Interstate 555 Arkansas

Interstate 555 Arkansas
Turrell, AR ↔ Jonesboro, AR•49.01 miles

Overview

Interstate 555 replaced U.S. 63 along a freeway stretching northwest from I-55 at Turrell to AR 91 on the west side of Jonesboro. A mostly rural route, I-555 serves the small cities of Gilmore, Tyronza, Marked Tree and Bay as it joins the Memphis area with Trumann and Jonesboro.

Sign fabrication was underway for I-555 by December 2015 while the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD), predecessor to the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) awaited approved from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for the Interstate highway. Installation on the new assemblies was expected to take up to four weeks.4 The designation became official at a dedication ceremony held at St. Bernards Auditorium in Jonesboro on March 11, 2016.5

ArDOT applied for a 4.81 mile long extension of I-555 from U.S. 49 and Highway 18 (Southwest Drive) north to Highway 91 in Spring 2016. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering approved the extension over the remainder of the freeway along U.S. 63 through Jonesboro on May 24, 2016.6 With approval by the FHWA, ArDOT announced that I-555 was official from U.S. 49/63 (Southwest Drive) to AR 91 (Dan Avenue) on November 23, 2021.7

Mileage by State

Arkansas49.94 mi

Data Sources

December 31, 2025 Interstate Route Log and Finders List

History

Future I-555 Sign in 2001
Future Interstate 555 corridor sign along U.S. 63 between I-55 and Jonesboro. Photo by Chris Lawrence (2001).

U.S. 63 was established as High Priority Corridor 39 in 1998.1 Until 1999, U.S. 63 ended at Turrell and Interstate 55. A southward extension lengthened the route to I-40 at West Memphis, Hazen and I-20 at Ruston, Louisiana.

AHTD submitted an application to the AASHTO for the establishment of Interstate 555 along U.S. 63 from I-55 north of Marion to AR 91 in Jonesboro on April 16, 1999. The Route Numbering Subcommittee however disapproved the designation because significant portions of the expressway did not meet Interstate standards and would not for some time. AHTD applied to AASHTO for I-555 again and was subsequently granted Future Interstate status for the route December 9, 2000.

As of December 2003, 26 miles of Future I-555 between Jonesboro and Payneway were built to Interstate standards with 18 miles remaining. Ground breaking for a new overpass at AR 149 in Poinsett County followed as part of a $100 million federally funded project to continue Interstate upgrades along U.S. 63. Interchanges were constructed in 2004 at AR 118 and AR 135 near the city of Tyronza. Succeeding work upgraded the exchange between I-55 and U.S. 63 to a freeway-to-freeway connection.1

Northeastern Arkansas - 2003
Future Interstate 555 on the 2003 Arkansas Official Highway Map.
I-555 at I-55 Turrel, AR - 2006
Construction for the eventual overpass taking Interstate 555 across I-55 at Turrell. Photo by Robert Lee (07/08/06).

Interstate 555 remained unsigned due to a portion of U.S. 63 at Sunken Lands. This section was not fully controlled access, with farm equipment from adjacent private land using the roadway. Upgrading these two stretches of U.S. 63 to Interstate standards, and building companion frontage roads at Marked Tree and just to the west, was estimated to cost $50 million.2 This resulted in the farm vehicle exemption language included by Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) federal highway authorization bill of December 2015.3

Signed for nearly 15 years as Future I-555, the Arkansas State Highway Commission voted to designate 44 miles of U.S. 63 as Interstate 555 on December 2, 2015. Language in the FAST bill signed by President Obama on December 4, 2015, included the exemption for building a two lane frontage road across the St. Francis River floodway for farm vehicles. This exemption saved ArDOT $33 million in costs estimated for building the road required to accommodate farm vehicles. Without the exemption, as farm vehicles are prohibited otherwise from using an Interstate highway, farmers would otherwise be forced to make a 90-mile detour to circumvent U.S. 63 / I-555.3 Signs referencing the farm equipment usage went up on I-555 on January 28, 2016.

$250 million in upgrades took place along the U.S. 63 corridor over a 40 year period leading to the redesignation of I-555 from a Future route.3 Having been replaced by I-555, and overlapping with I-55 south and I-40 west, U.S. 63 was relocated from Jonesboro to Brinkley to run alongside U.S. 49 on a more direct route. This change was approved by AASHTO on May 21, 2019. Business routes for U.S. 61 at Jonesboro and Marked Tree from I-555 were also eliminated. I-555 remained unposted west from U.S. 49 to Highway 91 at Jonesboro until 2022.

