2028. OCLC 21798861. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  22. ^ a b Governmental Relations Office (2018). Development of Highway and Transportation Legislation in Arkansas (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. p. 1. Retrieved August 7, 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  23. ^ "Minutes" (1953–1969), p. 1779.
  24. ^ "Minutes" (1953–1969), p. 1358.
  25. ^ "Minutes" (1953–1969), pp. 1377–1378.
  26. ^ "Minutes" (1953–1969), pp. 913–915.
  27. ^ "Minutes" (1953–1969), p. 672.
  28. ^ Tudor, Lorie H. (September 23, 2024). "Minute Order 2024-048" (PDF). Administrative Circular 2024-10. Little Rock: ArDOT. pp. 5–6. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  29. ^ "Minutes of the Meeting of the Arkansas State Highway Commission" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. 1970–1979. p. 1169. OCLC 21798861. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  30. ^ "Minutes" (1970–1979), pp. 1188–1189.
  31. ^ Arkansas Centerline File (GIS Map) (Map) (Updated ed.). Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services. November 29, 2021 [September 29, 2014]. Retrieved April 14, 2022 – via GIS Office.

External links

Media related to Arkansas Highway 103 at Wikimedia Commons

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