Texas state highways
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| State: | State Highway X (SH X) |
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| Interstates: | Interstate Highway X (IH X) |
| US Routes: | U.S. Highway X (US X) |
| Notes: | All classes of state-numbered highways are generally state-maintained. |
The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) owns and maintains a large network of state highways in the U.S. state of Texas. In addition to the nationally-numbered Interstate Highways and U.S. Highways, the highways are split into two major systems and several minor systems.
All state highways, regardless of classification, are paved roads.
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[edit] Types of state-numbered highways
[edit] State highway
A State Highway (SH) is funded and maintained by the state.[1] State Highways are generally assigned numbers between 1 and 365. There is also a State Highway 495 (renumbered from Farm to Market Road 495), as well as cancelled routes SH 550 (a temporary designation for what is now part of Interstate Highway 30) and SH 824 (a temporary designation for what was later part of SH 24). NASA Road 1 and State Highway OSR are also in the State Highway network. The first State Highways were designated in 1917. All suffixed routes were eliminated by 1939, though a State Highway 75-A existed from 1946 to 1994 to match Oklahoma's State Highway 75A.
[edit] State highway loops and spurs
State highway loops and spurs are short links in the State Highway network. Typically, a loop connects two state highways, and a spur connects a state highway to a farm to market or local road. Many loops are either new bypasses or older bypassed roads. One loop - around Houston - is labeled State Highway Beltway 8. The first loops and spurs were defined in 1939; prior to that, the roadways had been segments of the state highways they branched off of.
[edit] Farm to market roads
Farm to Market Roads generally exist in rural areas. After the city or county acquires right-of-way, TXDOT builds and maintains the road.[1] A number of these roads, generally west of U.S. Highway 281,[2] are designated Ranch to Market Roads, and one - Ranch Road 1 - is simply a Ranch Road, serving the LBJ Ranch. Farm to Market Roads were first designated in 1941 and Ranch to Market Roads in 1942. A number of Farm to Market Roads in urban areas were redesignated in 1995 as Urban Roads but, amid much controversy, the shields were not changed.
[edit] Business routes
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Business routes are 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 and Business 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 a BUSINESS plate 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.
[edit] Park and recreational roads
Park Roads and Recreational Roads serve state or national parks and "recognized recreational areas"; the first ones were defined in 1939 and 1970 respectively. All roads in state parks are maintained by TXDOT, but are generally not numbered.[1]
[edit] Toll roads
One characteristic of the highways in Texas are its frontage roads; most freeways have continuous frontage roads, one-way in urban areas and two-way in rural areas. Several toll roads have 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 shield as of 2006 for numbered toll roads.
[edit] History
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This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
[edit] See also
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Interstate Highways | A list of interstate highways within Texas. |
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U.S. Highways | A list of U.S. highways within Texas. |
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State Highways | A list of all state highways within Texas. |
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State Highway Loops | A list of all state highway loops within Texas. |
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State Highway Spurs | A list of all state highway spurs within Texas. |
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Farm to Market Roads | A list of all Farm to Market roads within Texas. |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Texas Department of Transportation, Highway Designation Files
- Texas State Highway Webpage
- Texas County Highway Maps
- Texas State Archives Map Collection
- Texas's Former U.S. Highways
- Road Signs of Texas
- AARoads Texas Highway Page
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Texas State Highways |
|---|---|
| National Systems | Interstate Highways | U.S. Highways |
| State Highways | State Highways | State Highway Loops | State Highway Spurs |
| Farm to Market Roads | Central Texas | East Texas | Gulf Coast | North Texas | South Plains | Panhandle | South Texas | West Texas |
| Numbered highways in the United States | |
|---|---|
| National systems | Interstate Highways | U.S. Routes |
| State highways | Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming |
| Other areas | District of Columbia | American Samoa | Guam | Puerto Rico | Virgin Islands |
