The former route of U.S. 165, designated as a Historic Route
From its southern terminus in Iowa at US 90 (near Lake Charles), US 165 follows a diagonal north south route, passing through the casino town of Kinder, where it intersects US 190.
Just south of Alexandria it merges with US 71 and they join through the west side of the city, across the Red River and into Pineville. A new four-lane (two lanes in each direction) bridge is being built beside the aging OK Allen Bridge (appropriately named the Fort Buhlow Bridge) and should be open in mid-2013. At that time US 165 will be completely four-laned for most of its traverse of Louisiana. There the two highways meet US 167 and 71 parts with 165. Going on through the Kisatchie National Forest the rest of the highway to Monroe is forest land, farmland, and small towns. Crossing I-20 in Monroe, the highway's largest city, it proceeds to Bastrop and crosses the Arkansas line a few miles north of the town. Due to the Louisiana DOT TIMED Project, US 165 is now a four lane divided highway from Iowa to Bastrop.
US 165 passes near three federal prisons: USP Oakdale and two near Pollock. Also, near Oakdale is the ruins of Camp Claiborne, an abandoned WWII military post.
Arkansas
U.S. Route 165 at its northern terminus in North Little Rock, Ark.US 165 begins a southbound concurrency with US 65 in Dumas, Arkansas
The route breaks from US 65 at Pickens Street, with Highway 277 shooting from the route east of Cypress Creek.[6] The route forms a concurrency north with Highway 1 for 24.99 miles (40.22 km) beginning at Back Gate. US 165/AR 1 intersect Highway 212 before crossing the Arkansas River on the Pendleton Bridge.
The Great River Road is designated as a National Scenic Byway in the state of Arkansas. Established in 1938, the route is actually a series of roads which connect Canada and the Gulf of Mexico along the Mississippi River. The portion of US 165 from the beginning of its concurrency with US 65 near Dermott north to De Witt is part of the Great River Road in Arkansas. The designation follows AR 1 north from De Witt and US 65 south of Dermott.
History
US 165 was established in 1926 on a route extending from Iowa, Louisiana to McGehee, Arkansas.[10][11] A proposed extension north to Corning, Arkansas in 1946 was deferred. The route was extended to its current North Little Rock terminus in 1982.
The Louisiana portion was generally aligned with the existing State Route 24 south of Alexandria and State Route 14 north of Alexandria. Both had been designated in 1921 and remained co-signed with US 165 until the 1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering.[12]
U.S. Highway 165 Business (officially U.S. Highway 165-Z) is a business route of U.S. Highway 165 in and near Alexandria, Louisiana, United States. It once ran along Masonic Drive in Alexandria, but has since been truncated by other routes. It currently begins at an intersection with US 71/US 165, running concurrently with LA 1. LA 1/US 165 BUS meet, and run concurrently with, LA 28 BUS before LA 1/LA 28 split from US 165 BUS.
US 165 Business then travels along Jackson Street, which is the same as its former alignment. It then crosses the Red River along the Gillis Long Bridge before meeting LA 3100. US 165 Business travels north while meeting LA 180, a former segment of the Jefferson Highway auto trail, and crossing the Pineville Expressway before ending at an intersection with its parent route.
US 165 Bypass was the original designation for the current route of US 165 through Alexandria and Pineville. Until 1961, when it was moved to the bypass, US 165 was routed along the current business route.
Business US 165 starts a few miles south of Monroe and also becomes Jackson and Ouachita streets, going through downtown Monroe and passing by Saint Francis Medical Center and the Monroe Civic Center. It follows US 80 at Louisville Avenue, and is signed along Louisville Avenue to its terminus at US 165 (Sterlington Hwy).
^United States Numbered Highways, Selected by American Association of State Highway Officials, Approved by United States Department of Agriculture. American Association of State Highway Officials. 1927. p. 26.
^Louisiana Department of Highways (July 1, 1955). Louisiana Highways: Interim Road Map (Map). Scale not given. Baton Rouge: Louisiana Department of Highways.
^ abPlanning and Research Division (2010). "Arkansas Road Log Database". Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Archived from the original(Database) on June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
US 90 in Iowa, LA
I-10 in Iowa, LA
US 63 in Stuttgart, AR
US 70 in North Little Rock, AR
