| U.S. Highway 290 | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by TxDOT | ||||
| Length: | 261 mi[1] (420 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1927[1] – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: | I-10 southeast of Junction, TX | |||
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US 87 at Fredericksburg, TX |
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| East end: | I-610 at Houston, TX | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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United States Numbered Highways Highways in Texas
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U.S. Highway 290 (or U.S. 290) is an east–west U.S. Highway located entirely within the State of Texas. Its current western terminus is at Interstate 10 north of Sheffield], and its eastern terminus is at Interstate 610 on the northwest side of Houston.
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West of Austin, U.S. 290 is a rather scenic route through the Texas Hill Country, passing through the towns of Fredericksburg and Johnson City, and hence close to the historical sites connected with Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, a top commander during the War in the Pacific (1941 - 45) and the deceased President from Texas, Lyndon Baines Johnson. East of Austin, U.S. 290 is a divided highway that passes through or near the towns of Giddings and Brenham.
In Austin, U.S. 290 runs concurrently with Interstate 35 for approximately 8 miles (13 km), including the Downtown Austin area.
U.S. 290 is part of a hurricane evacuation route. That route starts at SH 6 in Galveston. SH 6 is taken to U.S. 290. Then U.S. 290 is taken to where SH 6 and US 290 break apart. Then SH 6 is taken to Waco.
In Harris County outside of Houston, State Highway 6 (SH 6) joins with U.S. 290 and the two highways run concurrently until splitting just north of Hempstead.
The large remnant of U.S. 290 continues to be an important highway, one that connects Austin with Interstate 10, and from there eastward to Houston. Parts of U.S. 290 in Austin and near Houston are multilane freeways.
In Houston, U.S. 290 is sometimes called the Northwest Freeway. The Texas Legislature officially designated this highway within Harris County as the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway in 2005.[2]
U.S. 290 originally had an eastern terminus in San Antonio before 1935 when it was re-routed further north and extended eastward. The old highway into San Antonio was redesignated US 87.[1][3]
Prior to the Interstate era, it extended nearly 300 miles (483 km) farther west to an intersection with US 80 (now Interstate 20) before Interstate 10 supplanted it.
Prior to construction of the Northwest Freeway, U.S. 290 through Houston followed Hempstead Highway, which runs parallel to the freeway approximately one-half mile to the southwest. The eastern terminus of U.S. 290 was also approximately one mile to the southeast at the intersection of Hempstead Highway, Washington Avenue and Old Katy Road. There is a small directional T interchange at this intersection.
Because of truncations in its length, U.S. 290 no longer intersects with its "parent" route, U.S. 90.
Toll roads are planned along segments of U.S. 290 in Houston and Austin. In Houston, the Harris County Toll Road Authority is planning to construct toll managed lanes along and adjacent to the U.S. 290 right-of-way, to be called the Hempstead Tollway.[4] In Austin, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is constructing the Manor Expressway along U.S. 290 from Austin to Manor.[5]
In 2011 two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, John Culberson and Michael T. McCall, asked TxDOT to advocate for the relabeling of U.S. 290 as an interstate highway.[6]
Prior to construction of the Northwest Freeway, U.S. 290 through Houston followed Hempstead Highway, which runs parallel to the freeway approximately one-half mile to the southwest. The eastern terminus of U.S. 290 was also approximately one mile to the southeast at the intersection of Hempstead Highway, Washington Avenue and Old Katy Road. There is a small directional T interchange at this intersection.
The Interchange with I-610 and first part of frontage roads opened in 1963. The first freeway section opened in 1975. In 1982, freeway main lanes completed to just inside Beltway 8. In 1990, the stack interchange with Beltway 8 were completed. From 1985 to 2005, the main lanes outside Beltway 8 were completed.[7]
The freeway was constructed to only 3 lanes in each direction, but a major investment study in 2002 requested expansion to 5 lanes in each direction inside Beltway 8 and 4 lanes in each direction from Beltway 8 to the proposed Grand Parkway. It also recommended a new tollway along Hempstead Highway.[8]
US 290 has three business routes.
