Interstate 540 (Arkansas)
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by AHTD | ||||
| Length: | 14.71 mi (23.67 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1965 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: |
  US 271 / AR 253 near Fort Smith
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| North end: |
 I-40 in Van Buren
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| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Sebastian, Crawford | |||
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| Location: | Crawford County |
| Length: | 12 mi (19 km) |
| Existed: | June 7, 1995–January 8, 1999 |
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Interstate 540 (I-540) is a freeway spur route of I-40 in the US state of Arkansas in Fort Smith. The total length is 14.71 miles (23.67 km). At first, I-540 was a short spur connecting Fort Smith and Van Buren to I-40 as one of the original five Arkansas Interstates. The route ran just over 14 miles (23 km) to US 271 near the Oklahoma state line. The growing Northwest Arkansas area and the University of Arkansas needed an Interstate connection to Little Rock, and through traffic north to Kansas City had also outgrown the winding US 71 north from I-40. The route was extended north to Mountainburg in the late 1990s on an all-new alignment, (Going under concurrency with I-40, one of the only auxiliary routes with a concurrency with its parent) with the route being completed to Bella Vista in January 1999. However, the segment north of I-40 became a part of Interstate 49 in 2014.
The older portion of I-540, completed in the 1970s, connects Interstate 40 southwards to the Oklahoma state line, going through Van Buren and Fort Smith. This particular spur starts at Exit 7 on Interstate 40 (being seven miles (11 km) east of the state line with Oklahoma). That point marks mile zero on this spur, in keeping with Interstate Highway rules that spur mileage begins at the "parent" route. The first three miles (5 km) are through Van Buren, before the bridge over the Arkansas River. The remainder, for a grand total of approximately 15 miles (24 km), travels through Fort Smith. AHTD bid a $79 million project in 2013 for I-540 rehabilitation in Fort Smith that includes re-signing the route and renumbering the exits.
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