Arkansas Highway 28
Highway 28 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ArDOT | ||||
| Existed | April 1, 1926[1]–present | |||
| Section 1 | ||||
| Length | 20.448 mi[2] (32.908 km) | |||
| West end |  SH-128 at the Oklahoma state line | |||
| East end |  US 71 near Waldron | |||
| Section 2 | ||||
| Length | 54.451 mi[2] (87.630 km) | |||
| West end | US 71 at Needmore | |||
| East end |  AR 7 in Ola | |||
| Section 3 | ||||
| Length | 8.998 mi[2] (14.481 km) | |||
| West end |  AR 154 at Mt. George | |||
| East end | AR 7 in Dardanelle | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Arkansas | |||
| Counties | Scott, Yell | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Highway 28 (AR 28, Ark. 28, and Hwy. 28) is designation for three east–west state highways in Western Arkansas. Two segments together running from the Oklahoma state line to Ola (with a gap along US Highway 71 around Waldron) have been established since the original 1926 Arkansas state highway numbering, with the third segment designated in 1963. All three highways are rural, two-lane roads with relatively low traffic serving a sparsely populated and forested part of Arkansas. The highways are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT).
Route description[edit]
No segment of Highway 28 has been listed as part of the National Highway System,[2] a network of roads important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.[3]
Oklahoma to US 71[edit]
The highway begins at the Oklahoma state line from Oklahoma State Highway 128 (SH-128) near the unincorporated community of Bates. The highway follows an ecoregion boundary between the flat Arkansas River Valley and the Ouachita Mountains, as well as the Arkansas Southern Railroad tracks.[4] Highway 28 runs east as a two-lane road through the Ouachita National Forest in a sparsely populated segment of oak-hickory-pine forest. The highway passes the historic Bates School, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[5] It continues east through Cauthron and Oliver before emerging from the Ouachita National Forest near Hon. In Hon, Highway 28 serves as the western terminus of Highway 80, before continuing east to Evening Shade. Just east of Evening Shade, Highway 28 intersects US Highway 71 (US 71), where it terminates north of Waldron.[6]
The ArDOT maintains Highway 28 like all other parts of the state highway system. As a part of these responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic using its roads in surveys using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). The ArDOT estimates the traffic level for a segment of roadway for any average day of the year in these surveys. In 2018, this segment had an AADT below 1000 VPD along the entire length, with the highest count being 930 VPD west of the Highway 80 intersection.[7] For reference, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) classifies roads with fewer than 400 vehicles per day as a very low volume local road.
Needmore to Ola[edit]
A second segment of Highway 28 begins at US 71 at Needmore in the Fourche Mountains south of Waldron in Scott County. The two-lane highway runs east along the long, east-west forested ridges of the Ouachita Mountains to Parks, where it passes the NRHP-listed Parks School.[8] Continuing east, Highway 28 enters the Ouachita National Forest, bridges the Fourche La Fave River twice, and passes the unincorporated communities of Harvey and Nola before leaving the Ouachita National Forest and entering Yell County.[6]
Entering in the southwestern part of Yell County, Highway 28 continues east through Gravelly and another crossing of the Fourche La Fave River before an intersection with Highway 307 at Bluffton. Highway 28 turns northeast and runs through Fourche Valley to Briggsville, where there is another intersection with Highway 307. Highway 28 begins skirting the edge of the Ouachita National Forest, passing through Wing to Rover, where it intersects Highway 27, forming a concurrency northward. After 2.0 miles (3.2 km), Highway 28 turns right and heads toward Plainview. Entering the city as Main Street, Highway 28 passes the former Plainview-Rover High School, post office, city hall, and the Plainview Medical Clinic before intersecting Highway 60 (Spring Avenue).[9] Highway 28 turns northward at this junction, leaving Plainview and passing through a rural area before entering the small city of Ola. Entering from the city's southwest corner, Highway 28 passes Lake Ola-Dale before a junction with Highway 7, where it terminates.[10][11]
Much of Highway 28 between US 71 and Highway 27 had under 700 VPD in ARDOT's 2018 survey. Traffic increases heading east from the concurrency, reaching a peak of 2,400 VPD west of Ola.[7]
Mount George to Dardanelle[edit]
A third segment of Highway 28 begins in eastern Yell County at Mount George in an intersection with Highway 154 near the Petit Jean River Wildlife Management Area. The two-lane road runs northeast through the unincorporated community of Pigsah and rural areas to Dardanelle, the Yell County seat. Highway 28 runs along the city limits near Dardanelle High School before terminating at an intersection with Highway 7 (Scenic Highway 7).[12][11]
Highway 28 AADT in 2018 ranged from a low of 590 VPD near the western terminus, to 1700 VPD near Dardanelle in ARDOT's 2018 survey.[7]
History[edit]
During the 1926 Arkansas state highway numbering, State Road 28 was designated from Oklahoma to Ola, largely along the present-day route, with a gap along US 71.[1] The Highway 28 designation was duplicated when the Arkansas State Highway Commission designated a county road between Mount George and Dardanelle as a state highway on April 24, 1963.[13] The Highway Commission initially sought to close the gap in Highway 28 around Waldron in May 1973 when a new location US 71 was being constructed around the city,[14] but two months later rescinded the order and designated the former US 71 through Waldron as US Highway 71 Business (US 71B) instead.[15]
Major intersections[edit]
Mile markers reset at concurrencies.
