TX: Ports to Plains corridor study

[BJ59]

If they ever build Loop 9 around DFW that could be a good way to get from I-35 to I-30 and bypass Dallas, provided that the city doesn't grow out to the loop. From there you could get to a future I-57 to St. Louis. But that doesn't solve the Austin traffic congestion...

I think the idea of US-281 is interesting because it almost runs parallel to I-35 and skips all the big metros. It seems more direct than the future I-27 route, which even though it saves an hour according to the map, it seems so out of the way. It is 250 miles longer than the I-35 route. If only there was a way to have a more direct route that skipped all the big metros.

[sprjus4]

But that doesn't solve the Austin traffic congestion...

SH-130 is a great route to bypass the metro.

[TheBox]

So I edited TX-349 loop last week and told Google to make that a national highway cause it'll be important in the future

Today they listened and applied for it

[bwana39]

Pleasanton to Tyler to Paris (or Texarkana).. There is not a road that tracks anything close. As far as that goes, practically no roads run from NE to SW east of I-35.

IE Match up with I-49 or INT.

Perhaps catch up with I-69 around Nacogdoches.

[TheBox]

I have a interesting question

If and when I-27W is completed 100% whiling I-27(E) is interstate standards between Lubbock and San Angelo, would the I-20 West signs in DFW replace Abilene with Midland or maybe add in Midland in addition to Abilene?

EDIT: and in Abilene, replace El Paso one the sign with Midland or add in Midland in addition to El Paso

[splashflash]

US 54 expansion northeast of Stratford. https://www.txdot.gov/projects/hearings-meetings/amarillo/us-54-expansion-111423.html

Txdot is proposing four and five laning US 54 northeast of Stratford to the Oklahoma border.  The project complements the upcoming I-27N(!) from Dumas to Stratford.

[edwaleni]

US 54 expansion northeast of Stratford. https://www.txdot.gov/projects/hearings-meetings/amarillo/us-54-expansion-111423.html

Txdot is proposing four and five laning US 54 northeast of Stratford to the Oklahoma border.  The project complements the upcoming I-27N(!) from Dumas to Stratford.

I thought P2P was going to use US-87 to Raton, not going through Oklahoma?

[TheBox]

US 54 expansion northeast of Stratford. https://www.txdot.gov/projects/hearings-meetings/amarillo/us-54-expansion-111423.html

Txdot is proposing four and five laning US 54 northeast of Stratford to the Oklahoma border.  The project complements the upcoming I-27N(!) from Dumas to Stratford.

I thought P2P was going to use US-87 to Raton, not going through Oklahoma?

That's the main I-27 route (US-87)

I-27N is US-54

[Bobby5280]

There are two Northern legs of the the Ports to Plains Corridor. One leg goes to Raton. The other goes North past Dumas, following US-287 into Colorado.

Txdot is proposing four and five laning US 54 northeast of Stratford to the Oklahoma border.

A 5-lane undivided road is going to be a waste of money unless they build it with Interstate quality grading and secure enough ROW to add frontage road segments where needed. The center turn lane can have a Jersey installed through the middle of it if/when the road is converted to limited access.

[DJStephens]

US 54 expansion northeast of Stratford. https://www.txdot.gov/projects/hearings-meetings/amarillo/us-54-expansion-111423.html

Txdot is proposing four and five laning US 54 northeast of Stratford to the Oklahoma border.  The project complements the upcoming I-27N(!) from Dumas to Stratford.

I thought P2P was going to use US-87 to Raton, not going through Oklahoma?

Common sense needs to prevail, and the corridor routed N, overlaying and or paralleling US - 287.   

[Bobby5280]

The US-287 leg going thru the OK pandhandle and into SE CO needs to take priority. The segment between Boise City, OK and Springfield, CO needs to be upgraded to a divided 4-lane highway for safety reasons. Just North of Boise City the road transitions off the caprock and goes over the Cimarron River. The 2-lane road has visibility problems with on-coming traffic there. The same goes for where US-287 crosses the OK/CO border. The road takes some broad turns over rolling terrain. Oncoming traffic is hidden. The road is solid double-yellow striped. But that doesn't stop motorists from taking dangerous gambles passing slower vehicles. Head-on collisions happen.

