(MEDIA NOTE: At www.byways.org, you will find a News Media section with an announcement of the new byways, media kits for each byway, photos from today's ceremony, and other information.)

Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta today announced the country's newest National Scenic Byways during a news conference at Union Station in Washington, D.C.

The 36 new byway designations include the Arkansas segment of The Great River Road, according to Dr. Ruth A. Hawkins, director of Arkansas Delta Byways at Arkansas State University.

The Great River Road, which extends from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, winds through the 10 states bordering both sides of the Mississippi River.

This includes 10 counties in Arkansas: Mississippi, Crittenden, St. Francis, Lee, Phillips, Monroe, Arkansas, Desha, Drew and Chicot. The routes through the four upper states along the Mississippi River -- Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa -- were designated as National Scenic Byways in 2000.

Efforts to achieve the National Scenic Byway status in Arkansas were coordinated by Hawkins and the Office of Delta Heritage Initiatives at Arkansas State University, working in conjunction with the Arkansas Mississippi River Parkway Commission and the citizens of the counties along the route.

These efforts over the past two years have included development of a Corridor Management Plan, along with extensive nomination documentation.

This is Arkansas' second National Scenic Byway designated through the Federal Highway Administration. The first, the Crowley's Ridge Parkway, was designated in June 1998. Both byways are in the Arkansas Delta Byways tourism promotion region.

Arkansas was represented at the announcement by Chauncey L. (Trey) Denton III, pilot for the Arkansas Mississippi River Parkway Commission, and Nancy Clark, assistant tourism director for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

# # #