Interstate 555
Interstate 555 is an Interstate Highway connecting I-55 in Turrell with Highway 91 in Jonesboro. It provides a complete freeway corridor between Jonesboro, Arkansas' fifth-largest city, and Memphis, Tennessee. Formerly known as U.S. [Route 63 in Arkansas|U.S. Route 63], the highway was converted in the early 2000s to Interstate Highway standards. I-555 was dedicated in March 2016.
Route description
I-555 begins at an interchange of I-55, U.S. [Route 61 in Arkansas|US 61], and AR 77 in Turrell. I-55 goes south to Memphis, Tennessee. The road parallel to the Interstate, AR 463, is a former alignment of US 63. I-555 passes through farmland and Gilmore. Then, it passes through Tyronza and Marked Tree. The section between Marked Tree and Payneway is also used for farm equipment vehicles to drive on. Next, it passes through Trumann before entering Jonesboro. It briefly has an overlap with U.S. [Route 49 in Arkansas|US 49]. I-555 ends in Jonesboro at an interchange with AR 91; from there, the road continues as US 63.History
The I-555 route was approved on January 10, 2001, consisting of a widened section of US 63 between Turrell to Jonesboro to Interstate Highway standards. A few mainline bridges between Marked Tree and Turrell are from original two-lane US 63 and are narrower than current standards, but I-530 was approved in 1999 despite having a similar issue.The last requirement to formally designate this route as I-555 was the construction of a parallel access road across a floodway between Payneway and Marked Tree, so that farm equipment would no longer have to use US 63 to cross the floodway. No crossing has ever been built, but an exemption for agricultural vehicles was added to I-555 between Marked Tree and Payneway. The exemption was introduced by U.S. Representative Rick Crawford and passed as part of the House Transportation Bill on December 4, 2015. It was announced in December 2015 that I-555 would be officially designated in early 2016. In early 2016, signs along the section of the highway cautioned travelers that there may be farm equipment driving on the roadway. The road was officially dedicated on March 11, 2016, in Jonesboro. In 2021, US 63 was rerouted off the entire route of I-555, but a short extension on November 23 of that same year redesignated US 63 along a section of I-555 again.