East of the state park, Highway 178 passes the regionally known Gaston's White River Resort, followed by the small town of Lakeview. The highway passes the Lakeview Use Area on Bull Shoals Lake, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE, or "the Corps").[6]
Mid-century residential subdivisions, largely oriented toward the nearby lake, are the dominant land use until Highway 178 intersects Highway 5 in a more rural area, forming a brief concurrency southbound. Highway 178 turns from the concurrency with Highway 5, forming a southbound concurrency with Highway 126. The two highways pass Baxter County Airport before Highway 178 turns from Highway 126 toward Mountain Home. Highway 178 enters the western side of Mountain Home, entering the Mountain Home Commercial Historic District at an intersection with Hickory Street, passing The Baxter Bulletin office.[7] Highway 178 intersects US 62B (Main Street, as well as unsigned Highway 5 and Highway 201) near the Baxter County Courthouse; the route's eastern terminus.[8]
Mountain Home to Norfork Lake
Highway 178 begins at US 62B in eastern Mountain Home, a commercial thoroughfare. It runs due south as Club Boulevard before turning east onto Buzzard Roost Road. The road crosses US 62/US 412 (Shield Hopper Bypass) just east of the city limits and winds east through a wooded area approaching Lake Norfork. The highway terminates at the Buzzard Roost Use area on the lake, managed by the Corps.[8]
History
The roadway between Flippin and Midway was shown as early as 1948, while the Bull Shoals Dam was under construction.[9] The dam was completed in July 1951, with a highway atop the dam to allow highway access for the parts of northeastern Marion County separated from the county seat of Yellville by the new reservoir. Though Highway 178 doesn't appear on the March 1953 state highway map,[1] a later 1953 map shows the Highway 178 designation.[2]
The highway was extended east from Highway 126 to Mountain Home on April 24, 1963.[11] The second segment was created on June 28, 1973 between Mountain Home and the Buzzard Roost Use Area pursuant to Act 9 of 1973 by the Arkansas General Assembly.[12] The act directed county judges and legislators to designate up to 12 miles (19 km) of county roads as state highways in each county.[13] On February 27, 1974, Highway 178 was redirected onto Club Boulevard, with the segments along College Street and East 4th removed from the state highway system in exchange for an extension of Highway 341 at the request of the Baxter County Judge.[14]
The highway remained unchanged since 1974 until an extension through Flippin following construction of a new terrain route of US 62 bypassing the town. East of downtown Flippin, the former US 62 became Highway 178.[15]
^ abArkansas State Highway Commission (March 1953). Official Highway Map of Arkansas(TIF) (Map) (Supplemental ed.). 1:823,680. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved August 5, 2018 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
^ abArkansas State Highway Commission (1953). Official Highway Map of Arkansas(TIF) (Map). 1:823,680. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved August 2, 2018 – via Arkansas GIS Office.
^ abcdArkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (2015). "Arkansas Road Log Database". Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Archived from the original(MDB) on August 29, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
^Planning and Research Division (May 2008). Map of Flippin, Marion County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map). 1:12,000. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. §§ A2-A3, B3, C2-C3, D2. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^Planning and Research Division (April 15, 2008) [December 19, 2005]. General Highway Map, Marion County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62,500. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. OCLC914353554. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^ abTransportation Planning and Policy Division (December 28, 2016) [May 30, 2002]. General Highway Map, Baxter County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map) (Revised ed.). 1:62,500. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. OCLC909039471. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
^Arkansas State Highway Commission (1948). Official Highway Map of Arkansas(TIF) (Map). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. Retrieved August 5, 2018 – via Arkansas GIS Office.