North End U.S. 63 Arkansas Route 91 ‐ Jonesboro, AR

Interstate 555 North at U.S. 63 Arkansas Route 91

I-555 north at US 49-63/AR 18 - Jonesboro

Interstate 555 ended at the exchange (Exit 45) joining U.S. 63 with U.S. 49 south and AR 18 (Southwest Drive) north until November 2021. 01/14/19

I-555 north at US 49-63/AR 18 - Jonesboro I-555/US 63 north at AR 91 - Jonesboro I-555/US 63 north at AR 91 - Jonesboro

U.S. 63 South at Interstate 555 Arkansas Route 91

US 63 south at I-555 - Jonesboro, AR

U.S. 63 south transitions onto Interstate 555 (Joe N. Martin Expressway) through the west side of Jonesboro at the parclo interchange (Exit 49) with AR 91 (Dan Avenue). 05/07/22

US 63 south at I-555 - Jonesboro, AR I-555/US 63 south at AR 91 - Jonesboro US 63 south at I-555/AR 91 - 2012 I-555/US 63 south at US 49/AR 18 - Jonesboro

Arkansas Route 91 North at Interstate 555 U.S. 63

AR 91 north at I-555/US 63 - Jonesboro

AR 91 (Dan Avenue) meets I-555 south and U.S. 63 on the northwest side of Jonesboro. U.S. 63 travels northwest to U.S. 67 and U.S. 412 at Walnut Ridge. 05/07/22

AR 91 north at I-555/US 63 - Jonesboro AR 91 north at I-555/US 63 - Jonesboro AR 91 north at I-555/US 63 - Jonesboro

Arkansas Route 91 South at Interstate 555 U.S. 63

AR 91 south at I-555/US 63 - Jonesboro

AR 91 navigates along an L-shaped course south from Walnut Ridge to the town of Egypt and east to I-555/U.S. 63 in Jonesboro. 05/07/22

AR 91 south at I-555/US 63 - Jonesboro AR 91 south at I-555/US 63 - Jonesboro

South End Interstate 55 U.S. 61 U.S. 78 AR 77 ‐ Turrell, AR

Interstate 555 Arkansas Route 77 South at Interstate 55 U.S. 61 U.S. 78

I-555 south at I-55/US 61-AR 77 - Gilmore

Although not marked, AR 77 south combines with Interstate 555 from the rural city of Gilmore to I-55/U.S. 61-77 at Turrell. 01/14/19

I-555 south at I-55/US 61-AR 77 - Gilmore I-555 south at I-55/US 61-AR 77 - Gilmore I-555 south at I-55/US 61-AR 77 - Gilmore I-555 south at I-55/US 61-AR 77 - Turrell I-555 south at I-55/US 61-AR 77 - Turrell

Interstate 55 U.S. 61 North U.S. 78 West at Interstate 555 Arkansas Route 77

One mile ahead of I-555 on I-55/US 78 northbound

Leading north from AR 42, I-55/U.S. 78 and U.S. 61 separate at Exit 23. Interstate 555 replaced U.S. 63 northwest 44 miles to Jonesboro, where it emerged from an overlap with U.S. 49 to Bono and Hoxie. 07/11/25

One mile ahead of I-555 on I-55/US 78 northbound I-55/US 78 north at Exit 55 for I-555/US 61/AR 77 I-55/US 61-63 north at I-555/AR 77 - 2019 Exit 23 separates for I-555/AR 77 north and US 61/AR 77 south I-55/US 61 north at US 63/AR 77 - 2001

Interstate 55 South U.S. 78 East at Interstate 555 U.S. 61 Arkansas Route 77

I-55/US 61 south at I-555/AR 77 - Turrell

A ten mile exit less stretch along I-55/U.S. 78 south culminates in northern Crittenden County where I-555, U.S. 61 and AR 77 converge. AR 77 and U.S. 61 parallel I-55 leading into the exchange at Turrell. I-55 subsumes U.S. 61 southward to West Memphis while I-555 replaced U.S. 63 northwest to Jonesboro. Photo by Peter Johnson (02/21/20).

I-55/US 61 south at I-555/AR 77 - Turrell I-55/US 61 south at I-555/AR 77 - Turrell I-55/US 61 south at I-555/AR 77 - Turrell

Arkansas Route 77 North at Interstate 55 Interstate 555 U.S. 61 U.S. 78

AR 77 north at I-555/US 61 - Turrell

AR 77 north at U.S. 61, I-55/U.S. 78 and Interstate 555 at Turrell. U.S. 61 follows the east side frontage road of I-55 northeast toward Wilson. 01/14/19

AR 77 north at I-555/US 61 - Turrell AR 77 north at I-555/US 61 - Turrell AR 77 north at I-555/US 61 - Turrell

References

  1. Information obtained from "I-555 work starts with ceremony in Marked Tree" posted on the GoMemphis: Mid-south web site News July 4, 2003
  2. "Re: AR: Future I-555" online posting by Grzrd, AARoads Forum, July 26, 2014.
  3. "Highway Commission OKs designating portion of U.S. 63 as I-555." Arkansas News, December 2, 2015.
  4. "Re: AR: Future I-555 " online posting by AHTD, AARoads Forum, December 4, 2015.
  5. Reaves, J. (2016, March 9). I-555 to be dedicated Friday in Jonesboro. KASU. Retrieved from https://www.kasu.org/local-regional-news/2016-03-09/i-555-to-be-dedicated-friday-in-jonesboro#stream/0
  6. Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering meeting scheduled for May 24, 2016. AASHTO 2016 Spring Meeting in Des Moines, Iowa.
  7. Tabor, B. (2021, November 24). I-555 designation extends to Dan Avenue in Jonesboro. KUAF 91.3 FM. Retrieved from https://www.kuaf.com/arkansas-news-from-kuar-kasu-and-ark-public-media/2021-11-24/i-555-designation-extends-to-dan-avenue-in-jonesboro
Updated November 24, 2025