Site Navigation Arkansas Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Oklahoma Tennessee Texas     Interstate 30 East - Texarkana area Interstate 30 East I-30 gains a collector/distributor lane after the state line onramp. Arkansas' Highway and Transportation Dept. (AHTD) has installed high mast lighting near the interstate here. Photo taken 04/25/08. Jefferson Avenue's exit shares the Welcome to Arkansas sign. Jefferson is a north/south street through Texarkana Arkansas. The Arkansas side of the city is on a much less affluent footing than the Texas side. Photo taken 04/25/08. This recently reconstructed overpass along I-30 in Arkansas sports a state outline, just like the new overpasses on the Texas side. Photo taken 04/25/08. Little Rock is still the control point on this side of the state line, however the interstate shields are more conforming than the 3-digit style of Texas signs. SR 245 is the second and final exit in Texarkana, Arkansas. Photo taken 04/25/08. US 82 runs east through the southern side of the state and leaves the I-30 corridor here to make its way towards El Dorado and Mississippi. Photo taken 04/25/08. This exit marks the northern end of SR 245, which becomes a freeway a few miles south. This was at one point mused to become a future interstate spur of I-30. Photo taken 04/25/08. Arkansas uses an older style of interstate shield generally, that includes the state name. Photo taken 04/25/08. These views look at the early stages of Texarkana's US 71 bypass route. Under construction, the US 71 bypass will be an expressway along the north and east sides of the Arkansas side of town. Photos taken 04/25/08. SR 108 is the next exit, quite a few miles down the road from Texarkana. 108 runs just to the east of I-30 to US 67, and west to US 71. Photo taken 04/25/08. Mandeville is an unincorporated community along US 67 about a mile east of the SR 108 exit. Photo taken 04/25/08. Arkansas' rest area is 8 miles into the state along I-30. Photos taken 04/25/08. Arkansas is working hard to rehabilitate its' interstate highway system, generally regarded as one of the worst in the US. At 9 miles in, and 27 miles from the next town of Hope, a new section of concrete begins. Photo taken 04/25/08. Exit 12 connects the freeway to the adjacent US 67 and the town of Fulton. Fulton has about 250 residents and began as a port on the Red River. Photo taken 04/25/08. Here, I-30 crosses the Red River and leaves Miller County. The interstate crosses the river at about the point where it changes from an east/west river to a north/south one. Photo taken 04/25/08. Immediately after the bridge, another exit takes drivers into the hamlet of Fulton. Photo taken 04/25/08. After the Fulton exit, the forests of southwestern Arkansas begin to frame the internstate. The forests do not let up until Little Rock is encountered. Photo taken 04/25/08. Hope is the next town of any importance on the interstate. Its main claim to fame, the birthplace of President Bill Clinton, is spelled out as I-30 enters town. Less notably, Hope is the birthplace of former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Photo taken 04/25/08. US 278 is the first US highway interchange in the state past Texarkana. US 278 is over 1,000 miles long and runs east through Atlanta to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Photo taken 04/25/08. Hope has about 10,000 people and is the county seat of Hempstead County. From this exit, US 278 forms the main east/west route through the town. Photo taken 04/25/08. SR 29 is the second and final exit in Hope. SR 29 forms an eastern bypass of Hope and continues southward to Louisiana to become that state's SR 3. Photo taken 04/25/08. The SR 29 exit is a folded diamond with an interesting arrow on the sign. Hope also claims to be a watermelon growing center, and the area holds records for producing some of the world's largest watermelons. Photo taken 04/25/08. The forested desolation continues past Hope and into rural Hempstead County. Photo taken 04/25/08. SR 299 is a short 3 mile state route connector that runs eastward to US 67 and the town of Emmet. Emmet sits on the Nevada county line and has about 500 people. Photo taken 04/25/08. A bit into Nevada County, sits the town of Prescott. Nevada County was formed in 1871 and so named because of a perceived similarity with the shape of the state of Nevada (they're not shaped anything alike). Photo taken 04/25/08. US 371/SR 24 is the first exit in Prescott. Photo taken 04/25/08. US 371 is a short US highway that runs north from northern Louisiana and into southwestern Arkansas, while SR 24 runs west to Oklahoma. Photo taken 04/25/08. The second and final exit in Prescott is for SR 19. Photo taken 04/25/08. This view looks eastbound along I-30 at the SR 19 exit. Prescott has less than 4,000 people and is mostly a rural service center for area farms. Photo taken 04/25/08. The next exit is some 8 miles down the road and serves the small communities of Okolona and Gurdon. Photo taken 04/25/08. After Nevada, comes Clark County (no relation to Clark County, Nevada, this time!). It was formed in 1818, the third county in the state, and was named for William Clark who was the then governor of Missouri Territory. Photo taken 04/25/08. SR 51 is the first exit in Clark County. Okolona was the site of the civil war battle of Elkin's Ferry in April of 1864. Late in the war, the battle resulted in a Union victory. Photo taken 04/25/08. Gurdon, although on the previous exit control point, but is shown here as being 14 miles distant. Photo taken 04/25/08. The two views are typical of Clark County, with large forest draping each side of the roadway. Photo taken 04/25/08. Gurdon, also mentioned at the last exit, is the control point along SR 53. Photo taken 04/25/08. Gurdon has about 2200 people and was founded as a timber shipping point along the railroad. It was named after a railroad executive, just like many of the towns in the western US. Photo taken 04/25/08. Gum Springs has about 200 residents and began as yet another timber shipping point on the railroad. Photo taken 04/25/08. SR 26 runs east of here for about 1.5 miles to Gum Springs and US 67. Photo taken 04/25/08. 73 miles into Arkansas, the county seat of Arkadelphia is encountered along with a host of state highways. Photo taken 04/25/08. Arkadelphia was originally called Blakelytown, after an early settler, until 1839 when it was renamed to its present form. Civic leaders thought more settlers would be attracted if the name sounded like Philadelphia. Photo taken 04/25/08. Several hills are encountered after Arkadelphia, and drivers can see some of the foothills of the Ouachitas to the north and west side of the road. Photo taken 04/25/08. The first major state highway encountered since Hope is SR 7 here before Malvern. Photo taken 04/25/08. SR 7 is one of Arkansas' most scenic highways, and runs north into the Ozark Mountains. It is also the main route from the south into the regional center of Hot Springs. Photo taken 04/25/08. Page Updated June 28, 2008.