Arkansas Highway 303

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Highway 303

AR 303 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ArDOT
ExistedApril 24, 1963[1]–present
Section 1
Length1.763 mi[2] (2.837 km)
South end CR 192
North end AR 74
Section 2
Length8.567 mi[3] (13.787 km)
South end AR 45 at Mayfield
North end CR 98
Section 3
Length2.263 mi[4] (3.642 km)
South end AR 12 in Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area
North end CR 99
Location
CountryUnited States
StateArkansas
CountiesBenton, Madison, Washington
Highway system
← AR 302→ AR 304

Highway 303 (AR 303) is a designation for three north–south state highways in Northwest Arkansas. Each connects sparsely populated rural areas to east-west corridors. The first state highway designation was made along county roads in 1963, with two more segments created in 1973. The highways are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT).

Route description

The ArDOT maintains Highway 303 like all other parts of the state highway system. As a part of these responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic using its roads in surveys using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). ArDOT estimates the traffic level for a segment of roadway for any average day of the year in these surveys. As of 2022, estimates were 290 vehicles per day (VPD) for the Madison County segment, between 830-1700 VPD for the Washington County segment, and 1,400 VPD for the Benton County segment.[5] For reference, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), classifies roads with fewer than 400 vehicles per day as a very low volume local road.[6]

No segment of Highway 303 is part of the National Highway System (NHS),[7] a network of roads important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.[8]

Madison County

Highway 303 begins at Lollar's Creek Road (Madison County Road 192 [CR 192]) in a rural part of the Ozark Mountains. The highway runs northwest, crossing Lollar's Creek, to a junction with AR 74 east of Wesley, where it terminates.[9]

Washington County

AR 303 begins at AR 45 at Mayfield

Highway 303 begins at AR 45 east of Fayetteville at the unincorporated community of Mayfield. AR 303 runs north through rural Washington County to meet US Highway 412 (US 412) at Spring Valley near the historic Spring Valley School.[10] At this junction, the roadway continues north as Washington CR 97 (Spring Valley Road), with US 412 and AR 303 forming a 1-mile (1.6 km) concurrency eastbound. AR 303 turns north from US 412 near the Madison County line. Now heading towards the unincorporated community of War Eagle, the state highway designation ends at the Benton County line, with the roadway becoming High Sky Inn Road (Benton CR 98) which eventually gives access to Highway 12 near Beaver Lake.[11]

Benton County

First AR 303 reassurance marker north of AR 12

A third segment of AR 303 begins at AR 12 within Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area. AR 303 angles northeast through an unincorporated area of Benton County near Beaver Lake before terminating at Rocky Branch Road (Benton CR 99) near the Rocky Branch School.[12][13]

History

The first segment of AR 303 was created by the Arkansas State Highway Commission along a county road from Mayfield to the Benton County line during a large transfer of county roads to the state system that took place on April 24, 1963.[1] In 1972, the Commission sought to close several gaps in the state highway network, including extending the AR 303 designation along present-day High Sky Inn Road to AR 12 in Benton County. The transfers were subject to the dedication of right-of-way and relocation of utilities taking place without expense to the Highway Department.[14] By the Commission meeeting on January 27, 1982, funding conditions had changed, and the Commission rescinded the approvals for five segments that had not yet met the conditions of approval, including the extension into Benton County.[15]

In 1973, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 9 of 1973. The act directed county judges and legislators to designate up to 12 miles (19 km) of county roads as state highways in each county.[16] Pursuant to this act, a second segment of AR 303 was created along an existing Benton County road on March 28, 1973 to serve public use areas on Beaver Lake.[17] The third segment was created in Madison County on May 23, 1973.[18]

Major intersections

Mile markers reset at concurrencies.

CountyLocationmi[2][3][4]kmDestinationsNotes
Madison​0.0000.000End state maintenance, roadway continues as CR 6245 (Lollar's Creek Road)Southern terminus
​1.7632.837 AR 74 – Fayetteville, HuntsvilleNorthern terminus
Gap in route
WashingtonMayfield0.0000.000 AR 45Southern terminus
Spring Valley3.5335.686

 US 412 west / CR 97 north (Spring Valley Road) – Springdale		Begin US 412 concurrency
​0.0000.000
 US 412 east / CR 4082 south (James Acres Road)		End US 412 concurrency
Washington–Benton
county line		​5.0348.101End state maintenance, roadway continues as CR 98 (High Sky Inn Road)Northern terminus
Gap in route
BentonHobbs State Park – Conservation Area0.0000.000 AR 12 – RogersSouthern terminus
​2.2633.642End state maintenance, roadway continues as CR 99 (Rocky Branch Road)Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b "Minutes of the Meeting of the Arkansas State Highway Commission" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. 1953–1969. p. 918. OCLC 21798861. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Policy Division (September 17, 2021). Route and Section Map, Madison County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Policy Division (December 22, 2023). Route and Section Map, Washington County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Policy Division (February 16, 2023). Route and Section Map, Benton County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  5. ^ System Information & Research Division (2022). Annual Average Daily Traffic Estimates (GIS Map) (Map). Various. Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  6. ^ Staff of AASHTO (2019). Guidelines for Geometric Design of Low-Volume Roads (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 2-8. ISBN 978-1-56051-726-9. OCLC 1140203768.
  7. ^ System Information and Research Division (2015). "Arkansas Road Log Database" (MDB). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Transportation Planning and Policy Division (June 19, 2014) [December 29, 2003]. General Highway Map, Madison County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62,500. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. OCLC 914307123. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  10. ^ "National Register Information System – Spring Valley School District 120 Building (#92001119)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  11. ^ Transportation Planning and Policy Division (January 10, 2023) [October 21, 2010]. General Highway Map, Washington County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62,500. Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. OCLC 919734758. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  12. ^ Transportation Planning and Policy Division (February 17, 2023) [July 23, 2010]. General Highway Map, Benton County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62,500. Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. OCLC 908949212. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  13. ^ "National Register Information System – Rocky Branch School (#87002360)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "Minutes" (1970–1979), pp. 1416–1417.
  15. ^ "Minutes of the Meeting of the Arkansas State Highway Commission" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. 1980–1989. p. 211. OCLC 21798861. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  16. ^ Government Relations Office (2018). Development of Highway and Transportation Legislation in Arkansas (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. p. 1. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  17. ^ "Minutes" (1970–1979), p. 1117.
  18. ^ "Minutes" (1970–1979), p. 1193.

External links

Media related to Arkansas Highway 303 at Wikimedia Commons

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