Take a ride through the eastern Arkansas Delta as we follow a 79-mile stretch of what is now Interstate 57, formerly U.S. Highway 67, from Searcy to Walnut Ridge. This corridor, once a key artery in the development of northern Arkansas, has recently been elevated to full Interstate status—but during our filming, it was still signed as U.S. 67, with the promise of I-57 shields just over the horizon. Our journey winds through a mix of agricultural plains, small-town Americana, and key river crossings that trace the evolution of Arkansas’s transportation backbone.
We begin in Searcy, turning onto the highway from Arkansas Highway 36 at the southern edge of town. The early stretch immediately sets the tone—wide shoulders, clean signage, and intermittent signs reading “Future I-57” hint at the coming change. We pass through Judsonia, a community with roots in the mid-1800s and a quiet charm nestled among farmland and timber lots. The road here is flat and fast, a gentle climb through the White County countryside as it arcs northeast toward Bald Knob. At Bald Knob, the landscape and the route shift: U.S. 167 and U.S. 64 split away, leaving us to press on alone as the road turns eastward. This town, once a bustling railroad hub and strawberry capital, now serves as a regional waypoint, its name a throwback to a nearby rocky outcrop that stood out amid the surrounding flatlands.
As we curve northeast again, we cross into Jackson County and approach Bradford, a small town with deep ties to the timber and cotton trades. The highway continues through wide swaths of farmland, where cotton, soybeans, and rice dominate the horizon. Beyond Bradford, we cross the White River, one of the defining waterways of eastern Arkansas. The bridge offers a brief but scenic interlude—a look at the river’s winding path, lined with levees and low woods that swell with water during the rainy season. Not far beyond lies Newport, a town with deep musical history—once home to clubs that saw early performances by Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash—and still a central hub in the delta’s agricultural economy.
Past Newport, the highway again veers east briefly, bypassing smaller communities like Amagon and Weldon, before settling into a more persistent north-northeasterly path. The road’s design becomes more modern here—long stretches of divided freeway with concrete medians and newer signage reflecting the slow transformation to Interstate standards. As we approach Lawrence County, the road climbs gently through bottomlands and pine-fringed farmland, the scenery becoming more open as we near Hoxie. At Hoxie, we cross U.S. 63, which splits east toward Jonesboro, and continue our course north toward Walnut Ridge—a town that shares its roots with Hoxie and helped define the railroad history of the region.
We end our journey at the interchange with U.S. 412 in Walnut Ridge, where the highway prepares to merge with additional routes heading into the northeastern corner of the state. By this point, the transformation is nearly complete—signs for I-57 were already in place or being staged at the time of our filming. And today, the route is officially signed as Interstate 57, bringing with it the benefits of federal funding, upgraded safety standards, and a symbolic connection to the broader national highway system.
This drive captures a moment in time—the final stage of a decades-long effort to upgrade Arkansas’s eastern backbone from U.S. Highway to full-fledged Interstate. As we reflect on the journey, it becomes clear that this isn’t just a story of pavement and exit signs, but of regional growth, historical shifts, and the evolving identity of the Arkansas Delta. Where trains once carried cotton and timber north, and two-lane roads meandered between towns, the Interstate now delivers a smoother, faster link between generations—without erasing the landscape’s deep Southern roots.
🗺️ Route Map
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