Arkansas Highway 12
Highway in Arkansas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arkansas Highway 12 (AR 12) is a designation for two state highways in Northwest Arkansas, in the United States. One segment of 26.0 miles (41.8 km) runs from the Oklahoma state line east to Highway 112 in Bentonville. A second segment of 29.9 miles (48.1 km) runs from US 62 in Rogers east to Highway 23 near Clifty.
SH-116 at the Oklahoma state line in Cherokee CityHighway 12 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ArDOT | ||||
| Existed | 1926–present | |||
| Section 1 | ||||
| Length | 26.0 mi[1] (41.8 km) | |||
| West end | SH-116 at the Oklahoma state line in Cherokee City | |||
| Major intersections |   AR 59 / AR 264 at Gentry | |||
| East end |  AR 112 in Bentonville | |||
| Section 2 | ||||
| Length | 29.9 mi[1] (48.1 km) | |||
| West end |   US 62 / AR 94 in Rogers | |||
| East end |  AR 23 east of Clifty | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Arkansas | |||
| Counties | Benton, Madison | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
Oklahoma to Bentonville
Highway 12 begins at the Oklahoma state line as a continuation of OK-116 and runs east, crossing Highway 43 before entering Gentry. Highway 12 meets Highway 59B (Collins Avenue)[2] and Highway 59 (Gentry Boulevard)[2] before leaving the city. The highway continues east through Springtown and Highfill, meeting Highway 264 in south Highfill. Highway 12 angles north past Northwest Arkansas National Airport to Vaughn before meeting Highway 112 in Bentonville, where it terminates.
Rogers to Clifty
The route begins at US 62/Highway 94 in Rogers. Highway 12 leaves Rogers, heading east a winding two-lane road with several steep grades and hairpin curves around Beaver Lake. The route meets Highway 303 near War Eagle and Highway 127 near Clifty, when the route terminates at Highway 23.[3]
From Rogers east to Clifty, the Scenic Highway 12 East Association maintains a website which outlines various points of interest on this segment of highway. Hydrologically, Highway 12 lies within the Arkansas River catchment basin.
Major intersections
| County | Location | mi[4][3] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton | | 0.0 | 0.0 |  SH-116 west – Colcord | Continuation into Oklahoma | ||
| | 0.5 | 0.80 |  AR 43 – Maysville, Siloam Springs | ||||
| Gentry | 5.8 | 9.3 |  AR 59B (Collins Avenue) | ||||
| 6.0 | 9.7 | AR 59 (South Gentry Boulevard) – Gravette, Siloam Springs | |||||
| Highfill | 14.0 | 22.5 |   AR 264 east – Cave Springs, Northwest Arkansas National Airport | Western terminus of AR 264 | |||
| Regional Avenue – Airport | |||||||
| Vaughn | 20.1 | 32.3 |     AR 279 north (South Vaughn Road) to AR 102 | Southern terminus of AR 279 | |||
| Bentonville | 26.0 | 41.8 |  AR 112 south (Southwest I Street) – Cave Springs | Eastern terminus; northern terminus of AR 112 | |||
| Gap in route | |||||||
| Rogers | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 62 / AR 94 – Eureka Springs, Little Flock, Pea Ridge, Fayetteville | Western terminus | |||
| North 2nd Street – Fayetteville | Former US 62B/AR 12 | ||||||
| | 11.5 | 18.5 |  AR 303 north – Rocky Branch Recreation Area | Southern terminus of AR 303 | |||
| Lookout | 16.5 | 26.6 |  AR 127 south | Northern terminus of AR 127 | |||
| Madison | | 23.5 | 37.8 |   AR 45 south to US 412 | Southern terminus of AR 45 | ||
| | 28.7 | 46.2 | AR 127 north | Southern terminus of AR 127 | |||
| | 29.9 | 48.1 | AR 23 – Eureka Springs, Huntsville | Eastern terminus | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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History
The route from Oklahoma to Rogers was originally designated as Arkansas State Road B-27 in Arkansas' initial state highway system of 1924.[5] The route was unpaved. Upon redesignation in 1926, Arkansas Highway 12 was the major east–west route of north Arkansas, running from Oklahoma to Ash Flat via Harrison.[6] This Highway 12 was a precursor to U.S. Route 62 in Arkansas, which supplanted Highway 12 almost entirely in 1930.[7] The portion not replaced by US 62 remained Highway 12, and is very similar to the present-day alignment. The routing was changed slightly in August 2010 when Highway 12 replaced US 62B in east Rogers.[4]
Despite no major routing changes since 1930, Highway 12 has seen major change along its shoulders. Running through small mountain towns at inception, today Highway 12 serves America's sixth–fastest growing metropolitan area. [8]
