The route was designated June 24, 1970 following completion of a US 49 bypass around Helena and West Helena. The former US 49 alignment through downtown Helena and West Helena was assigned the US 49B designation.[1]
U.S. Highway 49 Business (US 49B and Hwy. 49B) is a 3.66-mile (5.89 km) business route of U.S. Route 49 in Craighead County.[5] The route's southern terminus is at US 49 and Highway 1 (AR 1) in south Brookland. It runs north as Holman Street, passing the Brookland City Hall and Brookland High School. North of the high school, US 49B runs due north to meet Arkansas Highway 230 and eventually intersect US 49/AR 1 to terminate.
This roadway was originally part of AR 1, designated in 1926 in Arkansas's initial state highway system. US 49 overlapped AR 1 through the area after extension in 1978.
The ArDOT maintains US 49Y like all other parts of the state highway system. As a part of these responsibilities, the Department tracks the volume of traffic using its roads in surveys using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). ArDOT estimates the traffic level for a segment of roadway for any average day of the year in these surveys. As of 2020, AADT was estimated to be 8,900 vehicles per day (VPD).[11]
In a May 1963 Arkansas Highway Department report, an unsigned section of state highway along Court Street in Paragould between 15th Street and Second Street was identified for deletion from the state highway system. In May 1968, the City of Paragould requested exchanging this roadway for a new state highway designation along Court Street between Highway 25 and a newly constructed Highway 1 (15th Street). The Highway Commission agreed to the request on June 26, 1968, designating it as Highway 1Y and declaring it would "provide a desirable connection between the two State Highways and would eliminate indirection of travel to motorists".[12] The designation was renumbered to Highway 25Y in 1979 when Highway 1B became US 49B.[6]
After US 412 supplanted Highway 25 between Walnut Ridge and Missouri in 1980, the highway was renumbered US 49Y.[13]
U.S. Highway 49 Business (US 49B and Hwy. 49B) is a former 5.2-mile (8.4 km) business route of U.S. Route 49 in Craighead County.[16]
The route was created following an Arkansas State Highway Commission request to extend US 49 along Highway 1 between Jonesboro and Piggott.[17] It was approved by the United States Route Number Committee of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on June 25, 1979.[14] It was truncated at the end of the one-way pair in downtown Jonesboro near Cate Street on April 25, 1996.[18] The remainder was deleted eight months later, with pieces redesignated as Highway 18, Highway 141, and US 63B.[15]
^ abcSystem Information and Research Division (2014). "Arkansas Road Log Database". Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Archived from the original(MDB) on August 29, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
^ abPlanning and Research Division (2010). General Highway Map, Phillips County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 13, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
^"Minutes of the Meeting"(PDF). Arkansas State Highway Commission. 2000–2009. pp. 88–89. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 24, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
^ abTransportation Planning and Policy Division (September 17, 2021). State Highway Route and Section Map, Greene County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map). 1:62,500. Cartography by GIS Section. Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 13, 2021. {{cite map}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^Transportation Planning and Policy Division GIS Section (December 2020). Map of Paragould, Greene County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map). 1:62,500. Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Transportation. § D5. Retrieved November 13, 2021. {{cite map}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^System Information & Research Division (2017). Annual Average Daily Traffic Estimates(GIS Map) (Map). Various. Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
^ abPlanning and Research Division (March 1990). General Highway Map Craighead County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map). 1:63500. Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved April 6, 2011.