Arkansas Highway 22
Arkansas Highway 22 is an east–west state highway in the Arkansas River Valley. The route runs from US 64 in Fort Smith east to Highway 7 in Dardanelle. Following the historic stagecoach line of the cross-country Butterfield Trail, the route is one of the original 1926 state highways. It is designated by the AHTD as the .
Route description
The route begins in Fort Smith at US 64/US 71B. It runs east, crossing I-540/US 71 and the incomplete interchange at the northern end of Highway 549. From its western terminus in Fort Smith, it carries the Seminole route of the Trail of Tears to Highway 255. Highway 255 then intersects Highway 96 east of the installation. The route next enters Charleston where it meets Highway 217 and the historic Butterfield Trail. The historic route continues along Highway 22 to its eastern terminus in Dardanelle. Continuing east into Branch, the route has a brief concurrency with Highway 41. County Line High School is located on the highway between Branch and Ratcliff.In the town of Caulksville, Highway 22 has a junction with Highway 23. Continuing east into the city of Paris, the highway has a junction with Highway 109/Highway 309. Highway 22 continues east to Subiaco, where it crosses Highway 197. In Midway, Highway 22 meets Highway 109, which heads north towards Clarksville. Highway 22 continues east to Dardanelle, passing through the communities of New Blaine and Delaware along the way. In Dardanelle, the route terminates at Highway 7 after an intersection with Highway 155.
The road itself is fairly straight and in reasonably good repair. Passing can be safely accomplished in several stretches of Highway 22 despite a lack of constructed passing areas.
History
The precursor to today's Highway 22 was the Butterfield Trail, a stagecoach trail officially known as the Overland Mail Company that traveled roughly along the present-day highway's route from Dardanelle to Fort Smith. The stagecoach carried mail and passengers from Memphis to Fort Smith. In Fort Smith the trail split into two routes, with one traveling west to San Francisco and the other traveling north to St. Louis. The Butterfield Trail was in operation from 1858 to 1861.Upon its establishment, Highway 22 was one of the original 1926 Arkansas state highways. Highway 22 ran from Fort Smith to Dardanelle along a routing very similar to the modern-day routing of AR 22. On July 14, 2015 the highway was linked to Future I-49 in Barling. In June 2019 a proposal was made under the Connecting Arkansas Program-2 for US$25 million to be allocated to the improvement of sections of Highway 22 between Fort Smith and Charleston. On March 20 of the same year, the highway was officially designated by the AHTD as the True Grit Trail. The name comes from the 1968 novel, True Grit by Charles Portis. Frank Ross, father of the protagonist Mattie Ross, travels along Highway 22 from Dardanelle to Fort Smith.