Interstate 555
Interstate 555 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
I-555 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of I-55 | ||||
| Maintained by ArDOT | ||||
| Length | 49.57 mi[1] (79.78 km) | |||
| Existed | March 11, 2016[2][3]–present | |||
| NHS | Entire route | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |    I-55 / US 61 / AR 77 in Turrell | |||
 US 49 in Jonesboro | ||||
| North end |    US 63 / AR 18 / AR 91 in Jonesboro | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Arkansas | |||
| Counties | Crittenden, Poinsett, Craighead | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 555 (I-555) is an Interstate Highway that connects Turrell, Arkansas, at I-55 to Jonesboro at Highway 91 (AR 91). Formerly known as U.S. Highway 63 (US 63), the highway was converted in the early 21st century to Interstate Highway standards.
Route description
The road provides a limited-access highway corridor between Memphis, Tennessee, and Arkansas's fifth-largest city, Jonesboro.
I-555 begins at an interchange of I-55, US 61, and AR 77 in Turrell. I-55 goes south to Memphis, Tennessee. The road parallel to the Interstate, AR 463, is a former alignment of US 63. I-555 passes through farmland and Gilmore. Then, it passes through Tyronza and Marked Tree. The section between Tyronza and Marked Tree is also used for farm equipment vehicles to drive on. Next, it passes through Trumann before entering Jonesboro. It briefly has an overlap with US 49. I-555 ends in Jonesboro at an interchange with AR 91; from there, the road continues as US 63.
History
The I-555 route was approved on January 10, 2001, consisting of a widened section of US 63 between Turrell to Jonesboro to Interstate Highway standards. A few mainline bridges between Marked Tree and Turrell are from original two-lane US 63 and are narrower than current standards, but I-530 was approved in 1999 despite having a similar issue.
The last requirement to formally designate this route as I-555 was the construction of a parallel access road across a floodway between Payneway and Marked Tree, so that farm equipment would no longer have to use US 63 to cross the floodway. To date, no crossing has ever been built, but an exemption for agricultural vehicles was added to I-555 between Marked Tree and Payneway. The exemption was introduced by U.S. Representative Rick Crawford and passed as part of the House Transportation Bill on December 4, 2015. It was announced in December 2015 that I-555 would be officially designated in early 2016.[4] In early 2016, signs along the section of the highway cautioned travelers that there may be farm equipment driving on the roadway. The road was officially dedicated on March 11, 2016, in Jonesboro. In 2021, US 63 was rerouted off the entire route of I-555, but a short extension on November 23 of that same year redesignated US 63 along a section of I-555 again.[5]
Exit list
| County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crittenden | Turrell | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 |  I-55 / US 61 south / AR 77 south – Turrell, Blytheville, Memphis TN | Southern end of AR 77 concurrency; I-55 exit 23; signed as exits 1A (I-55/US 61 south) and 1B (I-55 north); US 61 north and AR 77 south continue past interchange |
| Gilmore | 1.9 | 3.1 | 2 |  AR 77 north – Gilmore | Northern end of AR 77 concurrency | |
| Poinsett | | 7.1 | 11.4 | 7 |  AR 135 – Lepanto | |
| Tyronza | 8.7 | 14.0 | 8 |  AR 118 – Tyronza | ||
| Marked Tree | 13.2 | 21.2 | 13 |  AR 149 – Marked Tree, Earle | ||
| 14.2 | 22.9 | 14 |  AR 75 south (AR 14 east) – Marked Tree, Lepanto, Parkin | Southern end of AR 14 concurrency | ||
| | 18.2 | 29.3 | 18 |   AR 14 west – Payneway, Harrisburg | Northern end of AR 14 concurrency | |
| | 24.0 | 38.6 | 24 |  AR 463 – Trumann | ||
| Trumann | 28.7 | 46.2 | 29 |  AR 69 – Trumann | ||
| Craighead | Bay | 34.6 | 55.7 | 35 | AR 463 – Bay | |
| Jonesboro | 36.2 | 58.3 | 36 | Nestlé Road | ||
| 39.1 | 62.9 | 39 |  AR 18S (Dr. Martin Luther King Drive) | |||
| 40.3 | 64.9 | 40 | AR 463 south (Nettleton Avenue) | |||
| 41.7 | 67.1 | 42 |  US 49 north / AR 1 (Stadium Boulevard/Red Wolf Boulevard) / Caraway Road – Paragould | Southern end of US 49 concurrency; former AR 173 | ||
| 43.4 | 69.8 | 44 |  AR 1B (Harrisburg Road) | |||
| 44.8 | 72.1 | 45 |  US 49 south / US 63 south / AR 18 east (Southwest Drive) | Northern end of US 49 concurrency; southern end of US 63/AR 18 concurrency | ||
| 45.8 | 73.7 | 46 |  AR 226 west (Wood Springs Road) / Strawfloor Road | |||
| 47.1 | 75.8 | 47 | Washington Avenue | |||
| 49.4 | 79.5 | 49 | AR 91 (Dan Avenue / AR 18 west) / US 63 north | Northern end of AR 18 concurrency; northern end of freeway; northern terminus of I-555 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ Reaves, Johnathan (March 9, 2016). "I-555 to Be Dedicated Friday in Jonesboro". Jonesboro, Arkansas: KASU-FM. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
- ^ "40 Years in the Making, I-555 in Arkansas Becoming Reality". Little Rock, Arkansas: KATV-TV. Associated Press. March 10, 2016. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ^ "Highway Commission Approves I-555 Designation for Section of US 63". Times Record. Arkansas News Bureau. December 3, 2015. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "Highway 63 in Jonesboro redesignated as I-555". Talk Business & Politics. November 23, 2021. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.