U.S. Route 412


U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. Its route number is a "violation" of the usual AASHTO numbering scheme, as it comes nowhere near its implied "parent", US 12. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of the Arkansas state line. A curiosity of this highway is that it runs the entire length of the Oklahoma Panhandle and traverses the Missouri Bootheel.
, the highway's eastern terminus is in Columbia, Tennessee at an intersection with Interstate 65, where it continues east as State Route 99. Its western terminus is in Springer, New Mexico at an intersection with Interstate 25.

Route description

U.S. 412 overlaps with U.S. 43, U.S. 56, US 60, U.S. 62, U.S. 63, U.S. 64, U.S. 65, I-155, and U.S. 270, runs parallel to U.S. 62 and U.S. 64 in various places and intersects U.S. 70.

New Mexico

The highway begins at Interstate 25 in Springer. It is concurrent with U.S. Route 56 throughout its entire route in the state at just under. Besides Springer, the only other town Route 412 passes through is Clayton, where it merges with U.S. Route 64. Just before entering Oklahoma, the highway touches the northwestern corner of Texas at a small road junction.

Oklahoma

Highway 412 runs across the Panhandle and northern part of the state passing through cities such as Boise City, Woodward, Enid, and Tulsa. Some major highway junctions include Interstate 35 in Noble County and several others in Tulsa such as I-44, 244, 444, and U.S. Routes 75 and 169. Two sections of this highway are tolled: the Cimarron Turnpike, and the Cherokee Turnpike.

Arkansas

The Arkansas section starts at the Oklahoma line, runs through the scenic Ozark Mountains in the northern part of Arkansas, and leaves the state at the Missouri Bootheel. Cities along the route include Siloam Springs, Springdale, Alpena, Harrison, Cotter, Mountain Home, Salem, Walnut Ridge, and Paragould. In Harrison, U.S. Route 412 is concurrent with both US 62 and US 65.

Northwest Arkansas

The route enters Arkansas in the northwest portion of the state. In Benton County, the route serves Siloam Springs as a major route through the southern part of the city. US 412 has a concurrency with Highway 59 that ends in east Siloam Springs. US 412 becomes four-lane and runs east to enter Washington County. The route enters Tontitown, passes the historic Tontitown School Building, and intersects Highway 112 before entering Springdale.
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US 412 crosses I-49/US 62/US 71 in Springdale, where the route is four-lane with a center left-turn lane. Now named Sunset Avenue, the route passes through developed parts of Springdale, including many restaurants, hotels, and businesses before turning south, forming a concurrency with US 71B. The concurrency ends and US 412 heads east past the Springdale Municipal Airport and Highway 265 out of town. Again becoming four-lane divided, the route winds east to Hindsville.
The route nears Hindsville, including an intersection with a former alignment now designated US 412B. The community was bypassed in 2009 with a four-lane alignment of US 412. US 412 continues east, winding through forested land. Near Huntsville, the highway intersects another business route and Highway 23 before entering Carroll County.

Concurrencies with US 62 and US 63

The highway has a brief overlap with Highway 21 in the southwest corner of the county, and has junctions with many rural routes in Carroll County. The highway passes the James C. Chaney House and Stamps Store in Osage, the Dog Branch School, and the Yell Masonic Lodge Hall in Carrollton. In Alpena, US 412 begins a concurrency with US 62. This overlap is approximately through many north central Arkansas communities, including Harrison, Cotter, Mountain Home, Ash Flat, and Hardy. In Imboden, US 412 breaks from US 62 north, now concurrent with US 63 until 2 miles east of Portia.

Northeast Arkansas

After the concurrency ends, US 412 runs due east to through downtown Walnut Ridge. US 412 runs near the Old Walnut Ridge Post Office, Missouri-Pacific Depot, and the Walnut Ridge Commercial Historic District, each on the National Register of Historic Places. Further east, the route intersects US 67 at a full interchange before crossing the Cache River and entering Greene County. Historically, the route passed over the water on the Cache River Bridge, but the 1934 Parker pony truss bridge was bypassed in 1995. The highway runs due east, intersecting Highway 228, Highway 141, and Highway 168 before Paragould. US 412 runs as Kings Hwy in Paragould, passing the Linwood Mausoleum, US 49B, Highway 69, and Highway 135 in the city limits. The route continues east across the St. Francis River, entering Missouri.

Missouri

U.S. 412 crosses Missouri on its Bootheel, and runs concurrent with Interstate 155 east of Hayti to the Tennessee state line.

Tennessee

Still concurrent with I-155, US 412 enters Tennessee from Missouri on the Caruthersville Bridge before meeting US 51 in Dyersburg. The interstate designation ends as 412 turns southeast toward Jackson on a stretch of highway that was upgraded from 2 to 4 lanes in the 1990s. After leaving Jackson on its eastern side, US 412 passes through the towns of Lexington, Parsons, and Hohenwald before reaching Columbia. The section from Hohenwald eastward to I-65 near Columbia is overlapped with unsigned State Route 99. East of I-65 at the eastern terminus of US 412, the route remains SR 99.

History

Arkansas Highway 68 is the former designation of U.S. Highway 412 from the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Line to U.S. Highway 62 at Alpena. The original eastern terminus of Highway 68 was east of Huntsville at Highway 21, but was extended in the 1940s to Alpena.
An old alignment of Highway 68 can be found east of Huntsville. This section includes an open-spandrel arch bridge over War Eagle Creek.
Just east of Mountain Home, in Henderson, the highway crosses Lake Norfork, which at one time had to be crossed by ferry. Coinciding with the final trip of a Norfork Lake ferry at 8 a.m. Friday, October 14, 1983, the U.S. Highway 62 bridge across Lake Norfork was opened. Charles Gibson piloted the ferry on that trip, carrying three cars across the lake within the shadow of the bridge, which brought a 40-year era to an end.

Major intersections

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Special and suffixed routes