Arkansas Highway 130

Highway 130 (AR 130, Ark. 130, and Hwy. 130) is an east–west state highway in Arkansas County, Arkansas. Mostly a low-volume, two-lane road, Highway 130 connects the two county seats of Arkansas County, Stuttgart and DeWitt. The highway began as State Road 30, one of the original state highways in 1926 between North Little Rock and DeWitt. It was renumbered to 130 to prevent confusion with Interstate 30 in 1958, and the segment between North Little Rock and Stuttgart was replaced by an extension of US 165 in 1981, producing the current alignment. Highway 130 has one spur route in Almyra, and a former alternate route in DeWitt that was designated but never built. The routes are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT).

Route description
Highway 130 connects Stuttgart and DeWitt, the two county seats of Arkansas County. Despite estimated travel times similar to US 165 between the cities, US 165 receives three times more vehicular traffic as a mainline route across Southeast Arkansas. The route is a rural, two-lane road its entire length, except near the western terminus in Stuttgart. Highway 130 is entirely within the Grand Prairie, a subset of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain ecoregion known for rice cultivation and duck hunting.

The highway begins as a section line road at US Highway 79 Business (US 79B, 22nd Street) at an intersection with Main Street in southern Stuttgart near Stuttgart High School. Highway 130 continues east through a commercial area as a four lane divided highway with a paved median, crossing a railroad spur before an intersection with US 165 (Park Avenue) near the Riceland Foods headquarters. Continuing east, Highway 130 becomes a two-lane road, passing residential subdivisions and the Stuttgart Country Club before entering an agricultural part of Arkansas County. Near the University of Arkansas System Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Rice Research Extension Center and United States Department of Agriculture's and Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center, Highway 130 serves as the northern terminus of Highway 153, with Highway 130 turning south toward Almyra.

Highway 130 runs south along a section line to an intersection with Highway 980, which gives access to the Almyra Municipal Airport. Highway 130 continues south along the city limits of Almyra, with Highway 130 Spur running east into town as Main Street. South of Almyra, Highway 130 turns east and crosses Little LaGrue Bayou before a junction with Highway 33. The highway turns south at this junction, continuing south as a section line road and again crossing Little LaGrue Bayou before entering DeWitt.

In DeWitt, Highway 130 runs south as Monroe Street, crossing Holt Branch and running through a residential neighborhood before an intersection with Highway 152 (2nd Street). South of the intersection, Highway 130 passes the L.A. Black Rice Milling Association Inc. Office, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and the DeWitt Cemetery before an intersection with Highway 1 Business, where it terminates.

History
Present-day Highway 130 was created on April 1, 1926, as State Road 30, one of the original Arkansas state highways. It ran from US 70 in North Little Rock to downtown DeWitt. On November 25, 1958, the route was renumbered to Highway 130 after the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHTO) designated Interstate 30 in Arkansas. An existing Highway 130 in Van Buren County was renumbered to Highway 330.

In 1963, Highway 1 was rerouted around DeWitt onto a new terrain route. Highway 130 was extended south along Cross Street and Jefferson Street (including part of former Highway 1) south to the new Highway 1. The following year, Highway 130 was rerouted onto Monroe Street south to the current southern terminus at 13th Street. The former alignment was redesignated as Highway 1B south of 2nd Street, and the state highway designation along Maxwell, Adams, Cross, and Jefferson streets north of 2nd Street was deleted.

Highway 130 was realigned south of Almyra in 1968, with part of the former route within Almyra municipal limits becoming Highway 130 Spur.

The route remained unchanged until 1981, when several local officials requested the Arkansas State Highway Commission (ASHC) extend US 165 north to North Little Rock, along several highways, including Highway 130. The ASHC approved the change on March 18, 1981. The designation was approved on October 3, 1981, by the United States Route Number Committee of the AASHTO, truncating Highway 130 to the current northern terminus.

Almyra spur
Highway 130S (AR 130S, Ark. 130S, and Hwy. 130S) is a spur route in Almyra, Arkansas. Created in 1968 from a former alignment of the parent route, the highway alignment has remained unchanged since creation.

Route description

The highway runs east from the parent route as Main Street, passing the Almyra City Hall at Elizabeth Street. Highway 130S continues east past residences and churches, turning south and the post office onto Columbia Street. State maintenance ends at a t-intersection with 14th Street, an unpaved road along the southern town limits.

Major intersections

Desha County
State Road 130 is a former state highway from US 65 at Tillar to State Road 1 at McArthur. Today, the unpaved road is known as McArthur Road, and is maintained by the Desha County Road Department.

History

It was first shown on the 1927 state highway map as State Road 116, but was renumbered to State Road 130 by the May 1, 1928 map. The highway was deleted from the state highway system by the May 1929 map.

Major intersections

Choctaw
State Road 130 is a former state highway from State Road 9/US Highway 65 to Choctaw.

It was first shown on the 1937 map between present-day Old Highway 9 and Choctaw. In 1953, the segment west of US 65 was redesignated as Highway 9, trimming the route to approximately 1 mi. The road was renumbered to Highway 330 on November 25, 1958, as part of a statewide renumbering to avoid duplication with the newly designated Interstate highways. At the same time, Highway 30 was renumbered to Arkansas Highway 130 to make way for Interstate 30.

DeWitt alternate route
Highway 130A (AR 130A, Ark. 130A, and Hwy. 130A) is a former planned state highway alternate route in DeWitt, Arkansas. The highway was designated by the Highway Commission in 1973, but was never built, and approval was rescinded in 2004.

History

In 1973, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 9 of 1973. The act directed county judges and legislators to designate up to 12 mi of county roads as state highways in each county. Highway 130A was designated during this period of state highways system expansion, but the route was never built. The approval was rescinded in 2004.

Major intersections