U.S. Route 80 in Texas

U.S. Route 80 (also known as U.S. Highway 80 and US 80) is a U.S. highway that begins in the state of Texas in Dallas at an interchange with I-30. US 80 runs in an east-west direction for most of its length from Dallas to Louisiana. Before the advent of the Interstate Highway System, US 80 through Texas was once a vital link in a major transcontinental highway with the national western terminus being in San Diego, California rather than Dallas. Since 1991, most of US 80 in Texas has been decommissioned in favor of I-10, I-20 and I-30 between the New Mexico state line and its current western terminus.

US Highway 80
US 80 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length	155.251 mi[1][lower-alpha 1] (249.852 km)
Existed	1927–present
History	Continued into New Mexico prior to 1991.
Major junctions
West end	I-30 in Dallas I-635 in Mesquite Spur 557 near Terrell US 69 in Mineola US 271 in Gladewater US 259 in Longview Future I-369/US 59 in Marshall I-20
East end	US 80 at Louisiana state line
Location
Counties	Dallas, Kaufman, Van Zandt, Smith, Wood, Upshur, Gregg, Harrison
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Highways in Texas Interstate U.S. State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← US 79 → US 81

History

The current route of US 80 in Texas is significantly shorter than it was when the highway was first commissioned in 1927.[1] The highway in Texas used to run from the New Mexico state line, near El Paso, to the Louisiana state line, via Pecos, Odessa, Abilene, Weatherford, Fort Worth, Dallas, Longview and Marshall.[2] Nationally, US 80 ran from Savannah, Georgia to San Diego, California, being a major transcontinental highway. Beginning in the 1950s, much of the highway was bypassed/replaced by the Interstate Highway System.[3] US 80 has been replaced by I-10 from New Mexico to I-20, southwest of Pecos. The rest of the highway has been replaced by I-20 and I-30 from Pecos to Louisiana.[4][5] Replacement by the Interstates made US 80 an obsolete highway to the southwestern states. Between 1964 and 1989, US 80 was decommissioned entirely within California, Arizona and all of New Mexico outside of Anthony (which is located near the Texas state line). In 1991, the remainder of US 80 in both New Mexico and Texas west of Dallas was decommissioned, bringing the national western terminus to its current location. The old highway west of Dallas has since been replaced by local roads and state highways.[3]

Route description

Dallas to Terrell

The current highway begins as a freeway at I-30 (also unsigned US 67) in Dallas, almost in Mesquite. The freeway continues east into Mesquite where it meets I-635 at a stack interchange. East of I-635, the US 80 freeway serves as the northern terminus of SH 352, the main highway into downtown Mesquite. Bisecting Samuell Park, US 80 enters Sunnyvale, then crosses into Kaufman County.[6][7] The freeway makes a curve to the southeast, skirting the town of Forney. US 80 is the main highway and only freeway serving the town. Though there is no business loop through Forney proper, FM 688, which runs the entire length of Broad Street through town, serves a similar function.[8][9] On the outskirts of Terrell, US 80 leaves the freeway and becomes a four lane divided highway known as Moore Avenue, intersecting SH 205 on the western edge of town, then SH 34 Bus. and SH 34 in the center of Terrell.[7][10] The remainder of the freeway between Terrell and I-20 makes up the full route of Spur 557.[11] The entire US 80/Spur 557 freeway was a section of I-20 until 1987, when the Interstate was moved onto a new freeway through Lawson and Heartland.[8][11][5] A pair of frontage roads services the entire US 80 segment of the freeway, except for a small area west of Forney, where US 80 crosses a bridge over the East Fork Trinity River.[6][7]

Terrell to Mineola

In Terrell, US 80 serves as the major east-west highway in the town, passing through the town square. US 80 leaves Terrell serving smaller communities, such as Elmo. US 80 intersects SH 19 east of Edgewood. The highway runs in mostly a straight line from Terrell to Mineola, where it intersects US 69 about 30 miles north of Tyler.[7]

