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Interstate 30

Total length: 367 miles (591 km)
Western terminus: Aledo, TX, at JCT I-20
Eastern terminus: North Little Rock, AR, at JCT I-40

States traversed & length in each:

• Texas — 224 miles (361 km)
• Arkansas — 143 miles (230 km)

Major cities along route:

• Fort Worth, TX
• Arlington, TX
• Dallas, TX
• Texarkana, TX/AR
• Little Rock, AR

Junctions with non-related Interstates:

• Interstate 20: Western terminus in Aledo, TX
• Interstate 820: Exit 5B/C in Fort Worth, TX
• Interstate 35W: Exit 15 in Fort Worth, TX
• Interstate 820: Exit 21A/B in Fort Worth, TX
• Interstate 35E: Exit 45 EB/44B WB in Dallas, TX
• Interstate 45: Exit 46B in Dallas, TX
• Interstate 345: Exit 46B in Dallas, TX
• Interstate 635: Exit 56B/C in Mesquite, TX
• Interstate 440: Exit 138A EB/138 WB in Little Rock, AR
• Interstate 40: Eastern terminus in North Little Rock, AR

Related loops and spurs:

• Interstate 430 — 14 miles long; spur to Interstate 40 on northwest side of Little Rock, AR; serves as western leg of Little Rock’s de facto “beltway”; I-30 Exit 129
• Interstate 530 — 46 miles long; spur to Pine Bluff, AR; I-30 Exit 138B EB/138 WB
• Interstate 630 — 8 miles long; spur from I-30 near downtown Little Rock, AR, west to I-430; I-30 Exit 139B

Length I’ve traveled: From TX Exit 15 (I-35W/Fort Worth) to eastern terminus

Time zones:
Central — Entire length

Counties traversed:
Texas — Parker, Tarrant, Dallas, Rockwall, Hunt, Hopkins, Franklin, Titus, Morris, Bowie

Arkansas — Miller, Hempstead, Nevada, Clark, Hot Spring, Saline, Pulaski

A quick hypertext drive: A mostly diagonal route, Interstate 30 serves to connect much of the eastern half of Texas with almost all points to the east and northeast. From its beginning on the western edge of the Dallas-Fort Worth “Metroplex,” it continues due east into the downtown areas of both cities as Interstate 20 dips to the south to bypass them. The segment between Fort Worth and Dallas, which passes by the amusement park Six Flags Over Texas and the baseball stadium The Ballpark in Arlington, was built as the Dallas-Forth Worth Turnpike before the mid-1950s creation of the Interstate system; after its bonds were paid off, it was de-tolled and became part of I-30 in 1978.

Much of I-30 in the Metroplex is eight lanes wide, with a few six-lane sections in places. It continues as eight lanes across Lake Ray Hubbard and to the eastern edges of DFW before dropping first to six, and later to four lanes. Alternating between northeast-southwest and due east-west sections, it proceeds as a four-lane route across the plains of northeastern Texas, with very little in the way of hills or other terrain features. The connection with southbound U.S. Route 59, on the western edge of Texarkana, TX, allows I-30 to serve traffic to and from points in southeastern Texas, such as Houston.

Bypassing the bi-state city of Texarkana to the north, I-30 proceeds into Arkansas and leaves the area to the northeast. Up to Prescott, AR, the character of I-30 in Arkansas is much the same as it is in Texas — flat plains — but as it continues to the northeast, I-30 runs through some of the easternmost foothills of the Ouachita mountain range to its west. At milepost 93, west of Malvern, AR, a rest area that serves both directions sits in the median, requiring left exits and entrances for access; this is a fairly rare rest-area setup on non-tolled Interstates.

Proceeding toward Arkansas’ capital of Little Rock, I-30 begins to flatten out again. Beginning just east of the suburb of Benton, I-30 was completely rebuilt and widened to six lanes between 2002 and 2005. On the south end of Little Rock, I-30 makes a 90° turn to the north to head into the city, spawning Interstate 440 (southeast bypass) and Interstate 530 (spur to Pine Bluff) as it does so. Five miles of fairly rough pavement later, after passing through the downtowns of Little Rock and North Little Rock, I-30 ends at I-40, in the shadows of a huge Baptist mega-church.

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