Texas State Highway 349

State Highway 349 marker

State Highway 349
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length: 194.427 mi[1] (312.900 km)
Existed: 1943 – present
Major junctions
South end: US 90 at Dryden
  I-10
US 190
US 67
I-20
North end: SH 137 near Lamesa
Location
Counties: Terrell, Pecos, Crockett, Upton, Midland, Martin, Dawson
Highway system
← SH 348SH 350 →

State Highway 349 or SH 349 is a 194.43-mile-long (312.90 km) state highway in the western part of Texas, United States.

History

The original formation of the highway in 1943 included only the section from Rankin to Midland, replacing a former route of FM 9.[2] In 1947, FM 177 and FM 306 were redesignated to form the segment of SH 349 from Midland to near Lamesa. The section from Sheffield to Rankin was added in 1956 by redesignating part of SH 51.

Image of FM 1217 highway shield. The square shield has a white symbol in the shape of Texas as the state appears on maps on a black background. Inside this symbol is the number 1217. The black background contains the words FARM in the upper right corner and ROAD in the lower left corner, both in white capital lettering.

The part of SH 349 south of Sheffield was Farm to Market Road 1217, which was designated in 1948 from Dryden northward 5 miles (8 km).[3] FM 1217 was extended to the northeast 10.7 miles (17.2 km) in 1951; this was followed by an extension in the same direction of 14 miles (23 km) the following year. The designation was extended 12.3 miles (19.8 km) in 1954 to the end of FM 1749, which was cancelled and combined with FM 1217, adding 17.8 miles (28.6 km) and bringing its southern terminus to Sheffield. In 1990, the mileage of FM 1217 was transferred to SH 349.

In December 2014, the Texas Transportation Commission approved an extension of the SH 349 designation south of Lamesa, from the current northern terminus at SH 137 eastward to US 87. As of January 2015, this segment has not been constructed.[4]

Route description

SH 349 runs generally northward from its originating junction with U.S. Highway 90 at the tiny town of Dryden (population 13) near the Rio Grande, the southern border of the state. The road passes west of the Fort Lancaster State Historical Park to Sheffield and a junction with Interstate 10. SH 349 then runs along the Pecos River to Iraan, where it is co-routed for a few miles with U.S. Highway 190. The road then proceeds northward to a junction and brief co-routing with U.S. Highway 67 at Rankin. SH 349 continues northward to the relatively heavily populated area of Midland.

SH 349 formerly bisected Midland directly through the city center. However, the highway has been redesignated to loop around Midland to the west, by co-routing it with portions of Interstate 20 (and State Highway 158) and Farm to Market Road 1788. A new section of highway, a so-called "reliever route", was opened on December 10, 2009, and was named the Nadine and Tom Craddick Highway after State Rep. Tom Craddick and his wife, who played a large role in creating the highway.[5] (This new section of SH 349 is part of the "La Entrada al Pacifico Corridor" trade route from west Texas to Mexico). The portion of SH 349 that ran directly through Midland will be redesignated as Business State Highway 349-C (BS 349-C). North of Midland, SH 349 proceeds generally northward to its final junction with State Highway 137, just south of Lamesa. Counties traversed by the highway include Terrell, Pecos, Crockett, Upton, Midland, Martin and Dawson. With the exception of the metropolitan area of Midland, most of the terrain covered by the highway is sparsely populated ranch country.[6]

Major intersections

County Location Mile Junction Notes
Terrell US 90
RM 3166
RM 2400
Pecos Sheffield SH 290 (Main Street) South end of SH 290 concurrency
I-10 North end of SH 290 concurrency, interchange
Iraan US 190 South end of US 190 concurrency
US 190 North end of US 190 concurrency
Crockett No major junctions
Upton US 67 South end of US 67 concurrency
Rankin SH 329
US 67 North end of US concurrency
Spur 576
RM 1555
RM 2401
Midland FM 1379
FM 1787
FM 1213
Midland I-20 Interchange, East end of I-20 concurrency
Loop 250 Interchange
I-20 Interchange, West end of I-20 concurrency, South end of FM 1788 concurrency
FM 1788
Loop 40 Midland International Airport
SH 191 Interchange
FM 1788 Interchange, North end of 1788 concurrency
SH 158 Future interchange, currently a stop sign[7]
Martin SH 176 – Andrews, Big Spring Interchange
Dawson FM 828
SH 115
FM 829
FM 2051
FM 2052
SH 137

See also

References

  1. ↑ Transportation Planning and Programming Division. "State Highway No. 349". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  2. ↑ Transportation Planning and Programming Division. "Farm to Market Road No. 9". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
  3. ↑ Transportation Planning and Programming Division. "Farm to Market Road No. 1217". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Minute Order 114180" (PDF). Texas Transportation Commission. December 18, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  5. ↑ https://twitter.com/TxDOTOdessa/statuses/6542677029
  6. ↑ Google (2008-03-21). "overview map of SH 349" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  7. ↑ http://www.txdot.gov/news/local_news/odessa_news/023-2009.htm

External links

Route map: Bing

Geographic data related to Texas State Highway 349 at OpenStreetMap