Mineola to Louisiana

US 80 leaves Mineola running in a slight southeast direction towards Longview. From here, the highway turns in a slight northeast direction traveling into Marshall. The highway soon overlaps I-20, leaving the interstate to serve the community of Waskom. The two highways cross into Louisiana, parallel with each other traveling to Shreveport.[7]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[7]	km	Destinations	Notes
Dallas	Dallas	0.0	0.0	I-30 (US 67) / Loop 12 (Buckner Boulevard)	I-30 exit 53B eastbound; no access from I-30 west to US 80 east
	Mesquite	0.5	0.80	Big Town Boulevard	Signed as exit 54 eastbound
		1.3	2.1	Town East Boulevard
		2.5	4.0	Galloway Avenue, Gross Road / Gus Thomasson Road	Access to Dallas Regional Medical Center
		3.1	5.0	I-635	I-635 exit 6
		4.8	7.7	Belt Line Road	Access to Dallas Regional Medical Center
	Sunnyvale	6.1	9.8	SH 352 (Collins Road)	Access to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Sunnyvale
		8.4	13.5	East Fork Road
Dallas–Kaufman county line		9.5	15.3	Lawson Road	Eastbound exit and entrance
Kaufman	Forney	11.2	18.0	FM 460 (Clements Drive)
		12.2	19.6	FM 688 (Broad Street) / FM 740 (Pinson Road)
		13.9	22.4	FM 548
		15.4	24.8	County Roads 212/217
		16.5	26.6	Gateway Boulevard
		17.4	28.0	Windmill Farms Boulevard
	​	19.0	30.6	Spur 557 east to I-20 east – Shreveport	interchange; east end of freeway
	Lawrence	20.7	33.3	FM 1392 north
	Terrell	23.0	37.0	SH 205 north / FM 148 south – Rockwall, Crandall
		24.4	39.3	FM 986 north (Rockwall Avenue)
		24.7	39.8	Bus. SH 34 (Virginia Street) to I-20 / SH 34
		25.2	40.6	Spur 87 north (Dellis Street) – Terrell State Hospital
		26.0	41.8	FM 429 north – Lake Tawakoni	West end of FM 429 overlap
		26.5	42.6	FM 429 south – College Mound	East end of FM 429 overlap
	Elmo	31.1	50.1	FM 2728 south to FM 429	West end of FM 2728 overlap
		31.3	50.4	FM 2728 north to FM 429	East end of FM 2728 overlap
Van Zandt	Wills Point	39.6	63.7	FM 2965 south to I-20
		40.4	65.0	FM 47 (Fourth Street) – Lake Tawakoni, Mabank
		41.4	66.6	SH 64 east – Canton
	Edgewood	47.4	76.3	FM 1504 south
		47.7	76.8	FM 859 – Downtown, Canton
	​	50.6	81.4	SH 19 – Emory, Canton
	Grand Saline	58.2	93.7	SH 110 south / FM 17 south (Main Street) – Van, Canton	West end of FM 17 overlap
		58.7	94.5	FM 17 north – Lake Fork	East end of FM 17 overlap
		58.8	94.6	FM 857 east – Sand Flat, Alba
	Silver Lake	64.9	104.4	FM 1255 west – Canton
Smith	​	65.9	106.1	FM 1253 south – Jamestown
Wood	​	67.3	108.3	FM 1799 north – Lake Holbrook, Golden
	Mineola	70.6	113.6	Loop 564 east (truck route) to US 69 north / SH 37 north
		71.4	114.9	US 69 to SH 37
		71.9	115.7	FM 1801 east (Mimosa Street)
		72.9	117.3	Loop 564 (truck route) to FM 1801	Interchange
	​	75.7	121.8	FM 2422 south
	Hoard	77.6	124.9	FM 1804 south – Lindale
		77.7	125.0	FM 1801 west
	​	80.6	129.7	FM 3056 north
	Crow	82.2	132.3	FM 778 north – Hainesville
	​	84.5	136.0	FM 2869 north – Holly Lake Ranch, Fouke, Lake Hawkins
	Hawkins	88.8	142.9	FM 14 – Holly Lake Ranch, Tyler
	​	91.1	146.6	FM 2659 west
Upshur	Big Sandy	93.6	150.6	SH 155 south – Tyler	West end of SH 155 overlap
		94.5	152.1	SH 155 north (North Tyler Street) – Gilmer	East end of SH 155 overlap
	Gladewater	103.2	166.1	FM 2685 north
Gregg		105.4	169.6	US 271 (truck route) – Gilmer, Kilgore, Tyler
		106.2	170.9	Loop 485 (truck route) to US 271
	White Oak	110.3	177.5	FM 3272 north
		110.9	178.5	SH 42 south – Kilgore
	Longview	114.1	183.6	Loop 281 – UTT Longview, Texas Baptist College, LeTourneau University, East Texas Regional Airport
		114.3	183.9	FM 1845 north (Pine Tree Road) / Cherokee Street
		115.8	186.4	SH 300 north (Gilmer Road) – Gilmer
		116.9	188.1	SH 31 west / Spur 63 north – Kilgore, Tyler
		117.5	189.1	Spur 502 north (North High Street) – Kilgore College
		118.6	190.9	FM 2208 east (Alpine Street)
		119.3	192.0	US 259 / SH 149 south (Eastman Road)
Harrison		121.5	195.5	Loop 281 to I-20	Interchange
	Hallsville	127.4	205.0	FM 450 (Central Street) to I-20 – Harleton
	​	135.4	217.9	FM 968 west
	​	136.0	218.9	FM 3379 east
	Marshall	138.4	222.7	Loop 390 (Ernest Smith Parkway / M.L. King Jr. Boulevard) to US 59
		139.8	225.0	FM 1997 north (Grove Street) – East Texas Baptist University, Wiley College
		141.0	226.9	US 59 / SH 43 (East End Boulevard North) – Texas State Technical College
		143.3	230.6	FM 1998 east – Scottsville
	​	144.7	232.9	Loop 390 north (Ernest F. Smith Parkway) – Jefferson	Future Interstate 369[12]
	​	147.9	238.0	FM 2199 – Scottsville
	​	152.7	245.7	I-20 west – Dallas	West end of I-20 overlap; US 80 west follows exit 628
	​	157.3	253.1	I-20 east / FM 134 north to FM 9 – Shreveport, Caddo Lake, Jonesville	East end of I-20 overlap; US 80 east follows exit 633
	Waskom	159.5	256.7	FM 9 south – Panola	West end of FM 9 overlap
		159.7	257.0	FM 9 north	East end of FM 9 overlap
		160.4	258.1	Spur 156 south to I-20
	​	161.1	259.3	US 80 east – Greenwood, Shreveport	Louisiana state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Related Routes

