U.S. Route 167
U.S. Route 167 is a north-south United States Highway within the U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas. It runs for from Ash Flat, Arkansas at U.S. Route 62/U.S. Route 412 to Abbeville, Louisiana at Louisiana Highway 14. It goes through the cities of Little Rock, Arkansas, Alexandria, Louisiana, and Lafayette, Louisiana.
Some of the highway's route has been combined with or parallels Interstate 49 in Louisiana. Between Junction City, Arkansas, and Ruston, Louisiana, U.S. 167 runs concurrent with U.S. 63.
Route description
Louisiana
U.S. Highway 167 in Louisiana runs in a north–south direction from the national southern terminus at Louisiana Highway 14 Business in Abbeville to the Arkansas state line at Junction City.The route cuts through the center of Louisiana for roughly its entire length and passes through two of the state's metropolitan areas, Lafayette and Alexandria. Between those cities, US 167 ranges in character from an urban freeway to a lightly traveled two-lane collector. During this stretch, it overlaps the southern of Interstate 49 from Lafayette through Opelousas before making a diversion through rural Evangeline Parish to serve the small city of Ville Platte.
US 167 follows a combination of I-49 and the Pineville Expressway through Alexandria and Pineville, crossing the Red River via the twin-span Purple Heart Memorial Bridge. US 167 remains a surface four-lane highway through northern Louisiana and is the primary north–south route through Winnfield, Jonesboro, and Ruston. The northern portion of the route, beginning at the I-20 interchange in Ruston, also carries the first of US 63.
On its southern end, US 167 began near Colfax, Louisiana when designated as one of the original numbered U.S. Highways in 1926. However, the route was extended to Abbeville in 1949 over a number of existing state highways, more than doubling its length within Louisiana. Since that time, US 167 has experienced several alignment shifts as freeways were constructed in its two urban areas. More recently, all but approximately of the route was widened to four lanes as part of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development TIMED program.
Abbeville to Lafayette
From the south, US 167 begins at an intersection with LA 14 Bus. in the Vermilion Parish city of Abbeville, located in southern Louisiana. The route heads north on Park Avenue, an undivided four-lane thoroughfare, and crosses mainline LA 14. US 167 travels due north from Abbeville and becomes a divided four-lane highway on a wide right-of-way upon entering rural surroundings. The highway will repeat this pattern throughout the majority of its distance in Louisiana. Passing through Maurice, US 167 has a brief concurrency with LA 92. The highway then curves to the northeast and crosses into Lafayette Parish.US 167 enters the suburban outgrowth of Lafayette and crosses the city limits just beyond a junction with LA 733. The highway, locally known as Johnston Street, becomes a busy commercial corridor near the Acadiana Mall and intersects several major thoroughfares on the southwest side of town, including LA 3073.
Prior to 2022, US 167 passed the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, located at a junction with US 90 Bus./LA 182 and turned northwest onto the Evangeline Thruway, a one-way pair, and overlapped US 90 for about ten blocks. That year, US 167 was rerouted onto North College Road, Bertrand Drive, and the northernmost section of Ambassador Caffery Parkway, where it intersects US 90 before intersecting I-10. The highway then runs concurrently with I-10 for approximately three miles before reaching a cloverleaf interchange with I-49 at exit 103. This interchange also marks the end of the I-10 concurrence as well as the southern terminus of I-49. The portion of the Evangeline Thruway between US 90 and I-10 previously signed as US 167 is now signed as LA 182.
I-49 concurrency and rural two-lane
US 167 utilizes the alignment of I-49 for the next. The freeway initially carries six lanes of traffic but quickly narrows to four through lanes. The highway crosses from Lafayette into Carencro at exit 2, which connects to LA 98. Carencro proper is served by exit 4, connecting with LA 726. North of Carencro, I-49/US 167 intersects the parallel LA 182 before crossing into St. Landry Parish.In St. Landry Parish, the freeway cuts through the adjacent communities of Sunset and Grand Coteau, served by exit 11 to LA 93. Further north, the route skirts the eastern edge of the city of Opelousas, which is accessed by exit 18 to LA 31 and exit 19 to US 190. US 167 departs from the alignment of I-49 at the next exit and heads west through a point known as Nuba and a junction with LA 10 and LA 182.
