Although railroad construction began in the 1850s, not until after the Civil War (1861–65) were any lines completed. The most important railroad—the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern line—reached Little Rock in 1872 and was subsequently acquired by financier Jay Gould, who added the Little Rock and Ft. Smith line to it in 1882. By 1890, the state had about 2,200 mi (3,500 km) of track; in 1974, trackage totaled 3,559 mi (5,728 km). As of 2000, Arkansas was served by three major railroads and had 3,674 rail mi (5,912 km) of track. In 1998, nonmetallic minerals accounted for 32% of the rail tonnage originating within the state, and coal made up 53% of the rail tonnage terminating within Arkansas. Amtrak passenger trains serviced Little Rock, Walnut Ridge, Malvern, Arkadelphia, and Texarkana en route from St. Louis to Dallas.
Intensive road building began in the 1920s, following the establishment of the State Highway Commission and the inauguration of a gasoline tax. By 2000, Arkansas had 97,600 mi (157,071 km) of public roads, streets, and highways. During the same year, 951,243 automobiles and 882,266 trucks were registered in Arkansas, and there were 1,947,867 licensed drivers.
Beginning in the 1820s, steamboats replaced keelboats and flatboats on Arkansas rivers. Steamboat transportation reached its peak during 1870–90 until supplanted by the railroads that were opened during the same two decades. Development of the Arkansas River, completed during the early 1970s, made the waterway commercially navigable all the way to Tulsa.
In 2002, Arkansas had 212 airports and 79 heliports. The principal airport in the state is Adams Field at Little Rock.