Arkansas Highway 138

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Arkansas Highway 138 is a 37-mile east–west road in southern Arkansas. It starts in Monticello at U.S. Route 278 and ends in Kelso at Arkansas Highway 1. The route travels northeast through Drew and Desha counties, passing Ellis Field and two cemeteries, then continues through farmland to Winchester. Just east of Winchester, it intersects U.S. Highways 65 and 165 at an at-grade junction. It then enters Desha County and serves as the southern end of Highway 159 before ending at Kelso.

The road is a two-lane rural highway for its entire length. East of US 65/US 165, parts of AR 138 are listed on the National Highway System.

History: AR 138 first became a state highway in 1930, running from Highway 4 south to McGehee. In 1940, Highway 4 was rerouted onto the former Highway 138, and the old route became part of Highway 4; later, U.S. 278 replaced it, creating a kink in US 278 in east Drew County. The current routing began appearing on maps in the mid-1950s, though it wasn’t numbered yet. Around 1960, a Winchester–Kelso segment was added as AR 138, along with a Tillar–Winchester segment. The Kelso section was redesignated AR 277 in the mid-1960s, enabling AR 138 to extend west from Winchester to the current AR 293 and then to Monticello. By 1966, AR 138 reached Monticello, and the segment north of Monticello was paved in 1967; the rest near US 65/165 had been paved earlier.