Interstate 55 in Arkansas

This article is about the section of highway in Arkansas. For the entire length of highway, see Interstate 55.

Interstate 55
290x172px Route of I-55 in red
Route information
Maintained by AHTD
Length:	72.22 mi (116.23 km)
Major junctions
South end:	I-55 / US 61 / US 64 / US 70 at Tennessee state line
	I-40 in West Memphis I-555 / US 61 / US 63 / AR 77 in Turrell US 61 in Blytheville
North end:	I-55 at Missouri state line
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Arkansas Highway System Interstate US State Business Spurs Scenic Heritage Trails ← AR 54 AR 56 →

Interstate 55 (I-55) is a north–south Interstate Highway that has a 72.22-mile (116.23 km) section in the U.S. state of Arkansas connecting sections in Tennessee and Missouri. The route enters Arkansas on the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge over the Mississippi River from Memphis. It travels northward through northeast Arkansas connecting the cities of West Memphis and Blytheville. I-55 continues into Missouri heading to St. Louis, Missouri. The highway overlaps Interstate 40 in West Memphis and has a junction with Interstate 555, a spur route to Jonesboro, in Turrell. For the majority of its routing through Arkansas, I-55 generally follows U.S. Route 61 (US 61) through Arkansas.

Route description

Interstate 55 splits from Interstate 40 in West Memphis.

I-55 enters Arkansas from Memphis, Tennessee on the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge over the Mississippi River, sharing the bridge with US 61/US 64/US 70/US 79. Shortly after entering the state the highway enters West Memphis, where US 70 exits the route and becomes Broadway Avenue. I-55/US 61/US 64/US 79 form a concurrency with Interstate 40 at exit 5, an overlap that lasts 3.1 miles (5.0 km). The highways split at I-40 exit 277, with I-40/US 63/US 79 continuing west to Little Rock and I-55/US 61/US 63/US 64 running north into Marion. US 64 exits I-55/US 61/US 63 in Marion, continuing west as Old Military Road toward Wynne. Interstate 55 continues to run through farmlands of the Arkansas delta, paralleling Highway 77 until Turrell.

Diagram of I-55 interchange#23, I-55/US 63/US 61 meets AR 77 and becomes I-555/US 63, I-55/US 61, and AR 77.

In Turrell, I-55/US 61/US 63 meets the southern terminus of I-555, a spur route of I-55 connecting Jonesboro to the Interstate Highway system. I-555/US 63 run north to Jonesboro, while Highway 77 and US 61 become frontage roads for I-55. Slightly east of this junction these frontage roads depart I-55, with Highway 77 running near Birdsong and US 61 serving Wilson. I-55 runs northeast to enter Mississippi County, Arkansas, having junctions with Highway 118 to Joiner, Highway 181 to Bassett, Highway 14 near Marie, and Highway 181 near Keiser. In Osceola, the route has a junction with Highway 140 near Osceola Municipal Airport. I-55 continues northeast, intersecting minor state highways in rural Mississippi County before a junction with US 61 in south Blytheville. Interstate 55 intersects Highway 18 in Blytheville before exiting town headed due north. The route has a junction with Highway 150 just before crossing the Missouri state line.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Mississippi River					I-55 south / US 61 south / US 64 east / US 70 east / US 79 east	Continuation into Tennessee
Crittenden	West Memphis			1	Bridgeport Road
				3A	AR 131 (Mound City Road)	Northbound exit only
				3B	US 70 west (Broadway Avenue) – West Memphis	Northern end of US 70 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
				4	Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to I-40 east – Memphis
				5	I-40 west	Southern end of I-40 overlap, east exit 279B; northbound exit and southbound entrance.
				279A	Ingram Boulevard
				278	AR 191 north / 7th Street
				7	AR 77 / Missouri Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	​			8	I-40 west – Little Rock	Northern end of I-40 overlap, east exit 277.
	Marion			10	US 64 west – Marion, Sunset, Wynne
	​			14	James Mill Road
	​			17	AR 50 – Jericho
	​			21	AR 42
	Turrell			23	I-555 / US 61 north / US 63 north / AR 77 south	Northern end of US 61/I-55 overlap, exits 1A-B; signed as exits 23A (US 63) and 23B (AR 77) southbound, no southbound entry from northbound AR 77.
Mississippi	​			34	AR 118 – Tyronza, Joiner
	​			36	AR 181 – Bassett
	​			41	AR 14 – Lepanto, Marie
	​			44	AR 181 – Keiser, Marie
	​			48	AR 140 – Osceola
	​			53	AR 158 – Victoria, Luxora
	​			57	AR 148 – Burdette
	Blytheville			63	US 61 – Blytheville
				67	AR 18 – Blytheville
	​			71	AR 150 – Arkansas Int'l Airport
	​			72	Arkansas Travel Info Center
Missouri state line					I-55 north – St. Louis	Continuation into Missouri
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

Interstate 55
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