Texas State Highway 78

State Highway 78 marker

State Highway 78
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length: 90.83 mi[1] (146.18 km)
Existed: 1926 – present
Major junctions
South end: I-30 at Dallas
 

I-635
US 380
US 69

US 82
North end: OK 78
Highway system
← SH 77SH 79 →

State Highway 78 or SH 78 is a state highway that follows surface roads in a predominantly southwest-to-northeast direction in the Dallas area before traveling 90 miles (145 km) north-northeast to the Oklahoma State border.

Route description

The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 30 in Dallas. From there, it follows Grand Avenue along White Rock Lake and then Garland Road into Garland as it passes Interstate 635. In downtown Garland, Highway 78 follows the central streets of Avenues B and D before joining Lavon Drive and moving northeastward, where it formerly was the eastern terminus of the President George Bush Turnpike, which has since been extended to Interstate 30.

It continues to the northeast through Sachse and Wylie, crossing between Lake Ray Hubbard and Lake Lavon. It passes through Lavon before turning north through Farmersville and Blue Ridge. At SH 160, just before SH 121, SH 78 turns east, continuing to Leonard before turning northeast again to Bailey. At Bailey, SH 78 turns north and cuts through Bonham (as Center Street) just before it reaches the border with Oklahoma, where it crosses a 1938 truss bridge over the Red River. The route continues as Oklahoma State Highway 78 through Durant to its terminus at Tishomingo.

History

The highway was originally designated in 1926 along its current route. Part of this route was previously designated as SH 5C.

SH 78A was a spur designated by 1928 from Desert to Denison. This spur was renumbered as SH 160 by 1933.

The section of the highway between I-30 and SH 66 used to be part of U.S. 67 until sometime in the 60s.

Flooding

In 1990 SH 78 was flooded, as engineers at the Lake Lavon Dam decided to release the water from the lake into the East Fork of the Trinity River. For a month and a half, the traffic going between Wylie and the Eastern portion of Collin County was diverted to go through the city of Rockwall, a nearly 20-mile (32 km) detour. The railroad that ran adjacent to the highway was completely washed out, and significant shoulder damage was done to the highway.

Junction List

County Location Junction Notes
Dallas Dallas I-30 (R.L. Thornton Freeway) South end of SH 78; I-30 exits 48B-49A
Loop 12 (Buckner Boulevard)
Spur 244 west (Northwest Highway) to I-635
Garland I-635 west (Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway)
SH 66 east
President George Bush Turnpike Interchange
Collin Wylie FM 544 west
FM 2514 north (Ballard Avenue)
FM 3412 west (Brown Street)
Lavon SH 205 south – Rockwall

Bus. SH 78 north – Lavon

Bus. SH 78 south – Lavon
FM 6 east – Caddo Mills

Bus. SH 78 north – Copeville

Bus. SH 78 south – Copeville
Farmersville US 380 – McKinney, Greenville Interchange

Bus. SH 78 north

Bus. SH 78 south – Farmersville
FM 2756 west

Bus. SH 78 north – Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge FM 981 – Blue Ridge, Celeste

Bus. SH 78 south – Blue Ridge
SH 160 north to SH 121 – Whitewright
Fannin FM 815 north – Trenton
FM 981 north South end of FM 981 overlap
FM 981 south North end of FM 981 overlap
Leonard FM 896 north
US 69 south – Celeste South end of US 69 overlap
US 69 north / Spur 241 west – Whitewright North end of US 69 overlap
FM 1553 north
Bailey FM 816 south
SH 11 – Whitewright, Wolfe City
FM 1552 east
FM 1553 west
FM 68 east
FM 1629 south
FM 271 south – Bonham State Park
Bonham SH 56 – Ector, Dodd City
Loop 205 (10th Street)
US 82 – Sherman, Paris
FM 898 north
SH 121 south – Melissa, McKinney
FM 1753 west
FM 1396 east
FM 274 west
Crosses State Highway 78 Bridge over Red River into Oklahoma

References

  1. ↑ Texas Department of Transportation,