| County | Location | mi[2][16] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott | Coaldale | 0.000 | 0.000 |  SH-128 west – Heavener | Western terminus, Oklahoma state line | ||
| Hon | 15.89 | 25.57 |   AR 80 east – Waldron | ||||
| |  I-49 – Texarkana, Fort Smith | Proposed | |||||
| | 20.448 | 32.908 | US 71 – Fort Smith, Waldron | Eastern terminus | |||
| Gap in route | |||||||
| Needmore | 0.000 | 0.000 | US 71 – Mena, Waldron | Western terminus | |||
| Yell | Bluffton | 31.54 | 50.76 |   AR 307 north | AR 307 southern terminus | ||
| Briggsville | 38.34 | 61.70 |  AR 307 south | AR 307 northern terminus | |||
| Rover | 43.779 | 70.455 |  AR 27 south – Onyx | West end of AR 27 overlap | |||
| | 0.000 | 0.000 | AR 27 north – Danville | East end of AR 27 overlap | |||
| Plainview | 5.68 | 9.14 |  AR 60 east (Springs Avenue) – Nimrod Lake, Hot Springs | ||||
| Ola | 10.672 | 17.175 | AR 7 south (Scenic 7 Byway) – Hot Springs, Nimrod Dam | Eastern terminus | |||
| Gap in route | |||||||
| Mount George | 0.000 | 0.000 | AR 154 – Centerville, Danville | Western terminus | |||
| Dardanelle | 8.998 | 14.481 | AR 7 (Scenic 7 Byway) – Dardanelle, Paris, Ola | Eastern terminus | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||||
Gallery[edit]
-
Eastern terminus north of Waldron -
Western terminus at Needmore -
Eastern terminus in Dardanelle
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Arkansas State Highway Department (April 1, 1926). State of Arkansas Showing System of State Highways (TIF) (Map). 1:500,000. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
- ^ a b c d e Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (2015). "Arkansas Road Log Database". Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Archived from the original (MDB) on August 29, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 29, 2017). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^
This article incorporates public domain material from US Level IV Ecoregions shapefile with state boundaries (SHP file). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "National Register Information System – Bates School (#06000081)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ a b Planning and Research Division (February 2013). General Highway Map, Scott County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:62,500. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. OCLC 919003283. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ a b c System Information & Research Division (2018). Annual Average Daily Traffic Estimates (GIS Map) (Map). Various. Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- ^ "National Register Information System – Parks School (#02000602)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ Planning and Research Division (June 2003). Map of Plainview, Yell County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:12,000. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. §§ A3-A4, B1-B3. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
- ^ Transportation Planning and Policy Division (November 2019). Map of Ola, Yell County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:12,000. Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. §§ A3-C3. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
{{cite map}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ a b Transportation Planning and Policy Division (October 25, 2016) [November 27, 2002]. General Highway Map, Yell County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62,500. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. OCLC 919003283. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
{{cite map}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Transportation Planning and Policy Division (July 2019). Map of Dardanelle, Yell County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:12,000. Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. § D3. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
{{cite map}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "Minutes of the Meeting of the Arkansas State Highway Commission" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. 1953–1969. pp. 913–919. OCLC 21798861. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ "Minutes" (1970–79), p. 1161.
- ^ "Minutes" (1970–79), pp. 1209–1210.
- ^ Arkansas Centerline File (GIS Map) (Map) (Updated ed.). Various. Arkansas GIS Office. August 1, 2019 [September 29, 2014]. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- "Minutes of the Meeting of the Arkansas State Highway Commission" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. 1970–1979. OCLC 21798861. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
External links[edit]
Media related to Arkansas Highway 28 at Wikimedia Commons