U.S. Highway 81(US 81) is aU.S. Highwaythat begins at an interchange withInterstate 35W/US 287(I-35W/US 287) in northernFort Worthin Texas. US 81 leaves the state and crosses theRed RiverintoOklahomabetweenRinggold, Texas,andTerral, Oklahoma.
 U.S. Highway 81 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 81 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byTxDOT | ||||
| Length | 81.458 mi[1](131.094 km) | |||
| Existed | 1927[1]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   I-35W/US 287inFort Worth | |||
 US 380inDecaturUS 287inBowie US 82inRinggold | ||||
| North end |  US 81atOklahomastate line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Texas | |||
| Counties | Tarrant,Wise,Montague | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route description
editUS 81 begins at an interchange withI-35W/US 287in northernFort Worth.The two highways travel northwest as a freeway, passing by theBureau of Engraving and Printingnear Blue Mound Road (Farm to Market Road 156,FM 156), through the city's northwest side. US 81/US 287 leaves the city of Fort Worth and entersWise CountynearAvondale.The highway runs through or near the towns ofRhome,New Fairview,Decatur,Alvord,andSunsetbefore separating in southernBowie.US 81 runs through the town as Wise Street, running in a more east–west direction before turning in a more north–south direction atFM 174.The highway has a mostly rural route, running through westernMontague County,before crossing theRed RiverintoOklahoma.
History
editUS 81 at its inception in 1926 followed the route ofState Highway 2(SH 2), which began inLaredoand passed throughSan Antonio,Austin,Waco,andFort Worthbefore passing over theRed RiverintoOklahomafour miles (6.4 km) north ofRinggold.The 1936Official Map of the Highway System of Texasclearly shows the route labeled both as US 81 and SH 2. It was cosigned withUS 83for 18 miles (29 km) from Laredo to 2 miles (3.2 km) south ofWebb,withUS 79for 18 miles (29 km) from Austin north toRound Rock,and withUS 77for 33 miles (53 km) from Waco toHillsboro.In 1940US 287was extended south into Texas, and a 67-mile (108 km) stretch from Fort Worth northwest toBowiewas cosigned with US 81.[2]The summer 1941Texas Highway Mapshows this pairing, and the current southern terminus of US 81 is still cosigned with US 287.
The spring and summer 1949Texas Highway Department Official Mapdesignates the length of US 81 from Laredo to Fort Worth as part of theNational System of Interstate Highways,but no numeric designation was given at the time.
It was not until 1959 that parts of US 81 in Texas appeared on theTexas Official Highway Travel Mapcosigned withI-35shields. Succeeding maps reflect the slow completion of I-35 andI-35Wover the stretch of US 81 between Laredo and Fort Worth, with the 1978-79Texas Official Highway Travel Mapshowing only a 14-mile (23 km) section fromEncinalnorth to 3 miles (4.8 km) south ofArtesia Wellsas incomplete, and the 1980Texas Official Highway Travel Mapshows that section completed. In 1980, US 81 was cosigned with I-35 and I-35W except where the Interstate bypassed towns; US 81 provided the main route through town and then reconnected with I-35 on the other side. The longest section of US 81 in 1980 not cosigned with the Interstate ran from I-35 in Hillsboro 20 miles (32 km) north to I-35W, just north ofGrandview.This section of US 81 becameSH 81in 1991 when most of US 81 in Texas was decommissioned.[3]The section of highway fromDevinetoLytlebecameSH 132and the section fromDerbyto thePearsalltown square becameSpur 581when US 81 south of Fort Worth was decommissioned in 1991.[4][5]
Junction list
edit| County | Location | mi[6] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarrant | Fort Worth | 0.0 | 0.0 |   I-35Wsouth /US 287south –Fort Worth,Denton | South end of US 287 overlap/freeway; I-35W exit 60 |
