Texas State Highway 6

State Highway 6 (abbreviated as SH 6) runs from the Red River, the Texas–Oklahoma boundary, to northwest of Galveston. In the Houston area, it runs north to FM 1960, then northwest along US Highway 290 to Hempstead, and south to Westheimer Road and Addicks, and is known as Addicks Satsuma Road. In the Bryan–College Station area, it is known as the Earl Rudder Freeway. In Hearne, it is known as Market Street. For most of its length, SH 6 is not a limited-access road.

In 1997, the Texas Legislature designated SH 6 as the Texas Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.^[2]

History

Historic routes

State Highway 6 was one of the original 26 state highways proposed in 1917, overlying the King of Trails Highway. From 1919, the routing mostly followed present-day U.S. Highway 75 from Oklahoma to Dallas, then U.S. Highway 77 to Waco.

Current routes

In 1926, SH 6 was extended along the eastern Gulf Division branch of State Highway 2 to keep SH 2 from having two separate highways with the same number. US 75 and US 77 were overlaid on northern SH 6 from Waco northward through the Dallas area to Denison. While the routes were marked concurrently, the concurrent SH 6 kept its numbering until 1939, when SH 6 was truncated to the Gulf Division routing ending at Waco. It was rerouted south from Hempstead to Galveston, replacing SH 38 from Sugar Land to Galveston. In 1945, the roadway was extended northwest to Breckenridge over SH 67, continuing northwest to near Throckmorton along SH 157, which was decommissioned. Also in 1945, the section in southeast Texas between Hempstead and Sugar Land was cancelled for unknown reasons, and transferred to Farm to Market Road 359. In 1952, the route was truncated on the north side, ending at Breckenridge. This section was transferred to U.S. Highway 183. In 1968, the section between Hempstead and Sugar Land was re-established, as it was routed along U.S. Highway 290 until it reached Farm to Market Road (FM) 1960, then replacing FM 1960 southward to where the southern branch of SH 6 intersected U.S. Highway 59 in Sugar Land. In the early 1970s, the northern section underwent a massive rerouting due to realignments of numerous U.S. and state routes. In 1971, the section from Breckenridge south to Eastland was redesignated as State Highway 69. It was instead rerouted west along U.S. Highway 80 to Cisco, then replaced U.S. Highway 380 northwest to near Old Glory. The route was again extended in 1975, replacing State Highway 283 between Old Glory and Stamford northward to the Texas/Oklahoma border, completing the current routing of SH 6.^[3]

Business routes

SH 6 has four business routes.

Business State Highway 6-N (formerly Loop 23) is a business loop that runs from SH 6 near Marlin in central Texas. The road was bypassed in 1978 by SH 6 and designated Loop 23. The road was redesignated as Business SH 6-N in 1991.^[4][5]

Business State Highway 6-R (formerly Loop 507) is a business loop that runs through Bryan and College Station. The route runs on Texas Avenue in both cities. The route, created in 1972 when SH 6 was routed further north and east, is 12.5 miles (20.1 km) long.^[6] It serves as the eastern boundary of Texas A&M University.

Business State Highway 6-S (formerly Loop 508) is a business loop that runs through Navasota on La Salle Avenue. The route was created in 1972 when SH 6 was rerouted further north and east around town; it is 6.3 miles (10.1 km).^[7]

A business loop was added in 2010 in Reagan when the existing SH 6 was rerouted southwest around town; as of January 1, 2011, however, this route has not been added to the Highway Designation File.

Route description

SH 6 begins at an intersection with Interstate 45 and SH 3 in Bayou Vista, and proceeds to the northwest, paralleling the ATSF railroad tracks. The highway makes a mostly straight line through Galveston, Brazoria, and Fort Bend Counties, passing through the city of Alvin. As the highway reaches Sugar Land, it makes a turn to the north after passing intersections with US Route 59 and Alternate US Route 90. The highway continues north into western Harris County, reaching the Westpark Tollway and Interstate 10. It then intersects US Route 290 in CyFair, joining it as they travel to the northwest, thus finishing a large routing around the southern and western portions of Houston. The route continues northwest with US 290 as a limited-access highway. At Hockley, the highway veers to the right, forking from an old alignment of the highway, and bypassing the cities of Waller and Hempstead to the north. At Hempstead, it splits from US 290 and turns northward into Grimes County, where it bypasses the city of Navasota, while Business SH 6 passes through town. The highway then turns northwest again, crossing into Brazos County. As of 2009, construction of new freeway lanes are almost complete between the end of the existing freeway at FM 159 and Business SH 6 on the north side of Navasota Bypass, making the entire trek from the Grimes/Brazos County line to the Brazos/Robertson County line a complete freeway. The highway starts another bypass here, going around the Bryan/College Station area to the northeast, while the business route goes through these cities. On the northeast side of Bryan, the highway meets US Route 190, and they travel together to the northwest out of the region. SH 6 splits with US 190 in the town of Hearne, but joins US Route 79 before that route splits to the northeast about a mile north of town. As of 2008, SH 6 was under reconstruction, making the road four lanes from Hearne to the end of the four-lane highway just south of Marlin, including a bypass around Reagan and a proposed bypass for Calvert. SH 6 then continues northwest, traveling through lesser populated farmlands, before approaching Waco. Before entering Waco, it turns southeast on State Loop 340, and bypasses Waco to the south. It reaches an intersection with Interstate 35, and then turns to the northwest again, crossing over Lake Waco. The highway continues northwest and west through more farmland regions in Central Texas, before reaching an intersection with Interstate 20 just south of Eastland. The route briefly turns west, traveling along the former route of US Route 80, before turning back to the northwest at Cisco. As it continues, it is briefly concurrent with US Routes 180 and 277 in northcentral Texas. Just northwest of Stamford, the highway makes its final turn to the north at an intersection with SH 283. The highway then travels through sparsely populated areas of Haskell, Knox, Foard, and Hardeman Counties before ending north of Quanah at the Red River, where it meets Oklahoma State Highway 6.

Junction list

References