• U.S. Route 180
• Texas State Highway 20
• Texas State Highway 180
• Texas State Highway 352
• Texas State Highway Spur 557
• Texas State Highway Spur 580

Notes

1. The certified mileage given is shorter than the actual mileage as TxDOT considers US 80 to be discontinuous rather than concurrent with I-20 between Marshall and Waskom.

References

1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "U.S. Highway No. 80". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
2. Jensen, Jeff (2018). Drive the Broadway of America!: Your Travel Guide to the US 80 and Bankhead Highways Across Texas. Huntsville, AL: Bygone Byways. ISBN 9780978625917.
3. Weingroff, Richard F. (October 17, 2013). "U.S. Route 80: The Dixie Overland Highway". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
4. Public Roads Administration (August 14, 1957). Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as Adopted by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Public Roads Administration. Retrieved April 4, 2012 – via Wikimedia Commons.
5. Google (December 4, 2018). "Road Map of Texas" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
6. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2018). Texas County Mapbook (PDF) (Map) (2018 ed.). 1:72,224. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 666. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
7. Google (December 4, 2018). "Road Map of US 80 in Texas" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
8. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Farm to Market Road No. 688". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
9. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2018). Texas County Mapbook (PDF) (Map) (2018 ed.). 1:72,224. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 667. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
10. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2018). Texas County Mapbook (PDF) (Map) (2018 ed.). 1:72,224. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 709. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
11. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway Spur No. 557". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
12. Texas Department of Transportation. "I-69 System (I-369) Harrison County/Marshall Route Study" (PDF). Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 2, 2018.

External links

• Geographic data related to U.S. Route 80 in Texas at OpenStreetMap
• Geographic data related to U.S. Route 80 in Texas circa 1931 at OpenStreetMap - Shows the historic extent of US 80 in Texas, including the decommissioned route between Anthony, New Mexico and Dallas.
• Geographic data related to U.S. Route 80 in Texas circa 1991 at OpenStreetMap - Map of US 80 through Texas prior to its truncation in 1991.
• Historic U.S. Highway 80 in East Texas - Web page on the official East Texas website highlighting the active portion of US 80 through the state.
• Old Highway 80 Driving Directions by State - Bygone Byways - Website section detailing directions and information on old and current routings of US 80 from Louisiana to California, with three entire sections dedicated to Texas.