Texas state highway system

"Texas highways" redirects here. For the magazine, seeTexas Highways.

Texas state highwaysare a network of highways owned and maintained by the U.S. state ofTexas.TheTexas Department of Transportation(TxDOT) is the state agency responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the system. Texas has the largeststate highwaysystem, followed closely by North Carolina'sstate highway system.In addition to the nationally numberedInterstate HighwaysandU.S. Highways,the highway system consists of a main network ofstate highways,loops,spurs,andbeltwaysthat provide local access to the other highways. The system also includes a large network offarm to market roadsthat connect rural areas of the state with urban areas and the rest of the state highway system. The state also owns and maintains some park and recreational roads located near and withinstateandnational parks,as well as recreational areas. All state highways, regardless of classification, are paved roads. TheOld San Antonio Road,also known as theEl Camino Real,is the oldest highway in the United States, first being blazed in 1691.The length of the highways varies fromUS 83's893.4 miles (1,437.8 km) inside the state borders to Spur 200 at just 0.05 miles (260 ft; 80 m) long.

Samplehighway markersforInterstate Highways,U.S. Highways,State highways, and Farm To Market highways
System information
Length	72,978.175 mi(117,446.988 km)
Notes	All classes of state-numbered highways are generally state-maintained.
Highway names
Interstates	Interstate X (I-X) Interstate Highway X (IH X)
US Highways	U.S. Highway X (US X)
State	State Highway X (SH X)
Loops:	Loop X
Spurs:	Spur X
Recreational:	Recreational Road X (RE X)
Farm or Ranch to Market Roads:	Farm-to-Market Road X (FM X) Ranch-to-Market Road X (RM X)
Park Roads:	Park Road X (PR X)
System links
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec

History

Shield used until the mid-1940s

The Texas State Highway System can trace its roots to the establishment of the Texas Highway Department on April 4, 1917. Administrative control of the department was given to a three-member commission appointed by the governor for two-year terms. On June 21, 1917, the commission conducted its first public hearing to solicit input on potential highway routes. The committee also divided the state into six divisions to be headquartered inAmarillo,Dallas,Fort Worth,Houston,San Angelo,andSan Antonio.Later that year, the commission designated 26 state highways covering 8,865 miles (14,267 km) which were to be readily accessible to 89% of the state's population.

In 1921,Congressamended the Federal Aid to Roads Act of 1916 to require the states to take control of road design, construction, and maintenance of state highways by 1925. As a result, on January 1, 1924, the Texas Highway Department took full control of maintaining the state highways from the counties within which they resided. In 1925, the state legislature granted the highway department the responsibility of surveying, planning, and building highways, and the authorization to acquire new highwayrights-of-wayby purchasing, or condemning through eminent domain, land required for highway construction.

By 1927, the highway system covered 17,960 miles (28,900 km), of which 96 miles (154 km) were concrete, 1,060 miles (1,710 km) were asphalt, 5,000 miles (8,000 km) were gravel, shell or stone, and 10,000 miles (20,000 km) were clay or soil.

The state road system in 1956, the last year before construction on the Interstate Highway System began

In 1951, a 50-mile (80 km) section of the Gulf Freeway (nowI-45) opened, becoming Texas' first urban freeway. In 1957, the state began receiving federal funding for the construction of theInterstate Highway System.The first section of Interstate Highway from county line to county line to open in the state was a 43-mile (69 km) section ofI-35inBexar County.By 1967, the highway system controlled 66,000 miles (106,000 km) of highway.

In 1984,US 66was replaced byI-40and the US 66 designation was removed from the state highway system the following year.

In 1992, the 3,200 miles (5,100 km) of Interstate Highway System in Texas was completed with the opening of a six-mile (9.7 km) section ofI-27.In 1997, theTexas Turnpike Authoritywas merged with TxDOT and independently, theNorth Texas Turnpike Authoritybecame responsible for toll projects inCollin,Dallas,Denton,andTarrantcounties.

Types of highways

I-10 and I-45 interchange in Houston

Interstate Highways

A map of all Interstate Highways in Texas

Main article:List of Interstate Highways in Texas

The Interstate Highway System in Texas covers 3,233.4 miles (5,203.7 km) and consists of tenprimary highways,sevenauxiliary highways,and the splitting of bothInterstate 35(I-35) andInterstate 69into multiple letter-suffixed branches. The Interstate Highway with the longest segment in Texas isI-10at 880.6 miles (1,417.2 km). The shortest in the state isI-110at 0.9 miles (1.4 km).

The construction of the Interstate Highway System in Texas actually began well before these routes were designated as Interstate Highways. A 50-mile (80 km) stretch of theGulf Freeway(I-45) betweenGalvestonand Houston was opened in 1951, eight years before it was designated I-45. It was also the first urban expressway in Texas. In 1962, 43 miles (69 km) of I-35 opened inBexar County,the first section of Interstate Highway to open from county line to county line in a large metropolitan area.Portions of I-10 west ofSan Antoniotook much longer to complete due to the vast open spaces and lack of nearby labor. The majority of the construction of this section of I-10 occurred in the 1970s and 1980s and was complete by the early 1990s. The section east of San Antonio was completed 20 years earlier in 1972.The opening of a 6-mile (10 km) section ofI-27in 1992 completed the Interstate Highway System in Texas.

