The route runs 53.54 miles (86.16 km) from Highway 37 south of Beedeville east to Barton Street in Turrell.

The highway is a rural, two-lane road with relatively low traffic serving a sparsely populated agricultural area of Arkansas.

Highway 42 runs in southeastern Jackson County, within a historic and cultural region known as the Arkansas Delta.

Shortly after entering town, the highway crosses the Union Pacific Railway tracks and intersects U.S. Route 49 (US 49).

Becoming Hammond Street, Highway 42 briefly straddles the border between Turrell and the Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge, intersecting the road leading to the NWR Headquarters before returning within the city limits.

[15] The Arkansas General Assembly deleted the extension between Three Forks and Turrell in favor of extending Highway 149 by Act 383 of 1951.

At the request of the Crittenden County Judge, the State Highway Commission studied the roadway and reinstated the extension during a meeting August 25–28, 1953.