Business U.S. Route 290-F is the original routing of U.S. 290 through the town of Brenham. The route was established in 1990 when the main line of US 290 was rerouted along with State Route 36 around the western and southern sides of Brenham. The routing begins to the west of town at an intersection with State Highway 36. The business route continues east into downtown on Main Street. Before reaching downtown, the route splits into two parallel one-way streets: Main Street carrying westbound traffic and Alamo Street carrying eastbound traffic. It passes through downtown, meeting the business routing of State Highway 36 and the western terminus of State Highway 105. At this intersection, the business route turns south on Market Street, and continues out of Brenham, rejoining the mainline U.S. 290 near an intersection with Farm to Market Road 544. The entire route is 4.59 miles in length.
Business U.S. Route 290-H is the original routing of US 290 through the towns of Hempstead, Waller, and Hockley. This route was designated between 1995 and 1998 in stages as a limited access bypass route was constructed to the north of these towns.
Business U.S. Route 290-L is the original routing of US 290 through the town of Cypress. The route was designated in 1993 as a limited access bypass was built to the northeast of the original routing.
| County | Location | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimble | I-10 – Junction | ||
| RM 479 north | |||
| RM 385 north | |||
| Gillespie | Harper | RM 783 south – Kerrville | West end of RM 783 overlap |
| RM 783 east / FM 2093 | East end of RM 783 overlap | ||
| US 87 north – Mason | West end of US 87 overlap | ||
| Fredericksburg | RM 965 north (N Milam Street) – Enchanted Rock | ||
| SH 16 south (S Adams Street) – Kerrville | West end of SH 16 overlap | ||
| SH 16 north (N Llano Street) – Llano | East end of SH 16 overlap | ||
| US 87 (S Washington Street) – Comfort, San Antonio | East end of US 87 overlap | ||
| RM 1631 north | |||
| RM 1376 | |||
| Stonewall | RM 1623 north | West end of RM 1623 overlap | |
| RM 1623 south – Blanco | East end of RM 1623 overlap | ||
| Blanco | Hye | RM 1320 north | |
| Johnson City | Spur 356 north (Nugent Avenue) | ||
| US 281 north – Marble Falls | West end of US 281 overlap | ||
| RM 2766 east (Robinson Road) | |||
| US 281 south – Blanco | East end of US 281 overlap | ||
| RM 3232 north | |||
| Hays | RM 165 | ||
| Dripping Springs | RM 12 – San Marcos | ||
| Travis | RM 1826 west | ||
| Austin | SH 71 west – Marble Falls, Llano | West end of SH 71 overlap; west end of freeway | |
| W William Cannon Road | |||
| Loop 1 (S MoPac Expressway) | |||
| Southwest Parkway | |||
| Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway) | |||
| Loop 343 (S Lamar Boulevard) | |||
| Manchaca Road | |||
| S 1st Street | |||
| Loop 275 (S Congress Avenue) | |||
| I-35 south / SH 71 east – San Antonio, Bastrop | west end of IH-35 overlap, east end of SH 71 overlap | ||
| Woodward Street | Northbound exit is via exit 230 | ||
| Oltolf Street | |||
| Woodland Avenue | |||
| Riverside Drive | |||
| Bridge over the Colorado River (Lady Bird Lake) | |||
| Holly Street | Northbound exit only | ||
