U.S. Route 81 in Texas

US Highway 81
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	81.458 mi[1] (131.094 km)
Existed:	1927[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-35W / US 287 in Fort Worth
	US 380 in Decatur US 287 in Bowie US 82 in Ringgold
North end:	US-81 at Texas–Oklahoma state line
Location
Counties:	Tarrant, Wise, Montague
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← US 80 US 82 →

U.S. Route 81 (US 81) is a U.S. Highway that begins at an interchange with Interstate 35W/U.S. Route 287 in northern Fort Worth in Texas. US 81 leaves the state and crosses the Red River into Oklahoma between Ringgold and Terral.

Route description

US 81 begins at an interchange with Interstate 35W/U.S. Route 287 in northern Fort Worth. The two highways travel northwest as a freeway, passing by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing near Blue Mound Road (Farm to Market Road 156), through the city's northwest side. US 81/287 leave the city of Fort Worth and enter Wise County near Avondale. The two highways run through or near the towns of Rhome, New Fairview, Decatur, Alvord, and Sunset before separating in southern Bowie. US 81 runs through the town as Wise Street, running in a more east–west direction before turning in a more north–south direction at Farm to Market Road 174. The highway has a mostly rural route, running through western Montague County, before crossing the Red River into Oklahoma.

History

US 81 at its inception in 1926 followed the route of State Highway 2, which began in Laredo and passed through San Antonio, Austin, Waco, and Fort Worth before passing over the Red River into Oklahoma four miles (6 km) north of Ringgold. The 1936 Official Map of the Highway System of Texas clearly shows the route labeled both as US 81 and S.H. 2. It was cosigned with U.S. Route 83 for 18 miles (29 km) from Laredo to 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Webb, with U.S. Highway 79 for 18 miles (29 km) from Austin north to Round Rock, and with U.S. Route 77 for 33 miles (53 km) from Waco to Hillsboro. In 1940 U.S. Route 287 was extended south into Texas, and a 67-mile (108 km) stretch from Fort Worth northwest to Bowie was cosigned with US 81.^[2] The Summer 1941 Texas Highway Map shows this pairing, and the current southern terminus of US 81 is still cosigned with US 287.

The Spring and Summer 1949 Texas Highway Department Official Map designates the length of US 81 from Laredo to Fort Worth as part of the National System of Interstate Highways, but no numeric designation was given at the time.

It was not until 1959 that parts of US 81 in Texas appeared on the Texas Official Highway Travel Map cosigned with Interstate 35 shields. Succeeding maps reflect the slow completion of Interstate 35 and I-35W over the stretch of US 81 between Laredo and Fort Worth, with the 1978-79 Texas Official Highway Travel Map showing only a 14-mile (23 km) section from Encinal north to 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Artesia Wells as incomplete, and the 1980 Texas Official Highway Travel Map showing that section completed. In 1980, US 81 was cosigned with I-35 and I-35W except where the Interstate bypassed towns, with US 81 providing the main route through town and then reconnecting with I-35 on the other side. The longest section of US 81 in 1980 not cosigned with the Interstate ran from I-35 in Hillsboro 20 miles (32 km) north to I-35W, just north of Grandview. This section of US 81 became State Highway 81 in 1991 when most of US 81 in Texas was decommissioned.^[3] The section of highway from Devine to Lytle became SH 132 and the section from Derby to the Pearsall town square became Spur 581 when US 81 south of Fort Worth was decommissioned in 1991.^[4][5]

Junction list

County	Location	mi[6]	km	Destinations	Notes
Tarrant	Fort Worth	0.0	0.0	I-35W south / US 287 south – Fort Worth	South end of US 287 overlap/freeway; I-35W exit 60
		1.5	2.4	FM 3479 (Harmon Road)
		3.1	5.0	FM 156 (Blue Mound Road) – Blue Mound, Haslet, Bureau of Engraving and Printing
		3.9	6.3	Bonds Ranch Road, Hicks Road
		6.2	10.0	Blue Mound Road West, Willow Springs Road
		8.2	13.2	Bus. US 287 south / FM 718 – Avondale, Haslet	North end of freeway
Wise	Rhome	14.7	23.7	SH 114 east – Dallas, Texas Motor Speedway	South end of freeway; south end of SH 114 overlap
		15.6	25.1	Bus. US 81 north / Bus. US 287 north / FM 3433 – Rhome
		15.9	25.6	SH 114 west – Bridgeport	North end of SH 114 overlap
		16.8	27.0	Bus. US 81 south / Bus. US 287 south / Pioneer Road – Rhome	North end of freeway
	New Fairview	19.0	30.6	FM 407 – Justin	Interchange
	Decatur	27.7	44.6	Bus. US 81 north / Bus. US 287 north / FM 2264 east – Decatur	Interchange
		29.6	47.6	FM 730 – Boyd	Interchange
		30.7	49.4	Bus. US 380 / FM 51 – Weatherford, Gainesville	Interchange
		31.7	51.0	US 380 – Bridgeport, Denton	Interchange
		32.2	51.8	FM 1810 west (Old Chico Road) – Chico
	​	33.3	53.6	Bus. US 81 south / Bus. US 287 south – Decatur
	​	40.4	65.0	Bus. US 81 north / Bus. US 287 north – Alvord	South end of freeway; no northbound entrance
	​	40.9	65.8	Hubbard Street	No southbound entrance
	Alvord	41.9	67.4	FM 1655 (State Street) – Alvord
	​	43.4	69.8	Bus. US 81 south / Bus. US 287 south – Alvord	North end of freeway; southbound exit and northbound entrance
Montague	Sunset	48.5	78.1	Spur 511 / Cemetery Road – Sunset	South end of freeway
		49.7	80.0	SH 101 – Bridgeport, Sunset
	​	51.5	82.9	Lawhorn Lane
	​	52.9	85.1	Fruitland Road
	​	54.8	88.2	Wagonseller Road
	Bowie	56.6	91.1	US 287 north / SH 101 south – Wichita Falls, Sunset	North end of US 287 overlap/freeway
		58.5	94.1	FM 1125 (Mills Street)
		58.8	94.6	SH 59 – Jacksboro, Montague
		59.3	95.4	FM 174 west – Windthorst
	Stoneburg	67.2	108.1	FM 1806 west	South end of FM 1806 overlap
		67.7	109.0	FM 1806 east – Montague	North end of FM 1806 overlap
	Ringgold	77.6	124.9	US 82 – Henrietta, Gainesville	Interchange
		78.4	126.2	Spur 19 south – Ringgold
	​	81.5	131.2	US-81 north – Ryan	Crosses the Red River into Oklahoma
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

• Texas State Highway 81
• Texas State Highway 132
• Texas State Highway Spur 581

References