U.S. Route 64 in Arkansas

Bridge carrying US 64 over the Arkansas River in Van Buren

Historic Marker in Marion for the Trail of Tears at intersection of US 64 and AR 77

US 64 crosses Arkansas' western border over the Arkansas River, heading southeast into downtown Ft. Smith. Upon entry to Arkansas, the highway passes the Fort Smith National Historic Site, Ft. Smith Confederate Monument, Commercial Hotel and the West Garrison Avenue Historic District, all on the National Register of Historic Places. The highway turns northwest near the New Theatre, following the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad and concurring with US 71 Business onto 10th and 11th Streets.[2] Westbound traffic runs on 10th St and eastbound traffic on 11th St past the Fort Smith Masonic Temple. Traffic converges onto Midland Boulevard.[3] US 64 crosses the Arkansas River again near the American Doughboy Monument as it enters Van Buren on Broadway. US 64 passes the Van Buren Post Office before turning east onto Main Street, then northeast again becoming the Alma Highway. US 64 passes a former alignment, now designated as Oak St. After Oak St, US 64 crosses I-540 and continues east to Alma.[4] US 64 closely follows Interstate 40 until Conway, while also closely following the Arkansas River, the Union Pacific Railroad, and the southern edge of the Ozark National Forest.

US 64 continues through mountainous Franklin County, intersecting the Pig Trail Scenic Byway in Ozark.[5] The route passes the Franklin County Courthouse, and the Ozark Courthouse Square Historic District in Ozark before exiting town continuing east. Route 64 passes a historically significant connector road in Wiederkehr Village before entering Altus and entering Johnson County. US 64 runs through Coal Hill and Hartman before curving northeast and crossing over I-40. The route continues to Clarksville, home of the University of the Ozarks.[6] The route passes the Johnson County Courthouse, historic American Legion Hut, Clarksville Municipal Airport, and Lake Dardanelle before again crossing over I-40 and entering Pope County.[7]

US 64 then parallels Interstate 40, through Russellville and Morrilton. In Faulkner County, it briefly converges with U.S. Route 65B through Conway heading south before diverging from US 65 Business and Interstate 40 by turning east onto Oak Street. The highway next approaches Vilonia, following a southerly bypass around the city that opened in October 2011[8] (replacing its former alignment along Vilonia's Main Street) and rejoining its prior alignment west of the White County line and continuing to El Paso, where it intersects Arkansas Highway 5. US 64 then travels east to Beebe, where it originally entered town via Center Street and joined with US 67 and US 167. This former route along Center Street has since been resigned U.S. Route 67B,[9] as all three US highways have been relocated to a concurrent divided highway northwest of Beebe.

US 64 runs along this divided highway past McRae, Garner, and Searcy, where its original route took it north along Main Street, then east along Race Avenue. This former route is now signed U.S Route 67B. Later, US 64, 67, and 167 were rerouted southeast of Searcy along Eastline Road, which is now signed Arkansas Highway 367. Currently, all three highways continue to run northeast along a divided highway running parallel to Eastline Road.

US 64 diverges from US 67 & 167 on the northeast side of Bald Knob, where its former route took it downtown along Highway Avenue, which is now signed Arkansas Highway 367. US 64 turns east toward the White River and Woodruff County, while the divided US 67 diverges northeast, and US 167 diverges north.

US 64 runs near Altus.

US 64 continues east through Augusta and McCrory, intersecting with US Route 49 at Fair Oaks and bypassing Wynne while in Cross County, and proceeding into Crittenden County through Earle and Crawfordsville, until joining with Interstate 55 at Marion. Its former route continued east along Military Road, turning south onto the Great River Road, and converging with US Route 63, which has since also been rerouted along Interstate 55. The former route is signed Arkansas Highway 77.

US 64 is concurrent with US 67 and US 167 between Beebe and Bald Knob.

US 64 continues south to West Memphis, where its former route entered the city from the north via Missouri Street, turning east (diverging from US 63 while converging with US 70 & 79) onto Broadway. Its current route turns east north of West Memphis as Interstates 55 and 40 briefly converge, before entering Tennessee (and downtown Memphis) along the Interstate 55 bridge.

Each August, a large yard sale similar to the Highway 127 Corridor Sale takes place along 160 mi (260 km) of US 64 in Arkansas, in locations stretching from Fort Smith to Beebe.[10]

The Arkansas River Valley has served as an east-west pathway across Arkansas for centuries, with travelers taking advantage of the flat natural topography between the Ozark Mountains and the Ouachita Mountains. When the United States Army began constructing the Memphis to Little Rock Road on January 31, 1824, it followed a historic trail through the region.[11]

National Register of Historic Places

Four original segments of US 64 remain intact and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Menifee segment was listed in 2006,[12] the Scotia segment was listed in 2007,[13] and the Van Buren and Altus segments were listed in 2010.[14][15] The Horsehead Creek Bridge near Hartman was listed in 2014.[16]

Augusta Bridge in 1988

The original segment listings are contained within the Arkansas Highway History and Architecture Multiple Property Submission, which preserves history from Arkansas's highway building era between 1910 and 1965.[17] The Horsehead Creek Bridge was listed within the Historic Bridges of Arkansas MPS.[18] Two other bridges were NRHP-listed until their demolition: the 1920 Galla Creek Bridge near Pottsville was removed in 2000, and the 1930 Augusta Bridge over the White River was removed in 2002.

• List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Crawford County, Arkansas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Conway County, Arkansas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Franklin County, Arkansas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Johnson County, Arkansas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Pope County, Arkansas
• Special routes of U.S. Route 64, six special routes of US 64 exist in Arkansas