Interstate 2

[Thegeet]

No exit numbers? That disappoints me. Maybe numbers will be added when the La Joya Bypass officially becomes part of Interstate 2.

Well, it's not quite finished yet, as they're still working at the west end where it ties into the old road. I would suspect that TxDOT will apply to extend the I-2 designation once the La Joya Bypass is fully complete.

Actually, it might take a about one or two years before being designated an Interstate, as they have to get approval from AASHTO and FHWA.

[kphoger]

No exit numbers? That disappoints me. Maybe numbers will be added when the La Joya Bypass officially becomes part of Interstate 2.

Well, it's not quite finished yet, as they're still working at the west end where it ties into the old road. I would suspect that TxDOT will apply to extend the I-2 designation once the La Joya Bypass is fully complete.

I thought exit numbers were now required for new construction, no matter if it's an Interstate or not.  ?

[abqtraveler]

No exit numbers? That disappoints me. Maybe numbers will be added when the La Joya Bypass officially becomes part of Interstate 2.

Well, it's not quite finished yet, as they're still working at the west end where it ties into the old road. I would suspect that TxDOT will apply to extend the I-2 designation once the La Joya Bypass is fully complete.

I thought exit numbers were now required for new construction, no matter if it's an Interstate or not.  ?

That would be true for interstates. I don't know whether non-interstate routes require exit numbers. If that's the case, it would create a very confusing system, as the mileage system for non-interstate routes in Texas is very convoluted.  For north-south routes, the mileage is determined from the northwest corner of the Texas Panhandle. For east-west routes, mileage is determined from the Texas/New Mexico/Mexico tripoint at the westernmpost point in the state.  And then you have interstates whose mileage follows the traditional convention of starting at the south/west end of the route and increasing heading north/east.

So for the La Joya Bypass, you would get exit numbers around 850 (based on US-83 distance from the NW corner of the Panhandle) changing to Exit 130 and increasing once you reach the east end of the bypass and it becomes I-2.

[The Ghostbuster]

Since existing Interstate 2's exits are numbered 130 to 176, it would make perfect sense to number the La Joya Bypass's exits as a continuation of those numbers, rather than number them by the mileage of US 83 (depending on whether mile 0 would be at the Oklahoma/Texas border, or at the Mexican border along the Veterans International Bridge co-current with US 77).

[roadman65]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/6xizrUNvNXXAwyj86


I see that the new LaJoya Business US 83 is going to be part of existing Bus. US 83 through Mission and McAllen.  There is a sign on the old US 83 after splitting from the new Bypass having a " TO" banner above a Business US 83 shield.  https://maps.app.goo.gl/EoDN2df5TkMG34MVA

So the LaJoya business taking over old US 83 won't be completely taking over, but to continue the already existing route from the above top link caption.

[The Ghostbuster]

The La Joya Bypass still hasn't been driven by a Google car. Eventually, it will happen, although I find it disappointing that Street View hasn't been updated yet.

[edwaleni]

The La Joya Bypass still hasn't been driven by a Google car. Eventually, it will happen, although I find it disappointing that Street View hasn't been updated yet.

I noticed that too last month.

[Thegeet]

Is the road done? I think it still showed some closed areas. When is the next FHWA meeting? Just wondering.

[edwaleni]

Is the road done? I think it still showed some closed areas. When is the next FHWA meeting? Just wondering.

Technically it opened on 7/28/2023.

The unfinished parts then were the bridge over La Joya Lake and the eastbound entry ramps on 83. They had traffic on the frontage road, which BTW is the best looking frontage road I have ever seen.

[paulthemapguy]

Hard to designate exit numbers when the design for the western or southern extent of a highway hasn't been determined yet.

[Bobby5280]

Interstate 2 already has mileage based exit numbers that imply a terminus in the Laredo area, starting with Exit 176 at the I-69E interchange. The exit numbers going farther West go down in number.

Those exit numbers may get changed through the years depending on how I-2 is eventually built-out. The alignment chosen to get thru or around Sullivan City will affect the overall distance of I-2. The same goes for the bypass being studied to go North of Las Lomas, Rio Grande City, Escobares and Roma. The Zapata area is another location which could have a pretty substantial bypass. I can't imagine TX DOT trying to push I-2 straight thru town. Then there is the issue of where Loop 20 will eventually dovetail into US-83 in or near Rio Bravo.

The vinyl graphics on green signs does not last very long. The engineer's grade vinyl used for the lettering gets, at best, maybe 7-8 years of life but often less. It's not going to be any big problem if exit numbers have to be revised since these signs will have to be continually changed anyway.