Strange Situation: Highway Relocated to the Center of Town

[Brian556]

Mount Enterprise, Texas:

You look at this town on Google Maps, and you think to yourself "what the f***?" The current US 259 passed N-S through the center of town, but the old alignment of this highway, which was SH 26, passed through the western portion of the town, avoiding "downtown". This is, of course, the opposite of how it typically works.

Any other situations like this?

Google Map:https://www.google.com/maps/search/mumble+nevada/@31.9169463,-94.6746157,5460m/data=!3m1!1e3
1939 General Highway Map Rusk County:https://tslarc.tsl.texas.gov/maps/map04983.jpg

[mgk920]

IIRC, the City of Greensburg, KS had KDOT reroute the planned US 54 bypass freeway from a course south of town to run through the city, along a strip of blocks halfway between present-day US 54 and Union Pacific's ex Rock Island railroad that parallels it three blocks to the north after about 95% of the city was destroyed by a tornado in 2007.

I am unsure of the current status of the plans for that highway.

Mike

[Rothman]

IIRC, the City of Greensburg, KS had KDOT reroute the planned US 54 bypass freeway from a course south of town to run through the city, along a strip of blocks halfway between present-day US 54 and Union Pacific's ex Rock Island railroad that parallels it three blocks to the north after about 95% of the city was destroyed by a tornado in 2007.

I am unsure of the current status of the plans for that highway.

Mike

The Big Well is a fun stop.

[mrsman]

Mount Enterprise, Texas:

You look at this town on Google Maps, and you think to yourself "what the f***?" The current US 259 passed N-S through the center of town, but the old alignment of this highway, which was SH 26, passed through the western portion of the town, avoiding "downtown". This is, of course, the opposite of how it typically works.

Any other situations like this?

Google Map:https://www.google.com/maps/search/mumble+nevada/@31.9169463,-94.6746157,5460m/data=!3m1!1e3
1939 General Highway Map Rusk County:https://tslarc.tsl.texas.gov/maps/map04983.jpg

WHile that is true, it should also be noted that US 259 is a 4 lane improved road, whereas 3rd street seems to barely be wide enough for 2 lanes.  To the extent that they decided to improve the main road through town (and not improve the bypass) it does make sense to route the US highway over the better ROW, with more lanes, divided highway etc., even if it means going through town and not bypassing town.

There is another historical example of this, but it differs in degree.  US 99 in Los Angeles used to approach from the northwest and leave out to the east.  There have been many different routing of  this, but to a large extent US 99 avoided Downtown LA by taking San Fernando Road to North Main to Valley Blvd.  When the first freeways were built through Downtown, US 99 was routed through the freeways following the Arroyo Seco Pkwy, Santa Ana Freeway, and San Bernardino Freeway.  A number of years later the Golden State Freeway was built parallel to San Fernando Road, and this replicated the old bypass, by having traffic avoid the Arroyo Seco and Santa Ana Freeways.  But soon after, during the 1964 renumbering of routes in California, US 99 was decommissioned.

A lot of this history was discussed in more detail on the Pac SW boards from about 2 years ago.

[bwana39]

Mount Enterprise, Texas:

You look at this town on Google Maps, and you think to yourself "what the f***?" The current US 259 passed N-S through the center of town, but the old alignment of this highway, which was SH 26, passed through the western portion of the town, avoiding "downtown". This is, of course, the opposite of how it typically works.

Any other situations like this?

Google Map:https://www.google.com/maps/search/mumble+nevada/@31.9169463,-94.6746157,5460m/data=!3m1!1e3
1939 General Highway Map Rusk County:https://tslarc.tsl.texas.gov/maps/map04983.jpg

The rusk County map link doesn't work. 

The map I found from 1939 https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth190609/m1/1/ shows SH-26, US-84, and SH-315 all in their current locations.  3rd street connecting to SH-26 on both ends was also just like today. I cannot see any indication that SH-26 (or its successor US-259) ever followed 3rd street.  It also appears all of the pre WWII downtown buildings were / are on Rusk Street (US-84) just west of US-259 (former SH-26) except one period building that actually sits along US-259.

[Mapmikey]

Mount Enterprise, Texas:

You look at this town on Google Maps, and you think to yourself "what the f***?" The current US 259 passed N-S through the center of town, but the old alignment of this highway, which was SH 26, passed through the western portion of the town, avoiding "downtown". This is, of course, the opposite of how it typically works.

Any other situations like this?

Google Map:https://www.google.com/maps/search/mumble+nevada/@31.9169463,-94.6746157,5460m/data=!3m1!1e3
1939 General Highway Map Rusk County:https://tslarc.tsl.texas.gov/maps/map04983.jpg

The rusk County map link doesn't work. 

The map I found from 1939 https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth190609/m1/1/ shows SH-26, US-84, and SH-315 all in their current locations.  3rd street connecting to SH-26 on both ends was also just like today. I cannot see any indication that SH-26 (or its successor US-259) ever followed 3rd street.  It also appears all of the pre WWII downtown buildings were / are on Rusk Street (US-84) just west of US-259 (former SH-26) except one period building that actually sits along US-259.

1936 Rusk County map does show TX 26 on 3rd St.

[Rothman]

On a tangent, and although not a relocation, I do wonder about the Thruway's routing through Fultonville.  Seems to have been bulldozed right through the town.  Terrain was probably a factor.

[ftballfan]

US-31 in Manistee, MI was realigned in the 1950s to follow its current routing of Manistee Hwy and Cypress St from its original routing that stair-stepped along the Manistee Lake shoreline and passed by several factories (Nelson St -> Main St -> 13th St -> Vine St -> 8th St -> Kosciusko St -> 5th St -> Sibben St -> 1st St -> Division St -> River St -> current US-31 at the southern tip of Memorial Bridge). Manistee Hwy and Cypress St north of 1st St were new-build roads, while Cypress St between 1st and 8th Sts was upgraded from an existing residential street (even today, Cypress St is still primarily residential south of 3rd St)

[bwana39]

Mount Enterprise, Texas:

You look at this town on Google Maps, and you think to yourself "what the f***?" The current US 259 passed N-S through the center of town, but the old alignment of this highway, which was SH 26, passed through the western portion of the town, avoiding "downtown". This is, of course, the opposite of how it typically works.

Any other situations like this?

Google Map:https://www.google.com/maps/search/mumble+nevada/@31.9169463,-94.6746157,5460m/data=!3m1!1e3
1939 General Highway Map Rusk County:https://tslarc.tsl.texas.gov/maps/map04983.jpg

The rusk County map link doesn't work. 

The map I found from 1939 https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth190609/m1/1/ shows SH-26, US-84, and SH-315 all in their current locations.  3rd street connecting to SH-26 on both ends was also just like today. I cannot see any indication that SH-26 (or its successor US-259) ever followed 3rd street.  It also appears all of the pre WWII downtown buildings were / are on Rusk Street (US-84) just west of US-259 (former SH-26) except one period building that actually sits along US-259.

1936 Rusk County map does show TX 26 on 3rd St.

You're right. I thought the map I was looking at and linked to was from the late thirties / early forties and I couldn't get the link from earlier to open. It was from 1955.  The maps you linked to this time make your point! As an aside, the connection on the north end of 3rd street  in the 1940 census map seems to fit poorly like it was tied in from a former route that had followed the tracks. (IE Railroad Avenue.)