| Cesar Chavez Street, Holly Street | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| Cesar Chavez Street, 2nd-4th Streets | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 8th-3rd Streets – Huston-Tillotson University | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| 6th-12th Streets | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 12th-11th Streets – State Capitol | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| 15th Street, MLK Boulevard – University of Texas , State Capitol | |||
| Manor Road | |||
| Dean Keeton Street, 32nd-38½ Streets | Signed as exits 236A (Dean Keeton Street, 32nd Street) and 236B (38½ Street) southbound | ||
| Loop 111 (Airport Boulevard) | |||
| 51st Street, Cameron Road | |||
| RM 2222 west | |||
| I-35 north – Waco | West end of Spur 69 overlap, east end of IH-35 overlap | ||
| Cameron Road | East end of Spur 69 overlap | ||
| US 183 – Lampasas, Lockhart | |||
| Springdale Road | |||
| Giles Lane | |||
| Harris Branch Parkway | |||
| Blue Goose Road | |||
| FM 3177 (Decker Lane) | |||
| SH 45 / SH 130 – Georgetown, Austin | |||
| FM 734 (Parmer Lane) | |||
| Manor | Loop 212 east | ||
| FM 973 / Loop 212 | |||
| FM 1100 east | |||
| Bastrop | Elgin | SH 95 north – Taylor | West end of SH 95 overlap |
| Loop 109 (Harris Street) – Elgin | |||
| FM 1704 south (S Main Street) | |||
| SH 95 south – Bastrop | East end of SH 95 overlap | ||
| FM 696 north – Lexington | |||
| FM 2336 south | |||
| SH 21 – Bastrop, Caldwell | |||
| Paige | FM 2104 south – Smithville | ||
| Lee | Giddings | US 77 (Main Street) – Lexington, La Grange | |
| FM 141 north (N Orange Street) | |||
| FM 180 north | |||
| Fayette | Ledbetter | FM 1291 south | |
| Carmine | Spur 458 east | ||
| SH 237 south – Round Top, Warrenton, La Grange | |||
| Washington | FM 2502 east | ||
| Burton | Spur 125 – Burton | ||
| FM 1948 north | |||
| FM 2679 north – Zionville | |||
| Brenham | US 290 Bus. east / SH 36 north – Brenham, Caldwell |
West end of SH 36 overlap | |
| FM 389 (Prairie Lea Street) | |||
| SH 36 south – Bellville, Sealy | East end of SH 36 overlap | ||
| FM 577 (Blue Bell Road) | |||
| Chappell Hill | FM 1155 north (Main Street) | ||
| FM 1371 south | |||
| Waller | Hempstead | FM 1736 | |
| SH 6 north – Bryan, Hempstead, College Station | West end of SH 6 overlap | ||
| FM 1488 – Hempstead, Magnolia | |||
| FM 359 – Brookshire | Eastbound exit is via the FM 1488 exit | ||
| Prairie View | Liendo Parkway | ||
| FM 1098 – Prairie View | |||
| James Muse Parkway | |||
| Harris | Waller | FM 362 | |
| Field Store Road | |||
| FM 2920 – Waller, Tomball | |||
| Binford Road | |||
| Kickapoo Road | |||
| Hockley | Kermier Road | ||
| Hegar Road | |||
| Badtke Road | |||
| Roberts Road, Katy Hockley Road | |||
| Becker Road | |||
| Bauer Road | |||
| Mason Road | |||
| Mueschke Road | |||
| Cypress | US 290 Bus. / Spring-Cypress Road, Cypress-Rosehill Road, Fry Rd. |
No eastbound exit | |
| Skinner Road, Spring-Cypress Road | |||
| Barker-Cypress Road | |||
| Telge Road | |||
| Hempstead Road, Huffmeister Road | |||
| SH 6 south / FM 1960 east | East end of SH 6 overlap | ||
| Satsuma | Eldridge Parkway, West Road | ||
| Jersey Village | Jones Road | ||
| Houston | Beltway 8 (Frontage Road) / FM 529 / Senate Avenue | ||
| Sam Houston Tollway | |||
| Beltway 8 (Frontage Road) / West Little York Road, North Gessner Road | |||
| Fairbanks-North Houston Road | |||
| West Tidwell Road, Hollister Road | |||
| Pinemont Drive, Bingle Road, West 43rd Street | |||
| Antoine Drive, West 34th Street | |||
| Mangum Road, Dacoma Street | |||
| I-610 | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||
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