Loop (Texarkana)

Texarkana Loop
Route information
Length	21.4 mi[1][2] (34.4 km)
Component highways	I-49 I-369 US 59 Loop 151 AR 151
Major junctions
	I-30 / I-369 / US 59 in Texarkana, TX US 82 in Texarkana, TX US 67 in Texarkana, TX Future I-369 / US 59 / SH 93 / Loop 151 in Texarkana, TX I-49 / US 71 / AR 151 in Texarkana, AR US 71 in Texarkana, AR US 82 in Texarkana, AR I-30 in Texarkana, AR US 59 / US 71 in Texarkana, AR
Location
States	Texas, Arkansas
Counties	TX: Bowie; AR: Miller
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec Arkansas Highway System Interstate US State Business Spurs Suffixed Scenic Heritage

The Loop is a 21.4-mile-long (34.4 km) beltway around Texarkana, TX and Texarkana, AR, which are twin cities in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Texas. Consisting of a section of Interstate 49 (I-49) in Arkansas, and Loop 151 and a section of I-369 and U.S. Route 59 (US 59) in Texas, it forms a three-quarter loop around the east, south and west sides of the city. (I-30 completes the circle on the north side.) The Loop is built to Interstate Highway standards.

The south side is bisected by State Line Avenue, which travels north–south along the state line. The entire half in Arkansas is I-49 and Hwy. 151, which is unsigned. US 59 has an interchange with the Loop near the southwest corner, only the south side in Texas is Loop 151. Old US 59 into Texarkana (Lake Drive) is now State Highway 93 (SH 93).

Route description

The Loop consists of I-30, I-369, Loop 151, and AR 151. US 59 is concurrent with the beltway from the southwest corner of Texarkana to State Line Avenue. I-30 forms the northern portion of the route, running north of both the twin cities. The eastern section of the Loop consists of I-49 and AR 151, and runs. it runs from US 59/71 north of I-30 to an interchange with I-49 on the southeast side of Texarkana. The southern section of the loop consists of Loop 151 and AR 151. It runs from I-49 in southeast Texarkana to I-369 in southwest Texarkana. The western section of the loop is formed by I-369. I-369 continues north on the western side of Texarkana to a stack interchange with I-30 in northwest Texarkana.

History

Previously in Texas, the "151" designation was originally used for Spur 151, which was designated on May 18, 1944 from Denison to the southern boundary of the Federal Government Property. Spur 151 was cancelled on May 21, 1946 and instead replaced by SH 75A, which in turn became SH 91 on December 21, 1994. Loop 151 was designated on August 27, 1958 from I-30 to US 82. On January 20, 1966, Loop 151 extended south to US 59. On December 21, 1982, Loop 151 was transferred to US 59, so Loop 151 was reassigned to the old route of US 59. On February 7, 1985, Loop 151 was transferred to SH 93, so Loop 151 was reused for the route from US 59 to Arkansas, its current route.

In fall 2000, the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (ArDOT) had submitted its portion of the loop as Interstate 130 (I-130) in fall 2000. However, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) denied the part from US 71 west to Texas, as "the state of Texas has not submitted a companion application for a suitable terminus in Texas", but the piece from US 71 north to I-30 was approved on December 8, 2000 as Future I-130. Once it was upgraded to Interstate standards and added to the Interstate Highway System by the Federal Highway Administration, it was to be signed as I-130.^[3][4]Arkansas used American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds to pave the final segment of future I-130, from the Arkansas Boulevard interchange to a new freeway-to-freeway interchange with I-30.^[5] Once this section was opened, the only remaining requirement to become I-130 would have been to upgrade the at-grade intersection with 19th Street to a full interchange; the right-of-way for this was reserved years ago. However, with I-49 also pending completion between Texarkana and Shreveport, Louisiana (including a segment in Arkansas also being built with ARRA funds),^[5] future I-130 was instead made part of I-49 by summer 2014.

In May 2013, the final designated portion of AR 245 was removed from service and re-designated Four States Fair Blvd. Highway 245 was the former designation of Arkansas's section of the loop.

Interstate 369 was designated on May 30, and signs of the highway were installed on September 23, 2013.^[6]

Exit list

State	County	Location	mi[1][2]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Texas	Bowie	Texarkana	0.0	0.0		I-30 / US 59 east – Dallas, Little Rock	North end of I-369 concurrency, north end of US 59 concurrency
			0.2	0.32		FM 559 (Richmond Road)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			0.4	0.64		US 82 (New Boston Road)
			1.2	1.9		Westlawn Drive – Wake Village
			2.1	3.4		US 67 (7th Street)
			3.2	5.1		Frontage Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			3.8	6.1		I-369 south / US 59 south / SH 93 north (Lake Drive) / Loop 151 to I-20 / Future I-69	South end of I-369 and US 59 concurrencies; western terminus of Loop 151; west end of Loop 151 concurrency; I-369 south to I-20/Future I-69
			4.5	7.2		FM 3527 (Leopard Drive)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southbound access via previous exit
			5.7	9.2		FM 558 (Buchanan Road)
Texas–Arkansas state line	Bowie–Miller county line	Texarkana–Texarkana city line	7.3 0.0	11.7 0.0	—	South State Line Avenue	State line; eastern terminus of Loop 151; east end of Loop 151 concurrency; western terminus of AR 151; west end of AR 151 concurrency
Arkansas	Miller	Texarkana	1.4	2.3	1 29A	I-49 south / AR 151 ends	Eastern terminus of AR 151; east end of AR 151 concurrency; south end of I-49 concurrency
			1.9	3.1	2 29B	US 71 – Texarkana
			3.2	5.1	31	AR 196 (Genoa Road)
			4.6– 5.2	7.4– 8.4	32	US 82 (East 9th Street) / East 19th Street	Southern exit to US 67
					34	US 67	Former interchange that was a direct connection to US 67
			6.8	10.9	35	Arkansas Boulevard / Four States Fair Parkway	Northern exit to US 67
			8.9	14.3	37	I-30 east / I-49 north – Hope, Little Rock, Texarkana, Dallas	North end of I-49 concurrency; east end of I-30 concurrency; split into exits 37A (east) and 37B (west)
			12.2	19.6	41	CR 23 (Sanderson Lane)
Arkansas–Texas state line	Miller–Bowie county line	Texarkana–Texarkana city line	14.1	22.7	–	US 59 / US 71 (North State Line Avenue) – Texarkana, Ashdown, Fort Smith	Northern terminus, state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References