A dirt US highway in Arkansas?

[bugo]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=eudora,+ar&sll=36.092118,-95.962988&sspn=0.006572,0.01929&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Eudora,+Chicot,+Arkansas&t=h&layer=c&cbll=33.106374,-91.254834&panoid=gCaYzj0MpVKvBq4az-Wgkw&cbp=12,76.44,,0,2.85&ll=33.106791,-91.258217&spn=0.003406,0.009645&z=17

It appears to be a dirt road.  The road is unsigned, but the AHTD Eudora map shows it as being US 65 spur.  Do we have a dirt US (although unsigned) highway?


http://www.arkansashighways.com/maps/cities/eudora_city.pdf

[shoptb1]

Seems odd to have a road around a set of buildings designated as a US Highway Spur.  Although the humor of this being in SE Arkansas is definitely not lost on me...I am thinking that this is a bit far-fetched even for the AHTD. 

[corco]

I would say that even though the state of Arkansas maintains it as US 65 Spur, it's not really part of the US Highway system. If it both has no AASHTO approval and is not signed, then there's no real reason to consider it part of the US Highway system instead of the state of Arkansas having to give it a purely internal designation for bookkeeping purposes and that fitting in best with their numbering scheme.

I'd say in essence it's listed on paper as US-65 spur, but mainly because that route has to have a designation of some kind and that is the most logical from the AHTD's standpoint, but as far as actually being part of the US-65 line, it's not.

Sort of like Washington state has a number of spurs off US Highways that end up following (officially) the legislative designation. Since WSDOT doesn't distinguish between US and state routes, they're bookkept as SR 97 and SR 97 Spur instead of US-97 and US-97 Spur, but functionally you'd argue only the "SR 97" is part of the US highway system. Wyoming only signs highways with their numerical designations and records them with inventory control numbers, so their random spurs get ML (mainline) or OT (Optional Turn) designations with a completely separate number, but if they were to signpost them, the most logical number to put would be US XXX Spur, whether or not they are actually part of the system.

Short of adopting a link/spur system like Nebraska has, adopting weird spurs that don't make sense like this one for internal designation is the best they can do, and since that stuff is supposed to remain internal (for all but crazy roadgeeks like ourselves  ), I don't think you can call it part of the US highway system. 

Arkansas makes the distinction of US highways being a separate class, which mucks up the matter and makes for amusing anomalies like this one, but for everything except bookkeeping at AHTD's standpoint, I don't think it's part of the US highway system.

[US71]

Arkansas does have a reputation for short "spurs" that are not posted as SPUR.  There are numerous highways that serve as little more than a state maintained roadway to a local factory.  AR 102 in Rogers(since removed from service) led to a Tyson chicken plant, AR 398 near Paris leads to a charcoal plant, but those ARE on the map.

(so Jeremy, are you going to post that to your blog? )