Interstate 555
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 upgraded in the early 21st century to Interstate Highway standards. While I-555 is the second Interstate with all three digits the same to exist, it is the first to be signed as an Interstate. (I-444 in Oklahoma, which was the first highway, is unsigned.)
Interstate 555 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
I-555 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of I-55 | ||||
| Maintained by ArDOT | ||||
| Length | 49.8 mi[1] (80.1 km) | |||
| Existed | March 11, 2016[2][3]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  .svg.png.webp){kind=small}  I-55 / US 61 / AR 77 in Turrell | |||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} US 49 in Jonesboro | ||||
| North end | .svg.png.webp){kind=small}   US 63 / AR 18 / AR 91 in Jonesboro | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Arkansas | |||
| Counties | Crittenden, Poinsett, Craighead | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
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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 farmlands. It passes through 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 upgrading the section of US 63 between Turrell to Jonesboro to Interstate standards. A few mainline bridges between Marked Tree and Turrell are from the original two-lane US 63 and are narrower than current Interstate Highway 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 of agricultural vehicles was added to I-555 between Marked Tree and Payneway. The exemption was introduced by US 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 the spring of 2016.[4] The road was officially dedicated on March 11, 2016, in Jonesboro. Prior to 2021, US 63 followed the entire route of I-555.
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 | I-55 exits 23A-B; signed as exits 1A (I-55/US 61 south) and 1B (I-55 north); US 61 north and AR 77 south continue past interchange; southern end of AR 77 overlap. |
| Gilmore | 1.9 | 3.1 | 2 |  AR 77 north – Gilmore | Northern end of AR 77 overlap | |
| 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 | South end of AR 14 overlap | ||
| | 18.2 | 29.3 | 18 |   AR 14 west – Payneway, Harrisburg | North end of AR 14 overlap | |
| | 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 | South end of US 49 overlap, 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) | North end of US 49 overlap; south end of US 63/AR 18 overlaps | ||
| 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 | North end of freeway; north end of AR 18 overlap; northern terminus of I-555 | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
References
- Google (June 19, 2015). "Interstate 555" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
- Reaves, Johnathan (March 9, 2016). "I-555 to Be Dedicated Friday in Jonesboro". Jonesboro, Arkansas: KASU-FM. 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. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- "Highway Commission Approves I-555 Designation for Section of US 63". Times Record. Arkansas News Bureau. December 3, 2015.