End of US highway 270

Note: since I don't have access to a comprehensive collection of historical road atlases, much of the info below is based on the research of Robert Droz; click here to view his site. More research, plus photos: David Backlin; Jeremy Lance. More photo credits: Steven Nelson; Eric Stuve; Michael Summa; me

There was a US 270 among the original 1926 routes, but it lasted only about three years (you can view photos and get more info on this page). Today's US 270 was commissioned in 1930, originally beginning in Hot Springs AR. The photo below is looking east on old US 70 (now Business 70, or Airport Road):

Nelson, Jan. 2006

The east beginning of US 270 was originally to the left, on Albert Pike Road.

The US 270 designation continued only as far as its junction with US 62 at Harrah OK. US 270 no longer even goes through Harrah - it's been replaced by OK hwy. 270 - but a signage error there made for an interesting photo:

Stuve, Jan. 2003

That was actually the north end of OK 270, but that sign would've been correct during the early 1930s (this assembly had been fixed by 2008). Straight ahead is westbound US 62...

...and in 1932, US 270 was extended ahead 21 miles with US 62 to downtown Oklahoma City. There it picked up US 66 for another 33 miles, and then it was on its own all the way to its new western terminus at a point just east of Forgan OK (well, on paper anyway - but there was a gap in the route between Forgan and Watonga until 1935). The first photo below is looking north on westbound US 270 at its "Y" intersection with US 64:

me, Jan. 2003

Access to eastbound US 64 angles to the right, just behind the camera. Today the US 270 designation goes straight ahead to the stop sign, then turns left with westbound US 64 through Forgan. But from 1935-1938 this was its west terminus. Below we're looking east on US 64/US 270:

me, Jan. 2003

Forgan is about a mile behind the camera. It used to be that a right turn would put you at the west beginning of US 270.

The west end was further extended to Syracuse KS in 1938. From the current terminus in Liberal, US 270 used to go north with US 83 to what is now KS hwy. 51, then west to Hugoton. From there, north on K-25 to Ulysses; west on US 160 to Johnson City; and north on K-27, ending at US 50 in Syracuse. The photo below is looking north on Main Street (K-27) at Avenue "A" (or US 50/US 400). US 270 used to be routed up Main, and the designation ended here:

me, Nov. 2001

The shot below is looking west on US 50/US 400. The west beginning of US 270 used to be to the left on Main, along modern K-27:

me, Nov. 2001

This next photo is looking the opposite direction (east on US 50), but it was taken in 1985:

Summa, 1985

US 400 wasn't born for another 10 years or so after that photo, but the US 270 signs were still up (even though the designation had been truncated to Liberal by then).

In 1982 the west end of US 270 was truncated to Liberal KS; you can view photos from there on this page.

I don't know exactly when the other end of US 270 was extended further east to serve Pine Bluff AR, but it's shown that way on my 1947 atlas. Since then, it's been truncated twice, each time further out from the city. So it might make more sense to describe the history in reverse. Today US 270's terminus is at White Hall (just outside Pine Bluff), at interchange 34 of the I-530/US 65 freeway. The photo below is looking southeast on Sheridan Road, at the east end of US 270:

Backlin, Oct. 2007

That was taken from underneath the I-530/US 65 overpass (Pine Bluff is straight ahead). On the right, next to the traffic signal support mast is a small green sign; that's shown close-up below:

Backlin, Oct. 2007

In case you can't make that out, it basically says "End 270; begin 365S". Ahead, Sheridan is designated "AR 365 Spur", but until 1982, it was US 270 that continued that way. In about two miles Sheridan connects with mainline AR 365 (or Dollarway Road), which is historic US 65. The photo below shows the intersection:

Backlin, Oct. 2007

The white van is heading southeast on Dollarway (old US 65), and the cars stopped at the light are at what was the east end of US 270 during the 1970s. To the right leads to downtown Pine Bluff. In the photo above, the white van just went past the signs shown below:

Backlin, Oct. 2007

Today's AR 365 Spur to the right (Sheridan) was where US 270 began. But when US 270 was first extended eastward to Pine Bluff (probably in the 1940s), it was signed straight ahead with US 65 into downtown. Ahead, Dollarway becomes Blake Street. At 6th Avenue, the two routes joined US 79 coming from the south, and all three routes were co-signed east on 6th. Today 6th becomes one-way eastbound, while 5th is the westbound counterpart, but in the 1940s all traffic ended up on 5th. At Mulberry Street, US 79 split off to the north; US 65 continued east on 5th; and US 270 ended. The photo below is looking south on Mulberry:

Google Maps Street View, 2008

This was southbound US 79, which continued to the right on 5th. US 65 ran along 5th - southbound to the left, northbound to the right. Also to the right was the east beginning of US 270. The three routes went to Blake, where US 79 turned south and US 65/270 went north. Heading that direction, Blake curves and becomes Dollarway, eventually reaching the junction shown below:

Backlin, Oct. 2007

These signs are a nod to the US routes that used to run through here: originally US 65 continued straight on Dollarway, while US 270 split to the left onto Sheridan. Later US 270 was truncated to this point, so that its east beginning was to the left. In the background is another assembly identifying the current designations of these roads; it's shown close-up below:

Backlin, Oct. 2007

Old US 65 is now AR 365, and the east beginning of AR 365 Spur is a former east beginning of US 270. If you go that direction, you'll soon come to the current east beginning of US 270:

Backlin, Oct. 2007

That's still eastbound on Sheridan. The overpass is I-530/unsigned US 65, and US 270 now begins at this interchange.