Construction is ongoing for an extension ofI-69southward from its original terminus inIndianathrough Texas to theMexican border.When built, I-69 will extend about 650 miles (1,050 km) across Texas, from theLouisianastate line in theTexarkana–Shreveportarea to South Texas.Similar to I-35, I-69 splits into three letter-suffixed branches,I-69E,I-69C,andI-69W.

U.S. Highways

U.S. Route 287in North Texas

Main article:List of U.S. Highways in Texas

TheUnited States Numbered Highwaysare a nationwide grid of highways, but unlike theInterstate Highway System,there is no minimum design standard for these highways. This is clearly evident as some stretches of the U.S. Highways in Texas are nothing more than a two-lane rural road, while others are urban freeways. Although the U.S. Highways have been replaced for the most part by Interstate Highways for through traffic, the U.S. Highways still serve as important regional connectors. Several notable examples of U.S. Highways that are built to freeway standards includeUS 75andUS 80inDallas,US 59andUS 290inHouston,andUS 90andUS 281inSan Antonio.

The Interstate Highways have replaced several portions of the U.S. Highway network in Texas and as a result, they have been removed from the State Highway System. Several examples includeUS 81from Fort Worth to Laredo in favor ofI-35,US 75from Dallas to Galveston in favor ofI-45,andUS 80from Dallas to El Paso in favor ofI-10andI-20.

State Highways

Main article:List of state highways in Texas

SH 3,
SH NASA Road 1,and
SH OSRshields

A State Highway (SH) is funded and maintained by the state.State Highways have been assigned numbers between 1 and 365 with a few exceptions. There is also aState Highway 495(renumbered from Farm to Market Road 495), as well as canceled routesSH 550(a temporary designation for what is now part ofI-169) andSH 824(a temporary designation for what was later part ofSH 24).NASA Road 1andState Highway OSRare also in the State Highway network. The first 26 state highways were designated in 1917. Highways are not organized by directionality of the highway, instead they are generally numbered as they were when first built in the 1920s and 1930s. Most suffixed routes were eliminated by 1939, thoughSH 75Aexisted from 1946 to 1994 to matchOklahoma'sSH 75A.

State Highway Loops and Spurs

Loop, Spur and Beltway shields

Main articles:List of state highway loops in TexasandList of state highway spurs in Texas

State highway loops and spurs are short links in the State Highway network. They are generally numbered chronologically, and the lower numbers are older routes. Thus, spurs and loops are not related to similarly numbered main state highways. Typically, a loop connects two state or national highways, and a spur connects a state highway to a Farm to Market Road or other lower rated road. Many loops are either bypasses around significant portions of populated areas or older bypassed state or national highways. One loop—aroundHouston—is labeledBeltway 8.The first loops and spurs were defined in 1939; prior to that, the roadways had been suffixed segments of the main state highways of which they branched.

Business routes

Business Interstate Highway, U.S. Highway, State Highway and Farm to Market Road shields

Business routesare assigned to many old alignments of Interstate Highways, U.S. Highways, State Highways and Farm to Market Roads that have been bypassed. In addition to the numerical designation, a unique lettered suffix is assigned to each business route along the highway—for instance, Business Interstate Highway 40-D andBusiness Farm to Market Road 1960-A.(Not all routes start from A, and letters are sometimes skipped.) These letters are included on the sign in small print below the number. The sign specifications for business Interstate highways do not include the letter, but it has been added to many signs. Prior to 1991, business routes were assigned loop or spur numbers, but signed as business routes (with aBUSINESSplate above the shield for the main route). In 1991, all the business routes were assigned official designations, and their former loop and spur numbers were eliminated.

Farm to Market Roads

Farm to Market and Ranch to Market Road shields

Main article:Farm to Market Road

Farm to Market Roads generally exist inruralareas. After the city or county acquiresright-of-way,TxDOT builds and maintains the road.A number of these roads, generally west ofUS 281,are designatedRanch to Market Roads,and one—Ranch Road 1—is simply aRanch Road,serving theLBJ Ranch.Farm to Market Roads were first designated in 1941 and Ranch to Market Roads in 1942. A number of Farm to Market Roads inurbanareas were re-designated in 1995 as urban roads but, amid much controversy, the markers were not changed.

Park and Recreational Roads

Park Road and Recreational Road shields

Main articles:List of Park Roads in TexasandList of Recreational Roads in Texas

Park Roads and Recreational Roads servestateornational parksand "recognized recreational areas"; the first ones were defined in 1937 and 1970 respectively. All roads in state parks are maintained by TxDOT, but are generally not numbered.

Toll roads

Main article:List of toll roads in Texas

Toll Interstate Highway, U.S. Highway and state highway shields

One characteristic of the highways in Texas are itsfrontage roads;mostfreewayshave continuous frontage roads,one-wayinurbanareas and two-way inruralareas. Severaltoll roadshave one-way frontage roads—not necessarily continuous—with state highway numbers. Most toll roads are marked with special logos, but TxDOT has adopted a new marker as of 2006 for numbered toll roads.

War Highways

Main article:List of war highways in Texas

War Highways were designated from 1942-1943. All were cancelled or redesignated by 1947.

See also

• List of Dallas-Fort Worth area freeways
• List of Houston highways
• List of highways in San Antonio

External links

• Texas Department of Transportation,Highway Designation Files
• Texas County Highway Maps
• AARoads Texas Highway Page
• TexasFreeway fan site