# Arkansas Highway 265

Arkansas Highway 265 (AR 265) is a designation for three state highways in Northwest Arkansas. The southern segment of 19.70 miles (31.70 km) runs from Highway 170 near Strickler north to Interstate 49 (I-49) in Fayetteville. A second segment runs from Highway 16 in Fayetteville north to Highway 94 in Rogers. Further north, a third segment of 3.324 miles (5.349 km) runs from Highway 94 in Pea Ridge north to the Missouri state line. The highways are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT).
Parts of all three segments are former lengths of the Butterfield Stagecoach Route, a route established in 1857 that carried United States mail from St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco, California.

## Route description
### Strickler to Fayetteville

AR 265 begins in a rural part of southern Washington County within the Northwest Arkansas and Ozark Mountain regions. Starting at an intersection with Highway 170, the highway runs near SEFOR, a deactivated experimental fast breeder reactor before passing through the unincorporated community of Strickler. Continuing north as a winding, two-lane highway, the highway passes near the headwaters of the Illinois River and serves as the western terminus of AR 156 at Hogeye. Upon entering Greenland, AR 265 intersects Wilson Street, which gives access to Interstate 49 (I-49). AR 265 continues north into Fayetteville, passing the Kessler Mountain Regional Park and beginning to parallel the Razorback Greenway. The route meets I-49 southbound and an unsigned AR 16. The route terminates at the I-49 on/off ramps, with the roadway continuing as AR 16.

### Fayetteville to Springdale

The route begins again at Highway 16 in southeast Fayetteville. The highway serves as the entrance to many communities, and is four-lane with center turn lane throughout Fayetteville. Highway 265 intersects Highway 45, Township Road, Joyce Blvd, Don Tyson Parkway, and US 412 before reaching the Springdale Municipal Airport. The route continues north, entering Benton County and intersecting Highway 264 in Bethel Heights. Continuing north, Highway 265 passes through undeveloped areas of Bethel Heights and Lowell without any state highway junctions as a two-lane road with a two-way left turn lane to Rogers, where it terminates at Highway 94 (New Hope Road).

### Pea Ridge to Missouri

A third segment begins at Highway 94 west of Pea Ridge and runs north to the Missouri state line before where it becomes Missouri Route KK.

## History

Although not one of Arkansas' original state highways, the path that Highway 265 follows is one of the state's oldest. Originally a Native American trace named the Great Osage Trail, the route was first used as a Military Road from St. Louis to Fort Smith, and later as the Trail of Tears. The Butterfield Overland Mail Route was active from 1857 to 1861 on the route. The route carried U.S. mail, and also carried telegraph lines west. Portions of the route are named Old Wire Road (also Old Missouri Road in Fayetteville) paying homage to the route's past. Although not all parts of Highway 265 are the exact path followed by the stage coaches, nor are all parts of Old Wire Road separate of Highway 265. This comes from the fact that there were many different alignments of the historic routes. Although there is no doubt about the southern segment's accuracy, Highway 265 is known as Old Missouri Road (or Crossover Rd.) paralleled by Old Wire Road in Fayetteville, but it is not clear to the traveler which route is more historically accurate.
The Strickler to Fayetteville segment was designated in 1958. Another AR 265 was later designated as a connector between Highway 16 and Highway 45, with this route being extended to its current alignment in 1973. The northernmost segment was designated in 1973, and was most recently paved in 1990.

## Major intersections

| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| Washington | Valley Township | 0.000 | 0.000 | AR 170 – West Fork, Devil's Den State Park | Southern terminus |
| Washington | Hogeye | 9.74 | 15.68 | AR 156 east | AR 156 western terminus |
| Washington | Greenland | 16.74 | 26.94 | To I-49 | Access via Wilson Street |
| Washington | Fayetteville | 19.42 | 31.25 | I-49 south – Fort Smith | Exit 60 on I-49; former I-540 |
| Washington | Fayetteville | 19.42 | 31.25 | I-49 north / US 71 (South Fulbright Expressway) – Fayetteville, Springdale AR 16 east (Razorback Road) – Fayetteville | Northern terminus of southern segment; western terminus of AR 16; no access from US 71 south or I-49; I-49 exit 61, US 71 exit 60; US 71 south serves Drake Field |
| Access between southern and central segments via AR 16 ||||||
| Washington | Fayetteville | 0.000 | 0.000 | AR 16 (Huntsville Road) – Elkins, Fayetteville | Southern terminus of central segment |
| Washington | Fayetteville | 2.39 | 3.85 | AR 45 (Mission Boulevard) – Hindsville | |
| Washington | Springdale | 8.00 | 12.87 | US 412 (Robinson Avenue) – Huntsville | |
| Washington | Springdale | 10.6 | 17.1 | Randall Wobbe Lane west / Old Wire Road east | North end state maintenance |
| Washington–Benton county line | Springdale | 11.1 | 17.9 | South end state maintenance | South end state maintenance |
| Benton | Springdale | 12.2 | 19.6 | AR 264 | |
| Benton | Lowell | 14.2 | 22.9 | Nail Avenue | North end state maintenance |
| Benton | Township 1 | 14.7 | 23.7 | Jennifer Lane (500 North) | South end state maintenance |
| Benton | Township 1 | 14.75 | 23.74 | Cul-de-sac (516 North) | North end state maintenance |
| Benton | Rogers | 18.210 | 29.306 | AR 94 (New Hope Road) | ArDOT signs this as northern terminus of central segment |
| Access between central and northern segments via AR 94 ||||||
| Benton | Pea Ridge | 0.000 | 0.000 | AR 94 (Pickens Road) | Southern terminus of northern segment; south end state maintenance |
| Arkansas–Missouri line | Arkansas–Missouri line | 3.324 | 5.349 | Route KK north / Missouri State Line Road | Continuation into Missouri |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi ||||||

## Related routes
### Springdale spur

Highway 265 Spur was a spur route in Springdale. It was 2.4 miles (3.9 km) in length and was removed from the system in the 1990s, now named Butterfield Coach Road and Emma Avenue.

### Highway 383

Highway 383 was a 2-mile-long (3.2 km) north–south highway along Old Missouri Road in Springdale, Arkansas. Its southern terminus was Highway 68 (now known as U.S. Highway 412) with its northern terminus at Highway 68N (also known as Emma Avenue). It was used primarily as a local access road to nearby Parson's Arena.
In the 1980s, Highway 383 was redesignated as an extension of Highway 265.