Louisiana 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 was built beside the aging OK Allen Bridge (named the Curtis-Coleman Bridge) and was opened in 2016. At that time, the OK Allen bridge was demolished. Past the bridge, 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 The route enters Arkansas south of
Wilmot in
Ashley County. US 165 passes through bayous and marshlands before it intersects
Highway 52 and
Highway 173 in the town. Further north, in
Parkdale, the route intersects
Highway 8 and
Highway 209. In
Portland, US 165 intersects
Highway 160 before entering
Montrose. In the southern part of Montrose US 165 passes under
U.S. Route 82, intersecting
US 82 Business (US 82B) downtown. US 165 continues north near Cut-off Creek Wildlife Management Area to enter
Drew County. Only serving the extreme southeastern corner of the county, US 165 runs through
Jerome near the
Jerome Elementary School No. 22. The highway enters
Chicot County near
Dermott where it intersects
Highway 208 and
Highway 35. Northeast of town, the route intersects its parent route (US 65), which form a
concurrency to
Dumas. The route breaks from US 65 at Pickens Street, with
Highway 277 shooting from the route east of Cypress Creek. The route forms a concurrency north with
Highway 1 for beginning at
Back Gate. US 165/AR 1 intersect
Highway 212 before crossing the
Arkansas River on the Pendleton Bridge. Upon entering
Arkansas County, the route passes the A.M. Bohnert Rice Plantation Pump#2 Engine and through
sectioned farmland before meeting US 165B in
Gillett. This segment of US 165 was formerly AR 11 and is preserved in part by the
National Register of Historic Places as
Old AR 11 – Kauffman Road. The route enters
Stuttgart after an intersection with
22nd Street. US 165 skirts the eastern edge of the city as Park Avenue before it turns west to intersect
US 63 and enter
Prairie County. The route only has one junction in its within the county,
Highway 343. The route next enters
Lonoke County. Now within the
Little Rock metro area, the route serves the southern part of the county with many rural junctions. Along its path, the route runs west through
Humnoke,
Allport,
Coy (all with populations under 300 as of 2010) while intersecting
Highway 13 and
Highway 31 prior to
England. US 165 turns northeast in England after a junction with
Highway 256. US 165 passes through the
Keo Commercial Historic District in
Keo and later the
Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park before entering
Pulaski County. Entering
North Little Rock, the route has a junction with
I-440 before terminating at Broadway Street (
US 70).
Great River Road 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==