One of the oldest roads through the region, the path of present-day Highway 157 was part of the original Southwest Trail in the 1820s, as was used by Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis' Army of the Southwest during the Pea Ridge Campaign of the Civil War.

The highway runs north as Sunny Dale Road,[4] exiting the city limits and passing over a full interchange with I-57/US 64/US 67/US 167.

Highway 157 continues northbound through a rural agricultural area, dotted with historic farmhouses like the 1905 Capt.

Larned House, Morris Hartsell Farmstead, and the Hilger Homestead, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

[7] Highway 157 intersects US 167 along the eastern city limits of Pleasant Plains before turning northeast.

ArDOT estimates the traffic level for a segment of roadway for any average day of the year in these surveys.

For 2016, the highest traffic levels were estimated in downtown Pleasant Plains, with 7,600 vehicles per day (VPD).

[13][14] As of 2016, the route had an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 1,900 vehicles per day (VPD).