US-64/87 in NM is already 4-laned. The job was badly executed, but at least the two directions of traffic are separated and the chances of collisions are lower.

[splashflash]

Why is TxDOT investigating twinning US 54 before US 287 north of Stratford? Would it be because US 287 would need to bypass Stratford as an interstate and that and federal funding might be thought as the needed cover of to placate opposition in Stratford?  A bit odd.

[The Ghostbuster]

Does the northern leg of US 54 in Texas have more traffic than US 287 north of Stratford? That is the only explanation I can think of.

[Bobby5280]

There is a hell of a lot of cattle ranching business out there. US-54 going out of Stratford can point commercial trucks closer to Liberal, Garden City and Dodge City. Dodge City in particular has a hell of a lot of feed lots and processing facilities. US-54 runs parallel with a somewhat busy rail line. It's not as busy as the Southern Transcon line just to the South and East. But there is a fair amount of freight traffic.

[monty]

US 87 from Dumas to Hartley is planned to be twinned by TXDOT. That will make most all of the P2P to I 27 four lane, mostly divided. http://txdot.gov/en/home/projects/hearings-meetings/amarillo/archive/080421.html

[splashflash]

Does the northern leg of US 54 in Texas have more traffic than US 287 north of Stratford? That is the only explanation I can think of.

Looks like that is the case.  3400 (US 287) vs 4800 (US 54). 
https://txdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=06fea0307dda42c1976194bf5a98b3a1

Interesting that US 87 counts north of Amarillo (12,000) are higher than south on I-27 (10,200). 

[TheBox]

US 87 from Dumas to Hartley is planned to be twinned by TXDOT. That will make most all of the P2P to I 27 four lane, mostly divided. http://txdot.gov/en/home/projects/hearings-meetings/amarillo/archive/080421.html

What about US-277 south of San Angelo and US-83 south of Carrizo Springs?

Yes I know Del Rio and Eagle Pass have super 2 bypasses

[DJStephens]

US 54 expansion northeast of Stratford. https://www.txdot.gov/projects/hearings-meetings/amarillo/us-54-expansion-111423.html

Txdot is proposing four and five laning US 54 northeast of Stratford to the Oklahoma border.  The project complements the upcoming I-27N(!) from Dumas to Stratford.

Decades overdue.   Looking at the plans, it appears at least generally acceptable.  There is a median provided, and seperation of opposing lanes of traffic, so it may be mostly not a "poor boy".    US - 54 from Tucumcari to Kingman KS needs to be finally upgraded, in stages, with an upgradable "Ohio" style four lane expressway as the first stage.   Am of opinion a "cheapie" four lane S of Santa Rosa should not be pursued. Do it right, or don't do it at all.   

[bwana39]

Does the northern leg of US 54 in Texas have more traffic than US 287 north of Stratford? That is the only explanation I can think of.

Looks like that is the case.  3400 (US 287) vs 4800 (US 54). 
https://txdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=06fea0307dda42c1976194bf5a98b3a1

Interesting that US 87 counts north of Amarillo (12,000) are higher than south on I-27 (10,200).

This is simple. Much of the traffic northbound arrived in Amarillo on US-287 from points east (inc DFW)

[splashflash]

The traffic counts are significantly higher west on I-40 than east on I-40 too, so US 287 through traffic splits and feeds into both. It's ashame nobody has championed US 287 between Amarillo and Witchita Falls for overdue upgrades for safety alone.

[Bobby5280]

US-287 between Amarillo and Fort Worth is pretty busy. There is a lot of commercial truck traffic on it (in addition to all the regular vehicles). US-287 is one of the better Westbound outlets going out of the DFW metro. I-20 is good to reach locations like Midland-Odessa in the "oil patch," but damn, the route dips way the hell down and then back up to reach El Paso. US-287 can be a better alternative in some cases. A good argument could be made for turning that corridor into an Interstate. I've seen "I-32" suggested from time to time.

