Arkansas Highway 178

Highway 178
Highway 178
Route information
	Maintained by ArDOT
Existed	1953–present
Section 1
Length	24.38 mi (39.24 km)
West end	US 62 / US 412 near Flippin
East end	US 62B in Mountain Home
Section 2
Length	4.29 mi (6.90 km)
West end	US 62B in Mountain Home
East end	Norfork Lake
Location
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
Counties	Marion, Baxter
Highway system
	Arkansas Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Business; Spurs; Suffixed; Scenic; Heritage;

Highway 178 (AR 178, Ark. 178, and Hwy. 178) is a designation for two east–west state highways in the Ozark Mountains. One segment begins near Flippin and runs east across Bull Shoals Dam to downtown Mountain Home. A second segment begins in eastern Mountain Home and runs east to Lake Norfork. Both highways are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT).

Route description

Flippin to Mountain Home

Highway 178 begins at US 62/US 412 south of Flippin in the Ozark Mountains. It runs north into Flippin, becoming a two-lane road with a center turn lane,^[3] passing Hickey City Park, and bridging Fallen Ash Creek. It runs along the western edge of downtown Flippin before bridging the Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad tracks. In the northern part of Flippin, Highway 178 serves as the eastern terminus of Highway 202 before crossing Crane Creek. Highway 178 serves as the western terminus of Highway 980, which runs east to the Marion County Regional Airport.^[4] North of the city, Highway 178 winds north through forested Ozarks hills, passing homes and approaching the White River. It passes through the unincorporated community of Fairview before entering the small lakeside town of Bull Shoals along the shores of Bull Shoals Lake. Highway 178 enters Bull Shoals-White River State Park, passing over Bull Shoals Dam and entering Baxter County.^[5]

East of the state park, Highway 178 passes the regionally known Gaston's White River Resort, followed by the small town of Lakeview. The highway passes the Lakeview Use Area on Bull Shoals Lake, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE, or "the Corps").^[6]

Mid-century residential subdivisions, largely oriented toward the nearby lake, are the dominant land use until Highway 178 intersects Highway 5 in a more rural area, forming a brief concurrency southbound. Highway 178 turns from the concurrency with Highway 5, forming a southbound concurrency with Highway 126. The two highways pass Baxter County Airport before Highway 178 turns from Highway 126 toward Mountain Home. Highway 178 enters the western side of Mountain Home, entering the Mountain Home Commercial Historic District at an intersection with Hickory Street, passing The Baxter Bulletin office.^[7] Highway 178 intersects US 62B (Main Street, as well as unsigned Highway 5 and Highway 201) near the Baxter County Courthouse; the route's eastern terminus.^[8]

Mountain Home to Norfork Lake

Highway 178 begins at US 62B in eastern Mountain Home, a commercial thoroughfare. It runs due south as Club Boulevard before turning east onto Buzzard Roost Road. The road crosses US 62/US 412 (Shield Hopper Bypass) just east of the city limits and winds east through a wooded area approaching Lake Norfork. The highway terminates at the Buzzard Roost Use area on the lake, managed by the Corps.^[8]

History

The roadway between Flippin and Midway was shown as early as 1948, while the Bull Shoals Dam was under construction.^[9] The dam was completed in July 1951, with a highway atop the dam to allow highway access for the parts of northeastern Marion County separated from the county seat of Yellville by the new reservoir. Though Highway 178 doesn't appear on the March 1953 state highway map,^[1] a later 1953 map shows the Highway 178 designation.^[2]

Following the completion of the dam, President of the United States Harry Truman visited the dam in July 1952, and gave a speech at the dam site. Following the ribbon cutting, Truman and the presidential motorcade traveled along Highway 178 to Flippin en route to Cotter.^[10]

The highway was extended east from Highway 126 to Mountain Home on April 24, 1963.^[11] The second segment was created on June 28, 1973 between Mountain Home and the Buzzard Roost Use Area pursuant to Act 9 of 1973 by the Arkansas General Assembly.^[12] The act directed county judges and legislators to designate up to 12 miles (19 km) of county roads as state highways in each county.^[13] On February 27, 1974, Highway 178 was redirected onto Club Boulevard, with the segments along College Street and East 4th removed from the state highway system in exchange for an extension of Highway 341 at the request of the Baxter County Judge.^[14]

The highway remained unchanged since 1974 until an extension through Flippin following construction of a new terrain route of US 62 bypassing the town. East of downtown Flippin, the former US 62 became Highway 178.^[15]

Major intersections

Mile markers reset at concurrencies.

