Texas State Highway Loop 279

State Highway Loop 279 marker

State Highway Loop 279
Route information
Length: 4.05 mi[1] (6.52 km)
Existed: 1954 – present
Major junctions
West end: BL I-40 in Amarillo
East end: US 87 in Amarillo
Highway system
← Loop 278Loop 280 →

Loop 279, formerly Business U.S. Highway 66, is a state highway in Amarillo, Texas, United States. It runs from Amarillo Boulevard (Interstate 40 Business) and Bell Street east along 9th Avenue, Bushland Boulevard and 6th Avenue to end at Fillmore Street (northbound U.S. Route 87).[2]

Route description

Loop 279 begins at an interchange with I-40 Business and Bell Street near Amarillo College in Amarillo, Potter County, heading east on SW 9th Avenue, a four-lane divided highway. The road soon becomes a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane as it passes through commercial areas before heading between the Amarillo Country Club to the north and residential areas to the south, losing the center turn lane. The highway turns northeast onto Bushland Boulevard at this point and continues south of the golf course. Loop 279 narrows into a two-lane road and heads past businesses, turning east onto SW 6th Avenue. The road heads through more commercial areas with some homes before heading into an area of more businesses. The highway heads into the commercial downtown of Amarillo, widening into a four-lane road. Here, Loop 279 crosses the southbound direction of US 287 before ending at an intersection with the northbound direction of US 87.[1][3][4]

History

The route was originally the main line of U.S. Route 66, which turned north on Fillmore Street (concurrent with US 87) to the current Business IH 40. A new alignment along Amarillo Boulevard was built ca. 1953,[5] and in mid-1954[1] the old alignment (west of Fillmore Street) was designated Loop 279 and signed as Business US 66 (Business US 66 continued north on Fillmore Street to new US 66). At some point, Fillmore Street became one-way northbound, and westbound Business US 66 was moved to either Taylor Street or Pierce Street. When US 66 was decommissioned in Texas in 1985,[6] the Business US 66 designation was dropped.

Junction list

The entire route is in Amarillo, Potter County.

mi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
0.0000.000 BL I-40 (West Amarillo Boulevard) / Bell StreetInterchange
US 287 south (South Taylor Street)
4.0496.516 US 87 north (South Fillmore Street)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Route map: Bing

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Transportation Planning and Programming Division. "State Highway Loop No. 279". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  2. ↑ Potter County Texas Supplementary Sheet C
  3. ↑ Google (October 17, 2011). "overview map of Loop 279" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  4. ↑ County Grid Map 184 (PDF) (Map). Texas Department of Transportation. 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  5. ↑ National Bridge Inventory
  6. ↑ Transportation Planning and Programming Division. "U.S. Highway No. 66". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 17, 2011.