U.S. Route 90

U.S. Route 90
Route information
Length: 1,633 mi[1] (2,628 km)
Existed: 1926[1] – present
Major junctions
West end: I-10 Bus. / SH 54 at Van Horn, TX
 

I-35 at San Antonio, TX
I-45 at Houston, TX
US 59 at Houston, TX
US 69 / US 96 / US 287 at Beaumont, TX
I-10 at New Orleans, LA
US 11 at New Orleans, LA
US 49 at Gulfport, MS
I-65 at Mobile, AL
I-110 at Pensacola, FL
I-75 at Lake City, FL

US 1 in Jacksonville, Florida
East end: SR A1A in Jacksonville Beach, FL
Highway system

United States Numbered Highways
List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced

U.S. Route 90 is an east–west United States highway. Despite the "0" in its route number, U.S. 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route; it has always ended at Van Horn, Texas. A short-lived northward extension to U.S. 62/180 near Pine Springs, Texas, lasted less than a year, and the signs on that segment were changed to Texas State Highway 54, running from Interstate Highway 10 at exit 140A and heading to its northern terminus at U.S. 62/180.

On August 29, 2005, a number of the highway's bridges in Mississippi and Louisiana were destroyed or damaged due to Hurricane Katrina, including the Bay St. Louis Bridge, the Biloxi Bridge, and the Fort Pike Bridge. U.S. 90 has seven exits on Interstate 10 in the State of Florida. It also includes part of the DeSoto Trail between Tallahassee and Lake City.

The highway's eastern terminus is in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, at an intersection with State Road A1A three blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. Its western terminus is in Van Horn, Texas at an intersection with Business Interstate 10 D, just north of Interstate 10 and just west of State Highway 54. U.S. 90 formerly terminated at its junction with U.S. 80, however, the western segments of that highway have been decommissioned in favor of Interstate 10 and Interstate 20.[2]

Contents

Route description

Lengths
  mi[3] km
TX 773 1244
LA 306 492
MS 75 121
AL 70 110
FL 409 658
Total 1633 2628

Texas

U.S. 90 begins at an intersection with I-10 Bus. and SH 54 in downtown Van Horn. It then heads south-southeast towards Marfa, where the route begins to head generally east. The route is mostly two lanes west of Uvalde. At this point it becomes a four-lane surface road until it reaches western Bexar County where it becomes a freeway, joining I-10 in downtown San Antonio. This concurrency with I-10 continues intermittently into western Houston, where U.S. 90 follows the Katy Freeway. The section of U.S. 90 that is multiplexed with I-10 through Houston is the only section of the route that is unsigned. In eastern Houston, U.S. 90 splits from I-10 and heads northeast towards Liberty, eventually running through downtown Beaumont where it rejoins I-10 for the rest of its routing through Texas.

The speed limit on U.S. 90 between Van Horn and Del Rio is mainly 75 MPH. Beginning at Seguin, U.S. 90 Alternate splits from U.S. 90 and runs parallel to the south, rejoining the main route in northeast Houston.

In 1991, the construction on a four- to six-lane freeway northeast of Houston in Harris County was completed along a new routing for US 90 and that portion was designated the Crosby Freeway. This segment ran from just inside Beltway 8 to east of the town of Crosby. Construction began in 2006 to extend the freeway westward to the intersection of Interstate 10 (East Freeway) and the East Loop.[4] On January 24, 2011, the new extension officially opened. Due to lack of funds, overpasses were not built over Greens Bayou and over future Purple Sage Road, leaving traffic to briefly exit to the frontage roads before being rejoin the freeway.[5]

Louisiana

Note: Entering Louisiana from the east, U.S. 90 follows a similar path as Interstate 10 through New Orleans. In New Orleans, U.S. 90 and I-10 part ways: I-10 goes to Baton Rouge, while U.S. 90 takes a southern turn, passing through the Houma-Thibodaux area, Morgan City, Franklin, and New Iberia before reaching Lafayette. The portion of U.S. 90 from New Orleans to Lafayette is designated to become the corridor for I-49. In Lafayette, U.S. 90 again meets up with I-10, and the two highways run side by side through Lake Charles and into Texas.

