Arkansas Highway 396
{{short description|State highway in Arkansas, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox road
|state=AR
|type=AR
|route=396
|map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|zoom=12|frame-width=290|type=line|from=Arkansas Highway 396.map}}
|map_custom=yes
|length_mi=2.6
|direction_a=West
|terminus_a=Ursey Road
|direction_b=East
|terminus_b={{Jct|state=AR|US|65}} near Burlington
|counties=Boone
|previous_type=AR
|previous_route=395
|next_type=AR
|next_route=397
}}
Highway 396 (AR 396 or Hwy. 396) is a former state highway near Burlington in Boone County. Between its designation as a state highway in 1973 and its decommissioning to the county road system in 2016, it was maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT).
Route description
The ArDOT maintained Highway 396 like all other parts of the state highway system. As a part of these responsibilities, the Department tracks the volume of traffic using its roads in surveys using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). ArDOT estimates the traffic level for a segment of roadway for any average day of the year in these surveys. AADT was estimated at 180 vehicles per day at the eastern terminus in 2016.{{Cite map |author = System Information & Research Division |publisher = Arkansas Department of Transportation |title = Annual Average Daily Traffic Estimates |url = https://ardot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8deb09579210490bafb97bd03c3c0792 |year = 2016 |access-date = November 20, 2021 }} For reference, roads under 400 VPD are classified as very low volume local road by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).{{Cite book |author = American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |title = Guidelines for Geometric Design of Low-Volume Roads |publisher = American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |year = 2019 |edition = 2nd |location = Washington, DC |page = 2-8 |oclc = 1140203768 |isbn = 978-1-56051-726-9 }}
No segment of Highway 396 was part of the National Highway System (NHS),{{cite web |url = https://www.ardot.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Road-Log-Database.zip |title = Arkansas Road Log Database |author = Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department |year = 2015 |publisher = Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department |format = MDB |access-date = March 27, 2016 }} a network of roads important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.{{cite web |first1 = Stefan |last1 = Natzke |first2 = Mike |last2 = Neathery |first3 = Kevin |last3 = Adderly |url = https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/ |title = What is the National Highway System? |work = National Highway System |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |date = June 29, 2017 |access-date = July 15, 2018 |name-list-style = amp }}
Highway 396 ran in the Ozark Mountains, beginning at a junction with US Highway 65 (US 65) north of Burlington, an unincorporated community in northern Boone County {{convert|7|mi|km}} south of the Missouri state line. Highway 396 ran west from this junction {{convert|2.6|mi}} through a rural area of undulating hills to an intersection with Flint Hill School Road, where state maintenance ended. The roadway continued west under county maintenance as Ursey Road.{{Cite map |publisher = DeLorme |title = Arkansas Atlas & Gazetteer |location = Yarmouth, Maine |edition = Fifth |page = 18 |date = 2018 |scale = 1:127,000 |isbn = 9781946494207 |oclc = 1066245581 }}
History
In 1973, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 9 of 1973. The act directed county judges and legislators to designate up to {{convert|12|mi|km}} of county roads as state highways in each county.{{cite book |chapter = Development of Highway and Transportation Legislation in Arkansas |title = A Review of the Acts Relative to Administering and Financing Highways and Transportation in Arkansas |page= 13 |publisher= Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department / Planning and Research Division, Policy Analysis Section |location= Little Rock |year= 2010 |access-date= December 4, 2016 |url= https://www.arkansashighways.com/Trans_Plan_Policy/policy_legis/publications/Dev%20Hwy%20Legislation.pdf }} Pursuant to the act, the Arkansas State Highway Commission designated a county road in Boone County as Highway 396 on April 25, 1973.
The highway was returned to local maintenance in November 2016. The Highway Commission utilized a policy that allows returning state highways to local control to offset the costs of non-reimbursable utility relocation where small water utilities do not have the necessary funds to relocate their lines along important highway projects.{{cite web |title= Water Utilities Put a Kink in Road Projects: Small Companies Say They Can't Afford to Move Lines |last= Oman |first= Noel E. |date= December 3, 2012 |work= Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |location= Little Rock |publisher= WEHCO Media |page= 7 |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/dec/03/water-utilities-put-kink-road-projects-20121203/ |issn=1060-4332 |access-date= April 26, 2020 }} Boone County assumed maintenance of Highway 396 following verification that the Valley Springs Water Association and the Western Grove Water Association would not be able to afford relocation of their water mains along US 65, which was widened under the Connecting Arkansas Program.
Major intersections
{{Jcttop|state=AR|county=Boone|length_ref=}}
{{ARint
|location=none
|mile=0.0
|road={{Jct|state=AR|US|65}}
|notes=Eastern terminus{{#tag:ref| Although Arkansas highways normally run from south to north and from west to east, the order creating this highway says "beginning at the junction of U. S. 65 north of Burlington, thence running westerly" |group=lower-alpha}}
}}
{{ARint
|location=none
|mile=2.6
|road=End state maintenance, roadway continues as Ursey Road
|notes=Western terminus
}}
{{Jctbtm}}
Notes
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
References
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