Narrowing to an undivided two-lane highway, US 167 travels northwest, overlapping LA 10 into Evangeline Parish. Here, the highway enters the city of Ville Platte and diverges onto the one-way pair of LaSalle and Main Streets through the center of town. During this stretch, US 167 intersects and briefly overlaps LA 29. After narrowing to two lanes again, US 167 turns due north at the western edge of Ville Platte and separates from LA 10. The highway passes to the east of Millers Lake and through an area known as Bayou Chicot, where it intersects LA 106. A few miles later, US 167 reaches a T-intersection with LA 13 in Turkey Creek. US 167 turns north to continue the path of LA 13 and travels several miles through a very sparsely populated area.
Alexandria metropolitan area
US 167 crosses into Rapides Parish just north of Clearwater and crosses under I-49 at exit 61. Soon afterward, it reaches a T-intersection with US 71 near Meeker and departs from the last stretch of two-lane pavement along its route. US 167 turns northwest and follows the alignment of US 71 alongside the Union Pacific Railroad line for the next through Lecompte, Lamourie, and Chambers. In Chambers, the highway passes the Louisiana State University at Alexandria, located about south of the Alexandria city limits.Upon entering Alexandria, the principal city of central Louisiana, US 71 and US 167 engage into an interchange with I-49 at exit 80. US 167 takes the entrance ramp to begin another concurrency with I-49, while US 71 proceeds straight ahead onto MacArthur Drive co-signed as US 167 Bus. This time, the freeway begins with four through lanes and widens to six lanes further into town. On the edge of the business district, US 167 departs from I-49 a final time via exit 84 and transitions onto the Pineville Expressway joined with LA 28. As the highway elevates to begin the approach onto the Red River bridge, ramps connect to LA 1 and LA 28 Bus. via the grade-level one-way pair of Casson and Fulton Streets. This interchange also reconnects US 167 Bus. to the parent route, though it is not signed here. US 167 proceeds over the six-lane twin-span Purple Heart Memorial Bridge and crosses from Alexandria into the smaller adjacent city of Pineville.
US 167 is predominantly a grade-level four-lane freeway through the Pineville area with exits that do not utilize a numbering scheme. Tight diamond interchanges connect with LA 1250 to Downtown Pineville and LA 107 toward Marksville. LA 28 departs to the east toward Jonesville at the next exit. US 167 curves northwest on the Pineville Expressway through Kingsville and intersects US 165, the main route connecting Alexandria with Monroe. Shortly afterward, in the community of Tioga, US 167 joins US 71 again briefly until the latter splits off toward Shreveport. Just before crossing into Grant Parish, the freeway ends as US 167 intersects LA 3225 at Creola.
North Louisiana
US 167 enters the Kisatchie National Forest at Prospect and remains within its boundaries throughout Grant Parish and into Winn Parish. Notable junctions along this stretch include LA 8 at Bentley, LA 123 in Dry Prong, and LA 500 at Packton. About north of Packton, US 167 curves due west onto East Lafayette Street in the town of Winnfield. The route overlaps US 84 and LA 34 through the center of town, where it crosses over the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway line and transitions onto West Court Street. With the other highways departing to the south and west, US 167 resumes its northerly course out of Winnfield, passing through Dodson and into Jackson Parish.US 167 follows the CPKC into the town of Jonesboro, where it travels along Old Winnsboro Road. After beginning a concurrency with LA 147, US 167 intersects LA 4 in the center of town. Just north of Jonesboro, US 167 passes through the adjacent communities of Hodge and North Hodge, where LA 147 turns off to the northwest. US 167 winds its way through Quitman, Ansley, and Clay before crossing into Lincoln Parish.
In Lincoln Parish, US 167 proceeds north into the city of Ruston and diverges onto the one-way pair of Vienna and Trenton Streets. The route overlaps US 80 for nine blocks and also begins a longer concurrency with LA 146 at California Avenue. Heading out of the business district, US 167 passes through an interchange with I-20, connecting with Shreveport to the west and Monroe to the east. This interchange also marks the southern terminus of US 63, and the two highways will remain paired throughout the remainder of their distance in Louisiana. North of Ruston, the rural surroundings return once again. While passing through Vienna, LA 146 departs to the west. US 167 proceeds through Unionville and Dubach before crossing into Union Parish.
In Union Parish, the highway enters Bernice, where it follows another one-way pair. In this small town, LA 2 Alt. utilizes the alignment of US 167 to reconnect to its parent route, LA 2. In Lillie, US 167 intersects the northern terminus of LA 15 just west of Spearsville. The route then curves northwest toward Junction City, located on the Arkansas state line. US 167 follows Main Street through town and intersects LA 9. At 3rd Street, the highway crosses the state line into Junction City, Arkansas and proceeds northward co-signed with US 63 toward El Dorado.