Roads in Arkansas - Signage

Signage

See also: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and U.S. Route shield

Standard highway signs used in Arkansas

Shield type	1 digit	2 digits	3 digits
Interstate	none
U.S. route
U.S. bannered route
State highway (with a "1")
State highway (standard)
State highway bannered
County highway	varies

Two-digit U.S. and Arkansas highways are marked with a 24-by-24-inch (61 cm × 61 cm) black sign with black numbers contained within a white outline of Arkansas, with three-digit shields using a 24-by-36-inch (61 cm × 91 cm) area. One-digit routes use MUTCD Series D, two-digit routes use MUTCD Series C, and three-digit routes use MUTCD Series B font. The exception is if a three-digit shield includes a "1", such as "100" or "314", in which case Series C is used. Arkansas does not have any four-digit highways.

The outline of the state on state highway markers varies across the state based on what agency posts the shields. The Arkansas state outline is more realistic on the one- and two-digit shields, because on three digit shields the state is stretched to fit the third number. Major changes usually involve Arkansas's eastern border along the Mississippi River and the Missouri Bootheel. Although the Bootheel actually cuts into the state forming an acute angle, some shields represent the Bootheel as a square intrusion into the state. The state line is indeterminate along the Mississippi River, and different variants have different levels of accuracy along the eastern border.

For business routes and spurs, Arkansas uses the standard state highway shields with a small "B" for a business routes or a "S" for spur. The letter is raised up in an almost-exponential format. Single-digit bannered routes are printed on 24-by-24-inch (61 cm × 61 cm) shields, with two- and three-digit routes using the 24-by-36-inch (61 cm × 91 cm) dimensions. Some routes have directional components, and the N, E, S, or W are signed in the same manner. The state of Arkansas has some special shields, including an airplane-themed shield for Arkansas Highway 980, which is the designation for all state-maintained airport access roads. Another special shield is Highway 917, which is funded by marine fuel taxes.

On two-digit, non-freeway U.S. routes, Arkansas uses the 1961 standard U.S. Route shield; the 1971 standard shield is used on freeways, three-digit U.S. routes and bannered U.S. routes. Bannered U.S. routes include a "B" for business routes or a "S" denoting a spur route. This in not standard MUTCD practice.

Interstate Highways in Arkansas are signed with the state's name on every shield, with two-digit shields being 36 by 36 inches (91 cm × 91 cm), while three-digit shields are 36-by-42-inch (91 cm × 110 cm), and 24 by 24 inches (61 cm × 61 cm) and 25 by 30 inches (64 cm × 76 cm), respectively, on intersecting roads. In the field, however, signs posted by municipalities sometimes lack the "Arkansas" banner and often use non-standard numbering font. Arkansas does not have any bannered Interstate routes.