End of US highway 167 |
1926-1931
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1931-1949
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1949-1960
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1960-1970?
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1970?-present
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Originally US 167 did not end there; the two routes were overlapped up to Capitol Avenue, in order for US 167 to connect with its implied "parent" route (US 67). This 1958 image was taken looking west on Capitol, and the State Capitol is visible in the distance:
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Roughly during the time, that direction was westbound US 70/southbound US 67, while eastbound US 70 and northbound US 67-65 were to the right on Broadway. To the left on Broadway was southbound US 65, and it was also the north beginning of US 167. This photo was taken at that intersection, back when US 167 was still signed all the way into the downtown area:
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In 1931, US 167 traffic was rerouted south of Winnfield, such that it followed its current corridor to its junction with US 71, just north of Alexandria. (Note that, at the time of this map, the original US 167 was still designated LA 5):
That junction was significantly altered when the interchange at the north end of the Pineville Expressway was built, and the actual intersection no longer exists. But US 71 originally followed what is now LA hwy. 3225 northward out of Alexandria, and where that junctions US 167 is roughly the same spot where US 167 once began. In those days, it was common for routes to overlap into the central area of a nearby city. In this case, that would have been Alexandria, but detailed city insets from that timeframe make no reference to US 167:
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It is somewhat unusual for a US route to end at a state route, and even more so today, now that it has been changed to Business Loop 14. There was no "End" sign there:
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If a driver makes that left turn, they are immediately greeted with the first northbound confirming marker:
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In 1960, the US 167 designation was extended northeast out of Little Rock with US 67 to Bald Knob, then north to US 63 at Hardy:
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That map suggests that US 167 actually ended at Ash Flat, and I have yet to see an Arkansas map large-scale enough to show an overlap with US 62 between Hardy and Ash Flat. However, USGS topos from that timeframe do indicate that US 167 extended to Hardy:
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It was probably during the 1970s that the north end of US 167 was truncated to its current terminus in Ash Flat. This photo was looking eastbound on US 62-412:
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The north beginning of US 167 is to the right. If one were to take that turn, they would soon see the first southbound marker:
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Straight ahead is north via eastbound US 62-412, but historically US 167 extended that direction for another ten miles, to Hardy.
Research and/or photo credits: Robert Brooks; H.B. Elkins; Jeremy Lance; Steven Nelson; Alex Nitzman; Thomas O'Halloran; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa; "Urban Prairie Schooner"
Page originally created 1999;
last updated Feb. 19, 2021.
last updated Feb. 19, 2021.