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Arkansas Highway 2 facts for kids

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Route information
Maintained by AHD
Length 195 mi (314 km)
Existed 1926–July 1, 1931
Major junctions
West end US 67 in Texarkana
 
East end MS 10 at the Mississippi River
Location
Counties: Ashley, Chicot, Columbia, Lafayette, Miller, Union
Highway system
Arkansas Highway System
Interstates • US • State
Business • Spurs • Scenic
AR 1 AR 3


State Road 2 (AR 2, Ark. 2, and Hwy. 2) is a former east–west state highway in the Arkansas Timberlands and Lower Arkansas Delta. The route was approximately 195 miles (314 km), and ran from US Route 67 (US 67) in Texarkana east to cross the Mississippi River near Lake Village, continuing as Mississippi Highway 10. On July 1, 1931, the route was entirely replaced by US Highway 82 (US 82) by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHTO). The route was maintained by the Arkansas Highway Department (AHD), now known as the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT).

Except near cities, the current US 82 closely follows the original 1926 routing. One section of State Road 2 original pavement, known as the Old Arkansas 2-Mayton Segment, survives north of Garland. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 16, 2008.

Route description

Old Arkansas 2-Mayton Segment
Old Arkansas 2, Mayton Segment

The route served the southern tier of counties in Arkansas, connecting several cities of regional importance. State Road 2 connected six county seats and included three toll bridges. State Road 2 also provided an important connection between the Arkansas Timberlands, approximately the western half of its Arkansas alignment, and the Arkansas Delta on the eastern half of the state.

History

Several bypasses have been built since the original 1926 routing following the growth of the cities it passes through.

  • Garland was bypassed in the 1980s by a new bridge over the Red River; the western part of old Highway 2 (from modern U.S. 82 into Garland) is now Highway 134.
  • North of Garland, an S-shaped section of the highway was replaced with a new alignment in 1948, smoothing out the sharp curves. The old alignment, now part of County Roads 122 and 123, and one of the drivable sections of AR 2's original pavement, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Old Arkansas 2-Mayton Segment" in 2008.
  • East of Lake Village, U.S. 82 (Highway 2) turned northeast along Lake Chicot to the old ferry crossing near Greenville, Mississippi; that alignment is now Highway 144 from Lake Village past Lake Chicot State Park to its end at the Mississippi River levee. U.S. 82 was rerouted south of Lake Chicot when the Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge opened in 1940, and retained most of that alignment for the current Greenville Bridge.

Major intersections

County Location Mile Roads intersected Notes
Miller Texarkana 0.0 0.0 US 67 Western terminus
Garland City 22.0 35.4 AR 134 south intersection at a toll bridge
Lafayette Lewisville 32.5 52.3 AR 29
Columbia Waldo 45.4 73.1 AR 19 north
Magnolia 52.9 85.1 AR 3 / AR 19 south / AR 132 west
Union 70.9 114.1 AR 57 north
El Dorado 88.6 142.6 US 167 north / AR 15 north
90.9 146.3 US 167 south
Strong 107.1 172.4 AR 129 south
Ouachita River 122.1 196.5 Toll bridge
Ashley Crossett 129.5 208.4 AR 133 south
Hamburg 142.4 229.2 AR 13
Montrose 164.1 264.1 US 165
Chicot Lake Village 176.6 284.2 US 65
Mississippi River 195 314 Ferry to MS 10
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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