| 1.5 | 2.4 |  FM 3479(Harmon Road) | |||
| 3.1 | 5.0 |  FM 156(Blue Mound Road) –Blue Mound,Haslet,Bureau of Engraving and Printing | |||
| 3.9 | 6.3 | Bonds Ranch Road, Hicks Road | |||
| 6.2 | 10.0 | Blue Mound Road West, Willow Springs Road | |||
| Avondale–Fort Worthline | 8.2 | 13.2 |   Bus. US 287south /FM 718–Newark,Saginaw | North end of freeway | |
| Wise | Rhome | 14.7 | 23.7 |   SH 114east –Dallas,Texas Motor Speedway,Roanoke | South end of freeway; south end of SH 114 overlap |
| 15.6 | 25.1 |   Bus. US 81north /Bus. US 287north /FM 3433–Newark | |||
| 15.9 | 25.6 |    SH 114west toSH 101–Boyd,Bridgeport,Bowie | North end of SH 114 overlap | ||
| 16.8 | 27.0 | Bus. US 81south /Bus. US 287south / Pioneer Road | North end of freeway | ||
| New Fairview | 19.0 | 30.6 |   FM 407east toFM 2264north –Justin,Lewisville | Interchange | |
| Decatur | 27.7 | 44.6 | Bus. US 81north /Bus. US 287north /FM 2264south –New Fairview,Decatur | Interchange | |
| 29.6 | 47.6 |  FM 730–Boyd | Interchange | ||
| 30.7 | 49.4 |  Bus. US 380/FM 51–Weatherford,Jacksboro,Gainesville,Denton | Interchange | ||
| 31.7 | 51.0 | US 380–Bridgeport,Jacksboro,Denton | Interchange | ||
| 32.2 | 51.8 |  FM 1810west (Old Chico Road) –Chico,Maryetta | |||
| | 33.3 | 53.6 | Bus. US 81south /Bus. US 287south –Decatur | ||
| Alvord | 40.4 | 65.0 | Bus. US 81north /Bus. US 287north –Alvord | South end of freeway; no northbound entrance | |
| 40.9 | 65.8 | Hubbard Street | No southbound entrance | ||
| 41.9 | 67.4 |   FM 1655(State Street) toFM 2265west –Newport,Forestburg | |||
| 43.4 | 69.8 | Bus. US 81south /Bus. US 287south –Alvord | North end of freeway; southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| Montague | Sunset | 48.5 | 78.1 |  Spur 511/ Cemetery Road –Sunset | South end of freeway |
| 49.7 | 80.0 | SH 101–Bridgeport,Boyd,Rhome | |||
| | 51.5 | 82.9 | Lawhorn Lane | ||
| | 52.9 | 85.1 | Fruitland Road | ||
| | 54.8 | 88.2 | Wagonseller Road | ||
| Bowie | 56.6 | 91.1 | US 287north /SH 101south –Wichita Falls,Sunset | North end of US 287 overlap/freeway | |
| 58.5 | 94.1 |  FM 1125(Mills Street) | |||
| 58.8 | 94.6 |  SH 59–Newport,Jacksboro,Montague,Saint Jo | |||
| 59.3 | 95.4 |   FM 174west /FM 1816north –Windthorst,Archer City,Belcherville | |||
| Stoneburg | 67.2 | 108.1 |  FM 1806west | South end of FM 1806 overlap | |
| 67.7 | 109.0 | FM 1806east –Montague | North end of FM 1806 overlap | ||
| Ringgold | 77.6 | 124.9 | US 82–Henrietta,Wichita Falls,Gainesville,Sherman | Interchange | |
| 78.4 | 126.2 |  Spur 19south toUS 82west –Henrietta,Wichita Falls | |||
| | 81.5 | 131.2 | US 81north –Ryan,Duncan | Crosses theRed RiverintoOklahoma | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abTransportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.)."U.S. Highway No. 81".Highway Designation Files.Texas Department of Transportation.RetrievedAugust 1,2016.
- ^Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.)."U.S. Highway No. 287".Highway Designation Files.Texas Department of Transportation.RetrievedAugust 1,2016.
- ^Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.)."State Highway No. 81".Highway Designation Files.Texas Department of Transportation.RetrievedAugust 1,2016.
- ^Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.)."State Highway No. 132".Highway Designation Files.Texas Department of Transportation.RetrievedJuly 12,2017.
- ^Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.)."State Highway Spur No. 581".Highway Designation Files.Texas Department of Transportation.RetrievedJuly 12,2017.
- ^"Highway Overview Map of US 81 in Texas"(Map).Google Maps.RetrievedAugust 1,2016.