Texas State Highway 288

State Highway 288
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	61.03 mi[1] (98.22 km)
Existed:	1939 – present
Major junctions
South end:	FM 1495 in Freeport
	Sam Houston Tollway / Beltway 8 I-610 in Houston I-69 / US 59 in Houston
North end:	I-45 in Houston
Location
Counties:	Brazoria, Harris
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs Park Rec FM ← SH 287 SH 289 →

State Highway 288, or SH 288, is a north–south highway in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Texas, between I-45 in downtown Houston and Freeport, where it terminates on FM 1495. The route was originally designated by 1939, replacing the southern portion of SH 19.

Route description

In Harris County, SH 288 is the South Freeway, a divided freeway known for having one of the widest medians of the local road system. It begins as freeway status from its northern terminus at Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59 just south of downtown southward through south Houston. It reaches an intersection with I-610 and continues south through newer subdivisions. It reaches an intersection with State Highway 6, after which it loses its freeway status. From the Harris-Brazoria County Line to Freeport, it is referred to as the Nolan Ryan Expressway, in recognition of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan who grew up in Alvin, Texas, which is not directly on this road. North of Angleton, the route returns to freeway status passing west of Angleton, near the Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport, and around the southwestern side of Lake Jackson. It then turns southward toward Freeport. In Freeport, it is known as Brazosport Boulevard. It reaches its southern terminus at State Highway 36 on the southwest side of town.

Proposed Toll Road

To help alleviate congestion on SH 288, HCTRA plans to construct toll lanes in the median of the existing freeway in the Greater Houston area. The route will begin at I-69/US 59 just south of Midtown and terminate at the intersection of the proposed Grand Parkway (SH 99) for a total length of 26 miles (41.8 km). BCTRA is to take on the part in Brazoria County. The entire length of the project will have 4 lanes with interchanges at IH-610 and at Beltway 8. Construction began in the summer of 2015.^[2]

History

State Highway 288 was designated in 1939 as the renumbering of the portion of State Highway 19 south of downtown Houston. The original routing ran southward along Almeda Road in Houston. The route traveled southward through Fresno, past the Houston Southwest Airport, before reaching Bonney. This entire portion of the route was transferred to Farm to Market Road 521 in 1983.^[3] The route then traveled southeast through downtown Angleton, continuing southeast before reaching Freeport. This original section is now part of County Road 543 and Farm to Market Road 523. SH 288 was redirected southward from Angleton when the city of Clute became more populated, then continued southward to a new intersection with State Highway 36 west of Freeport. The entire remaining section from FM 521 north of Angleton to Clute was transferred first to Texas State Highway 227 in 1987, and later Business Highway 288 when the bypass around the western side of Lake Jackson opened. The section from Clute south to Freeport remains from the original redirection.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Brazoria	Freeport			FM 1495 – Surfside Beach, Quintana County Park, Quintana Beach, Bryan Beach, Port Freeport, Brazos Harbor	south end of SH 36 overlap
				SH 36 north – Jones Creek, West Columbia	interchange; north end of SH 36 overlap
				FM 523 north – Surfside
				Bus. SH 288 north / SH 332 east – Clute Business District, Angleton, Surfside	interchange; south end of freeway; south end of SH 332 overlap
	Clute			Main Street / Contractor Road / Copper Road
				Dixie Drive
	Lake Jackson			Plantation Drive
				Oak Drive / Veterans Memorial Parkway / This Way / West Way	Access to Brazosport Memorial Hospital
				SH 332 west (Oyster Creek Drive) / Abner Jackson Parkway / This Way	north end of SH 332 overlap
				FM 2004 – Richwood	interchange; north end of freeway
	Angleton			CR 220 – Brazoria Airport	interchange; south end of freeway
				CR 290	southbound exit and northbound entrance
				SH 35 – Angleton, West Columbia, Bay City
				CR 44
				FM 523 – Alvin, Angleton
				CR 45	at-grade intersection; north end of freeway
				Bus. SH 288 to FM 521 – Rosharon, Angleton	interchange
				CR 48	at-grade intersection
				CR 51	at-grade intersection
				FM 1462 – Rosharon, Alvin	interchange
				CR 60 to CR 62 – Iowa Colony	at-grade intersection
				CR 61 / CR 62 / CR 63	at-grade intersection
	Iowa Colony			CR 64	at-grade intersection
				CR 56	at-grade intersection
	Iowa Colony			CR 57 west	at-grade intersection
				CR 57 east	at-grade intersection
				CR 48 – Iowa Colony	right-in/right-out intersections
	Manvel			SH 6 – Alvin, Sugar Land	interchange
				CR 58	interchange; south end of freeway
				CR 101 (Bailey Road)
	Pearland			CR 59 (Southfork Drive)
				FM 518 – Pearland
				FM 2234 (Shadow Creek Parkway) / Mc Hard Road
Harris				Beltway 8 / Sam Houston Tollway
	Houston			Almeda-Genoa Road
				West Orem Drive
				Airport Boulevard
				Reed Road
				Bellfort Avenue
				I-610	I-610 west exit 38A, east exits 38A-C
				Holly Hall	southbound exit and northbound entrance
				Alt. US 90 (Old Spanish Trail) / Yellowstone Boulevard / Holcombe Boulevard
				South MacGregor Way / North MacGregor Way - Texas Medical Center
				Binz Street / Calumet Street	southbound exit is via Southmore Boulevard exit
				Southmore Boulevard / Blodgett Street
				I-69 / US 59 – Cleveland, Victoria	no access from SH 288 south to I-69/US 59 north or I-69/US 59 south to SH 288 north
				Elgin Avenue / Tuam Avenue	northbound exit and southbound entrance
				Chenevert Street	northbound exit and southbound entrance
				I-45 – Dallas, Galveston, IAH Airport, Hobby Airport	northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern terminus; I-45 exits 46A-B
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References