Texas State Highway 7

State Highway 7
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	212.7 mi[1] (342.3 km)
Existed:	1939[1] – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-35 in Bruceville-Eddy
	US 77 in Chilton US 79 in Marquez I-45 in Centerville US 287 in Crockett US 69 in Pollok I-69 / US 59 in Nacogdoches US 96 in Center
East end:	I-69 / US 84 in Joaquin
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs Park Rec FM ← SH 6 SH 8 → ← SH 138 SH 139 SH 140 →

State Highway 7 is an east–west state highway that runs from Interstate 35 south of Waco to U.S. Highway 84 about 3 miles (5 km) west of the Texas-Louisiana state line. Between Crockett and Nacogdoches, SH 7 passes through the Davy Crockett National Forest.

History

SH 7 was one of the original 26 state highways proposed in 1917, proposed as a 'Central Texas Highway.' In 1919 the routing was mostly proposed between San Angelo and Goldthwaite, but only the segment to Paint Rock was created. From Goldthwaite, the road parallels U.S. Highway 84 to Waco. The remainder follows SH 164 to Buffalo, was unbuilt between Buffalo and Jasper, and U.S. Highway 190 to the State Line.

Possibly due to the amount of construction necessary to build this route as proposed, by 1919 the road was completely rerouted via the current U.S. Highway 84 through Lubbock to Sweetwater. Between Sweetwater and Coleman, the road was not constructed as proposed. SH 7 returns to US 84, through Waco to Palestine, heads south on U.S. Highway 287 to Crockett, turns to Lufkin via the current SH 7 then SH 103 and finally onto Jasper and Newton via present day U.S. Highway 69, SH 63 and US 190.

In 1926, U.S. Highway 70, 80, and 67 were overlaid over pieces of SH 7. While the entirety of the SH 7 maintained its number, the road had been realigned yet again, mainly due to constructions issues. The Sweetwater-Coleman road was never built, and SH 7 was rerouted over existing roads into Abilene. The road's east terminus was shortened to Long Lake. By 1933, the highway was extended east across SH 294 into Alto, SH 21 to Nacogdoches, ending in Joaquin via current SH 7, replacing SH 76.

By 1939 most of the highway had been overrun by a patchwork of US Highways, leaving only a small portion from Joaquin to Crockett remaining, rerouted yet again to a more southerly route from Nacogdoches. In 1940, SH 7 extended west to Centerville. Later that year, the section from Ratcliff to Crockett was cancelled. A few days later, SH 7 extended west to Marquez. In 1942, the section from Ratcliff to Crockett was redesignated as part of SH 7. SH 7 replaced SH 139 from Chilton to Marquez (originally ended in Marlin; extended east in 1943) in 1948, reaching its current routing by 1990, replacing a portion of FM 107.

SH 7A was a spur route of SH 7 that split off at Coleman and traveled southwest through San Angelo to Fort Stockton. It was transferred to portions of SH 23, SH 30 (now US 277), and SH 99 (later SH 10) by 1933.

SH 7B was a spur route of SH 7 that split off at Lufkin and traveled southwest through Groveton to Trinity. By 1933 it had been renumbered SH 94.

Route description

SH 7 runs east in Centerville

SH 7 begins at an intersection with Interstate 35 and FM 107 in extreme southern McLennan County in Central Texas. The highway travels east until it reaches an intersection with US Route 77. It briefly travels south with US 77 around the western side of Chilton before turn east again through town. The highway continues east through sparsely populated farmland before reaching Interstate 45 at Centerville. The highway continues east, passing through Crockett before turning northeast and passing through the center of the city of Nacogdoches. The highway continues to its final location, ending at US 84 in extreme northeast Shelby County, just short of the Louisiana State Line.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
McLennan	Bruceville-Eddy			I-35 / FM 107 west – Austin, Waco, Moody	I-35 exit 315
Falls	Mooreville			FM 2643 north
				US 77 north / Bus. SH 7 east – Chilton, Waco	interchange; west end of US 77 overlap
				FM 1950 west – Cego
				US 77 south – Cameron	east end of US 77 overlap
	Chilton			Bus. SH 7 west – Eddy, Moody
				FM 434 north – Satin, Waco
				FM 935 west – Troy
				SH 320 south – Lott, Westphalia
	Marlin			Bus. SH 6 – Waco, Hearne
				FM 147 east (Walker Street) – Groesbeck
				SH 6 – Waco, Bryan	interchange
				FM 2958 south
				FM 3144 south
				FM 1771
				FM 2745 south
Limestone	Kosse			SH 14 – Groesbeck, Bremond
				FM 2749 north – Thornton
Robertson				FM 979 west – Calvert
				FM 937 north – Groesbeck, Lake Limestone, Sterling C. Robertson Dam
Leon	Marquez			US 79 – Jewett, Franklin
				Loop 208
				FM 1147 south – Old Bowling
	Robbins			FM 39 – Jewett, Normangee
	Centerville			I-45 – Dallas, Houston	I-45 exit 164
				SH 75 – Fort Boggy State Park
				FM 1119 south
				FM 811 south
				FM 1511 north
	Malvern			FM 542 north – Oakwood
Houston				FM 132 – Porter Springs
				SH 21 west – Madisonville	west end of SH 21 overlap
	Crockett			Loop 304 (truck route)
				FM 229 to FM 2076
				US 287 / SH 19 / SH 21 east	east end of SH 21 overlap; traffic circle around Houston County Courthouse
				Loop 304 (truck route) to US 287 / SH 7 / SH 19 / SH 21
	Berea			FM 232 – Arbor, Shady Grove
				FM 1733
	Kennard			FM 2781 – Pennington
				FM 357 south – Apple Springs
	Ratcliff			FM 227 west
Angelina				SH 103 east – Lufkin
	Redtown			FM 1819
	Pollok			US 69 – Lufkin, Tyler	interchange
Nacogdoches	Harmony			FM 2782
	Nacogdoches			US 59 / Loop 224	interchange
				Bus. US 59 south (South Street)	west end of US 59 Bus. overlap
				Bus. US 59 north (North Street) / SH 21 west (Main Street) – Stephen F. Austin State University	east end of US 59 Bus. overlap; west end of SH 21 overlap
				FM 1275 (University Drive)
				FM 2259 south (Shawnee Street)
				SH 21 east (East Main Street)	east end of SH 21 overlap
				Loop 224 (East Stallings Drive)
				FM 2112 north
	Swift			FM 2713 north
	Martinsville			FM 95 south – Chireno	west end of FM 95 overlap
				FM 95 north – Garrison	east end of FM 95 overlap
San Augustine	No major junctions
Shelby				FM 2913 north
				FM 711 south
				Loop 500 north – San Augustine, Shelbyville
	Center			US 96 (Hurst Street / Southview Circle / truck route) to Loop 500
				SH 87 (Tenaha Street / Shelbyville Street) / FM 699 north (Logansport Street)	traffic circle around Shelby County Courthouse
				FM 2788 east
				Loop 500 south to US 96 / SH 87 / SH 7 west
				FM 1656 north – Center Municipal Airport
	James			FM 2608 east
				FM 3082 east
	Joaquin			FM 139 south – Toledo Bend Reservoir
				US 84 – Joaquin, Tenaha
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References