County	Location	mi^[3]	km	Destinations	Notes
Marion		0.00	0.00	US 62 / US 412 – Mountain Home, Harrison	Western terminus
	Flippin	1.83	2.95	AR 202 west (Fallen Ash Road) – Summit	AR 202 eastern terminus
		1.96	3.15	AR 980 east – Marion County Regional Airport	AR 980 western terminus
Marion–Baxter county line	Bull Shoals	11.91	19.17	Bull Shoals Dam
Baxter	Midway	19.37	31.17	AR 5 north – Gainesville, MO	Begin AR 5 overlap
	Midway	0.00	0.00	AR 5 south – Mountain Home AR 126 west	End AR 5 overlap, begin AR 126 overlap, AR 126 eastern terminus
		0.00	0.00	AR 126 west – Gassville	End AR 126 overlap
	Mountain Home	5.01	8.06	US 62B west (Main Street) to AR 5 / AR 201	Eastern terminus
		Gap in route
		0.00	0.00	US 62B east	Western terminus
		1.92	3.09	US 62 / US 412 (Shield Hopper Bypass)
		4.29	6.90	Lake Norfork	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus

References

^ ^a ^b Arkansas State Highway Commission (March 1953). Official Highway Map of Arkansas (TIF) (Map) (Supplemental ed.). 1:823,680. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved August 5, 2018 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
^ ^a ^b Arkansas State Highway Commission (1953). Official Highway Map of Arkansas (TIF) (Map). 1:823,680. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved August 2, 2018 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (2015). "Arkansas Road Log Database". Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Archived from the original (MDB) on August 29, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
^ Planning and Research Division (May 2008). Map of Flippin, Marion County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map). 1:12,000. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. §§ A2-A3, B3, C2-C3, D2. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^ Planning and Research Division (April 15, 2008) [December 19, 2005]. General Highway Map, Marion County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62,500. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. OCLC 914353554. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^ Staff of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism (2017). Arkansas Adventure Guide. Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. p. 35.
^ "NRHP nomination for Mountain Home Commercial Historic District" (PDF). Arkansas Preservation. Retrieved August 4, 2018.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b Transportation Planning and Policy Division (December 28, 2016) [May 30, 2002]. General Highway Map, Baxter County, Arkansas (PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62,500. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. OCLC 909039471. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
^ Arkansas State Highway Commission (1948). Official Highway Map of Arkansas (TIF) (Map). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved August 5, 2018 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
^ Johnson, Glenn (1996). "The Bull Shoals Dam". OzarksWatch. Springfield, Missouri: Springfield Greene County Library. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
^ Arkansas State Highway Commission (1969). "Minutes of the Meeting of the Arkansas State Highway Commission" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. p. 913. OCLC 21798861. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
^ Arkansas State Highway Commission (1979). "Minutes of the Meeting of the Arkansas State Highway Commission" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. p. 1188. OCLC 21798861. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 5, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
^ Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department: Planning and Research Division, Policy Analysis Section (2010). "Development of Highway and Transportation Legislation in Arkansas: A Review of the Acts Relative to Administering and Financing Highways and Transportation in Arkansas" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2020.
^ Arkansas State Highway Commission (1979), p. 934.
^ Arkansas State Highway Commission (2009). "Minutes of the Meeting of the Arkansas State Highway Commission" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. pp. 1076–1077. OCLC 21798861. Retrieved August 5, 2018.