US 87 from Dumas to Hartley is planned to be twinned by TXDOT.

Yeah, that's the last remaining 2/3 lane segment of the Amarillo-Raton leg of the P2P Corridor. It's a long overdue upgrade.

[edwaleni]

US-287 between Amarillo and Fort Worth is pretty busy. There is a lot of commercial truck traffic on it (in addition to all the regular vehicles). US-287 is one of the better Westbound outlets going out of the DFW metro. I-20 is good to reach locations like Midland-Odessa in the "oil patch," but damn, the route dips way the hell down and then back up to reach El Paso. US-287 can be a better alternative in some cases. A good argument could be made for turning that corridor into an Interstate. I've seen "I-32" suggested from time to time.

US 87 from Dumas to Hartley is planned to be twinned by TXDOT.

Yeah, that's the last remaining 2/3 lane segment of the Amarillo-Raton leg of the P2P Corridor. It's a long overdue upgrade.

The last time I drove US-287 from DFW to Amarillo....busy from DFW to Wichita Falls, less busy to Vernon, and only trucks the rest of the way to Amarillo.

Pretty boring from Hedley to Claude.

Was going to Bakersfield CA from DFW and was best route to reach I-40.

[Bobby5280]

I regularly drive on the segment of US-287 between Memphis and Amarillo (on road trips to Colorado) and the segment of US-287 from Wichita Falls down to DFW. The Wichita Falls-DFW segment is definitely more busy. In Wichita Falls US-287 loses some of its traffic count to vehicles taking I-44 in Oklahoma. US-287 also sheds a bit of traffic taking US-82/277 to places like Lubbock. Still, when I get on US-287 at Memphis and drive to Amarillo I still see plenty of vehicles, particularly commercial trucks.

Pretty boring from Hedley to Claude.

There isn't a lot of scenery out there between towns, except for the occasional freight train. BNSF needs to double-track that line between Amarillo and Fort Worth. Some motorists have a tendency to drive faster in desolate areas. That's not a good idea to do on that part of US-287. Texas DPS patrols that area very well.

Probably the most boring stretch of highway I see on my road trips to Colorado is Dalhart to Texline. It's just flat farm land.

[TheBox]

Map showing current and future projects for this corridor (at the time of last year), just for a reminder:
https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot/tpp/i-27/tabloid-ports-to-plains-activeprojects-20211012.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1oZxTWrC6HDPnFGYmIwVewpL40IWEamnCbY1aSOWzSBotwyUl2PGbHS40

[bwana39]

US-287 between Amarillo and Fort Worth is pretty busy. There is a lot of commercial truck traffic on it (in addition to all the regular vehicles). US-287 is one of the better Westbound outlets going out of the DFW metro. I-20 is good to reach locations like Midland-Odessa in the "oil patch," but damn, the route dips way the hell down and then back up to reach El Paso. US-287 can be a better alternative in some cases. A good argument could be made for turning that corridor into an Interstate. I've seen "I-32" suggested from time to time.

US 87 from Dumas to Hartley is planned to be twinned by TXDOT.

Yeah, that's the last remaining 2/3 lane segment of the Amarillo-Raton leg of the P2P Corridor. It's a long overdue upgrade.

The last time I drove US-287 from DFW to Amarillo....busy from DFW to Wichita Falls, less busy to Vernon, and only trucks the rest of the way to Amarillo.

Pretty boring from Hedley to Claude.

Was going to Bakersfield CA from DFW and was best route to reach I-40.

The time to LA or even San Diego are not significantly more. Actually from even Dallas google sends you that way.

In the snowy season, I-10 is probably a better choice as during the extreme heat of summer, I-40 is the better choice.

That is with US-287 as it currently exists. With freeway to Amarillo it would only be faster.