Mississippi

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi's portion of Highway 90 was entirely four-laned except for a very short segment at the state's west end leading to the old Pearl River Bridge into Louisiana. That segment of old highway is obviated for most purposes by an extension of the four-lane roadway from its divorce with Hwy 90 to I-10 just east of the much newer Pearl Bridge.

Before Katrina, the 26-mile (42 km) stretch of 90 running from the St. Louis Bay Bridge at the west end to the Biloxi Bay Bridge at the east was one of the most scenic roadways in the South, offering beautiful views of the Gulf of Mexico on its south side and lovely mansions — some antebellum — on its north. The median featured many old, stately oak trees, a good number of which survived the blow.

Many segments and important bridges were heavily damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. With the opening of two lanes of the Biloxi Bay Bridge on November 1, 2007,[6] the entire route is now restored. However, reconstruction projects continue on much of the highway and lane closures are not rare. Substantial completion of all Highway 90 Katrina-related road work in this state was scheduled to have been completed by now.

'US Highway 90 Project History' recounts in some detail this roadway's colorful past in Mississippi, dating back to the early 20th century when it was part of the Old Spanish Trail. The pdf document is available at the 'Project Updates' page of the MS Department of Transportation's website (www.gomdot.com)

Alabama

US-90, internally designated by the Alabama Department of Transportation as State Route 16 (SR-16), is a major east–west state highway across the southern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. U.S. Highway 90 and SR-16 cross the extreme southern part of the state, covering approximately 75 miles (121 km). The routes pass through the city of Mobile and its suburbs before entering Baldwin County. With the completion of Interstate 10, US-90 and SR-16 serve primarily as a local route connecting the towns along the route.

Florida

As it enters the Sunshine State, US 90 shifts south towards Pensacola while Alternate US 90 stays to the north of the city. This stretch of highway is also known as Nine Mile Road. After Hurricane Ivan destroyed the I-10 Bridge in Northwest Florida, motorists waited as long as 2 hours to cross the Escambia bridge between Santa Rosa and Escambia counties.

The highway's route continues to the north of I-10 as a two-lane highway through most of the sparsely-populated inland areas of the panhandle, becoming four lanes through and near several towns. In Gadsden County, US 90 cuts to the southeast toward downtown Tallahassee, where it passes the north entrance of Florida State University and expands to six-lanes until its junction with US 27. Continuing east, the highway is a two-lane road north of I-10 along the rest of its route, except as it turns to the south to pass through Lake City at I-75. After going through the Osceola National Forest, it passes I-295 heading into Jacksonville, becoming four-lanes through the industrialized west side as Beaver Street, and through downtown as Union Street. It crosses the St. Johns River on the Main Street Bridge and continues east as Beach Boulevard to its terminus at SR-A1A in Jacksonville Beach.

Highway 90 passes through the county seats of all 15 counties on its course in Florida, and is never more than six miles (10 km) from I-10 throughout the state. The highway's hidden state road designation is primarily SR-10 (10A in Pensacola), but along Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville it becomes SR-212.

The speed limit is 55 mph (89 km/h) for all rural points west of Monticello, and it is 60 mph (97 km/h) on all rural points beginning in Madison County to Glen St. Mary.

History

Hurricane Katrina

The U.S. 90 bridge between Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi and Pass Christian, Mississippi, as well as the bridge between Biloxi, Mississippi and Ocean Springs, Mississippi were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. During the storm the St. Louis Bay bridge was under water and destroyed. Portions of Highway 90 were damaged along the Battleship Parkway on Mobile Bay in Baldwin County, AL. Sections of the highway in Harrison County, Mississippi, including other bridges and much of the roadbed, were damaged or destroyed. Both the Rigolets Bridge and the Chef Menteur Bridge across Chef Menteur Pass in New Orleans East were damaged, but have since been reopened. Some sections of the highway in New Orleans, Louisiana were unpassable under flood waters for weeks due to the general flooding of that city; see Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. The Crescent City Connection bridge over the Mississippi River in Sector 49, also known as Business U.S. 90, remained intact and was the only usable route out of that city in the immediate aftermath of the storm until the section of Leake Avenue/River Road between New Orleans and Metairie was able to be cleared of heavy debris, but was blocked off by Jefferson Parish and Gretna law enforcement officials in a politically controversial move to prevent the looting and general anarchy from spreading to the relatively intact West bank of the Mississippi River.

