Special routes of U.S. Route 81

U.S. Route 81has eightspecial routes.Three are inTexas,one inOklahoma,two inKansas,and two inNorth Dakota.

Special routes of U.S. Route 81
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided

Texas

There are officially three business routes ofUS 81designated by theTexas Department of Transportation(TxDOT). Additional former alignments of US 81 are designated asstate highway loopsandstate highway spurs,while others becamebusiness routes of Interstate 35(I-35) after US 81 was eliminated south ofFort Worthin 1991.

San Antonio

State Highway Loop 353
Location	San Antonio
Existed	1961–present

Main article:Texas State Highway Loop 353

Loop 353is the former routing of US 81 in southern San Antonio, formed in 1961 when US 81 was rerouted onto theI-35freeway to the east. It was originally marked as a business route of US 81.

State Highway Loop 368
Location	San Antonio
Existed	1962–present

Main article:Texas State Highway Loop 368

Loop 368is the former routing of US 81 in northern San Antonio, formed in 1962 when US 81 was rerouted onto theI-35freeway to the east. It was originally marked as a business route of US 81.

Rhome

Business U.S. Highway 81-E
Location	Rhome
Length	1.776 mi(2.858 km)
Existed	1990–present

Business U.S. Highway 81-E(Bus. US 81-E) is the former route ofUS 81andUS 287throughRhome.The route was originally designated asLoop 506on May 31, 1972, and signed as a business route of US 81 and US 287; the portion south of its intersection withSpur 440(numbered the same day as a redesignation ofSH 114through Rhome) was also signed as a business route of SH 114.Loop 506 was cancelled and transferred to Business US 81 on June 21, 1990.

Decatur

Business U.S. Highway 81-D
Location	Decatur
Length	4.669 mi(7.514 km)
Existed	1990–present

Business U.S. Highway 81-D(Bus. US 81-D) is the former route ofUS 81andUS 287throughDecatur.The route was originally designated asLoop 357on April 30, 1962.Loop 357 was cancelled and transferred to Business US 81 on June 21, 1990.

Alvord

Business U.S. Highway 81-C
Location	Alvord
Length	2.307 mi(3.713 km)
Existed	1990–present

Business U.S. Highway 81-C(Bus. US 81-C) is the former route ofUS 81andUS 287throughAlvord.The route was originally designated asLoop 249on June 16, 1980.Loop 249 was cancelled and transferred to Business US 81 on June 21, 1990.Although not officially designated asBusiness US 287,the route is cosigned as such from the US 81/US 287 bypass and at the junction withFM 1655.

Oklahoma

Rush Springs

U.S. Highway 81 Business
Location	Rush Springs
Existed	1971–present

The southernmostBusiness US-81in Oklahoma is in the town ofRush Springs, Oklahoma.It begins south of the town, following Rush Street into the central business district. In the middle of downtown Rush Springs, there is a four way stop with Blakeley Avenue. Blakeley carriesOklahoma State Highway 17,which has its eastern terminus at Business US-81. The business route continues north on Rush Street before angling to the northwest to rejoin mainline US-81.

Business US-81 in Rush Springs is signed with a US-81 shield with a small "B" appended after the number. This method of signing business routes is unusual for Oklahoma.

Business US-81 was originally part of mainline US-81. On May 10, 1971, US-81 was relocated to run west of town, and Business US-81 was designated along the old alignment.

Kansas

McPherson

U.S. Highway 81 Business
Location	McPherson
Length	7.6 mi(12.2 km)
Existed	1970–present

Business US-81in Kansas is inMcPherson.This route is 6 miles (9.7 km)long. It begins at the intersection of I-135, US-81, andUS-56east of McPherson. It goes west on Kansas Ave. for about two miles (3 km) in a concurrency with US-56 and turns south on Main Street for 2 miles (3.2 km), passingCentral Christian CollegeandNational Cooperative Refinery Association.AtK-61,it exits east in a 2 miles (3.2 km)"wrong-way" concurrencywith K-61 before ending at I-135 and US-81 southeast of McPherson.

BUS US-81 in McPherson first appeared on the Kansas Department of Transportation Map in 1970 when Interstate 35W (nowInterstate 135) was completed between McPherson and Salina.

Lindsborg

U.S. Highway 81 Business
Location	Lindsborg
Existed	1970–2012

FormerBusiness US-81inLindsborgbegan at the intersection ofInterstate 135,US-81,andK-4north of Lindsborg on an older routing of US-81. It shared a 4 miles (6.4 km) concurrency with K-4, which turns to the west in south Lindsborg. At this junction, it went for another mile south before turning east on Smoky Valley Road, ending 3 miles (4.8 km) later at I-135 and US-81. This BUS US-81 had a total length of 8 miles (13 km).

The Lindsborg business loop first appeared in 1970, at the same time as the McPherson loop.

North Dakota

Fargo

U.S. Highway 81 Business
Location	Fargo

Grand Forks

U.S. Highway 81 Business
Location	Grand Forks

It starts off of I-29/US-81 at the 32nd Avenue Exit were it travels east on 32nd Avenue to Washington Street S and Follows Washington Street all the way back to I-29

External links

• Texas portal
• Oklahoma portal
• Kansas portal
• Kansas Highways Routelog
• Official State Transportation Map(PDF)(Map) (1970 ed.). Kansas Department of Transportation.RetrievedMay 12,2008.