Arkansas Highway 161

Highway 161 (AR 161, Ark. 161, and Hwy. 161) is a designation for two state highways in Central Arkansas. Both routes are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT).

Highway 161
Route information
Maintained by ArDOT
Section 1
Length	5.9 mi (9.5 km)
South end	AR 440 / Jacksonville Highway in Jacksonville
North end	Future I-57 / US 67 / US 167 / Vandenberg Boulevard in Jacksonville
Section 2
Length	19.80 mi (31.87 km)
South end	US 165 / AR 15 / AR 256 in England
North end	US 165 in Scott
Location
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
Counties	Pulaski, Lonoke
Highway system
Arkansas Highway System Interstate US State Business Spurs Suffixed Scenic Heritage
← AR 160 → AR 162

Arkansas State Highway 161 runs through Scott.

Route descriptions

One route of runs north the Jacksonville city limits near AR 440 to US 67/US 167 and Vandenberg Boulevard near the Little Rock Air Force Base.^[1] A second route of 19.80 miles (31.87 km) begins at U.S. Route 165/Highway 15/Highway 256 in England and runs north to terminate at Highway 165.

History

The 1959 Arkansas General Assembly passed and Governor Orval Faubus signed, Act 298, entitled "An Act to Remove a Part of State Highway 161 from the State Highway System" into law; removing a portion of Highway 161 between Faulkner Lake Rd and Highway 130 (present-day U.S. Route 165) from the state highway system. The rationale behind this legislation is not recorded in the minutes of the Arkansas State Highway Commission (ASHC) meeting, but the ASHC concurred with the General Assembly and removed the highway segment from the system on May 13, 1959.^[2]

The section between Prothro Junction and Jacksonville was formerly designated as US 67E. The route became Highway 161 on August 31, 1960 upon completion of the new US 67 alignment between Little Rock and Jacksonville.^[3] The ASHC closed a gap of 7.99 miles (12.86 km) along the Lonoke County segment of Highway 161 on December 13, 1972.^[4] A segment between Cabot and El Paso was redesignated as Highway 5 on June 24, 1970.^[5]

The Arkansas State Highway Commission marked the segment between US 70 and the Jacksonville city limits for removal from the state highway system on December 9, 2021 following construction of a pavement improvement project along the route. The deletion was part of a deal with the cities of Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Pulaski County to cover the relocation costs for Rock Region Metro as part of the "30 Crossing" project on I-30.^[6]

Arkansas Highway 161 in Jacksonville

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[7]	km	Destinations	Notes
Pulaski	Jacksonville	0.000	0.000	Jacksonville Highway	Continuation south
		0.2	0.32	AR 440 – Jacksonville, Texarkana	AR 440 exit 12
		3.0	4.8	AR 294 east – Furlow	AR 294 western terminus
		5.8	9.3	Future I-57 / US 67 / US 167 – Little Rock, Jacksonville, Searcy	US 67 / US 167 exits 10B-11A
		5.9	9.5	Vandenberg Boulevard	Continuation west
	Gap in route
Lonoke	England	0.00	0.00	US 165 / AR 15 / AR 256	Southern terminus
	Scott	19.71	31.72	US 165 – Little Rock, Keo	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• United States portal
• U.S. Roads portal

References

1. General Highway Map, Pulaski County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Transportation Planning & Policy Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
2. "Minute Order 3244" (PDF). Minutes of the Meeting. Arkansas State Highway Commission. 1960-08-31. p. 1472. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
3. "Minute Order 3837" (PDF). Minutes of the Meeting. Arkansas State Highway Commission. 1960-08-31. p. 1380. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
4. "Minute Order 3837" (PDF). Minutes of the Meeting. Arkansas State Highway Commission. 1972-12-13. pp. 1416–1417. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
5. "Minute Order 70-196" (PDF). Minutes of the Meeting. Arkansas State Highway Commission. 1970-06-24. p. 1636. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
6. Tudor, Lorie H. (January 19, 2021). "Minute Order 2020-111" (PDF). Administrative Circular 2021-02. Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. pp. 9–10. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
7. Arkansas Centerline File (GIS Map) (Map) (Updated ed.). Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services. May 13, 2022 [September 29, 2014]. Retrieved January 7, 2023 – via GIS Office.

External links

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