In mid-2006, construction began on the replacement for the Bay St. Louis bridge.[7] It was completed on January 4, 2008 and includes four traffic lanes plus emergency shoulders and a bicycle/pedestrian path. It also stands 85 feet (26 m) high at its highest point. Two-way traffic resumed on the eastbound lanes of the bridge on May 17, 2007 after an afternoon ceremony,[8] effectively ending the temporary ferry service. The remaining half of the bridge opened to traffic on January 4, 2008.[9]

On June 6, 2006, a $338.6 million contract was let for the Biloxi-Ocean Springs replacement. The bridge will be 95 feet (29 m) tall at its highest point and will carry six traffic lanes, 8-foot-wide (2.4 m) inside and 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) outside shoulders, and a bicycle/pedestrian path. To many area residents' and leaders' delight, the bridge's westbound lanes opened to two-way traffic after a ceremony and parade on November 1, 2007, two weeks ahead of schedule.[10] Total bridge construction, including the opening of all six lanes of traffic, are scheduled to be completed by April 2008.[11]

The 1929 vintage bridge carrying Highway 90 over Chef Menteur Pass was repaired and opened to traffic on August 11, 2006 after it was closed after the storm.

Florida State Road 1

Florida State Road No. 1
Location: Santa Rosa County, Florida, USA
Nearest city: Milton, Florida
NRHP Reference#: 94000626
Added to NRHP: June 23, 1994

The Florida State Road No. 1 (also known as the Old Brick Road, Red Brick Road, U.S. Highway 90, or Old Spanish Trail) is a historic road near Milton, Florida. It is located, roughly, in three sections east of Milton, parallel to US 90, between Marquis Bayou and Harold. On June 23, 1994, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[12][13][14]

Major intersections

Bannered routes

References

  1. ^ a b Droz, Robert V. U.S. Highways : From US 1 to (US 830). URL accessed 22:46, 20 February 2006 (UTC).
  2. ^ Endpoints of US highways
  3. ^ "U.S. Route Number Database" (Dec 2009 ed.). American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. http://nchrp20-7-228.com/USRoute.aspx. Retrieved 2011-04-08. 
  4. ^ The Spokes. Oscar Slotboom, Houston Freeways, houstonfreeways.com. Last Accessed 2008-01-27.
  5. ^ Westbound lanes of US 90 now open. David Taylor, Lake Houston Observer, yourLakeHoustonNews.com. Last Accessed 2011-03-12.
  6. ^ Associated Press (2007-11-01). "Biloxi Bay Bridge Reopens Today" (in Englisch). WKRG News. http://www.webcitation.org/5n1JqsfdR. Retrieved 2010-01-24. 
  7. ^ Work Underway To Rebuild Bay St. Louis Bridge WLOX-TV Biloxi-Gulfport, Mississippi. Posted April 12, 2006. Accessed 13 December 2006.
  8. ^ Section of Katrina-Damaged Hwy 90 Bridge reopens WWL-TV New Orleans, posted 17 May 2007. Accessed 27 May 2007.
  9. ^ Reconstruction of The Bay St. Louis Bridge. Mississippi Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
  10. ^ LaFontaine, Ryan; Baker, Margaret; Perez, Mary and Newsom, Michael. Parade marks first vehicles to cross Biloxi Bay Bridge. Posted by The Sun Herald online November 1, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2007
  11. ^ Mississippi Department of Transportation. U.S. 90 Bridge at Biloxi Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  12. ^ Santa Rosa County listings at National Register of Historic Places
  13. ^ Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs; Santa Rosa County listings at Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs; Florida State Road No. 1
  14. ^ U.S. Highway 90 - Old Spanish Trail - Historic State Route 1 at The Lost Highway @ RoadSites.org

External links

Main U.S. Routes
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20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
40 41 42 43 44 45 46 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59
60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79
80 81 82 83 84 85 87 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
101 163 400 412 425
Lists  U.S. Routes • Bannered • Divided • Bypassed
Browse numbered routes
SH 89 TX SH 90
US 84 MS US 98
SR-89 AL SR-91
SR 87 FL SR 90