Texas - for something completely different

[Alps]

My April trip is now the originally planned week of crisscrossing Texas on myriad roads. Except now it's two weeks. So far I have the following:


San Antonio->Corpus->Brownsville->Del Rio->Clinch US 277->OK 3 west to Colorado*->Lubbock->Odessa/Midland->due east to Brownwood->TX 6 through Waco to Galveston->87 ferry->Houston->Dallas (45 clinch)->TX 64->Nacogdoches->Shreveport->49 to Alexandria->US 167->AR 7 clinch->MO 13 up to St. Joseph (and then over west)->I-229->I-49->Fort Smith to Dallas somehow (undecided)->Fort Worth->south along 35 corridor back to San Antonio.


Trip could use any of the airports along this route - most likely DFW, IAH, SAT, or MCI.


So, just throw some things at me. Old signs and bridges, abandoned roads and bridges, unusual signs and sights, amazing roads and sights.

[TXtoNJ]

My April trip is now the originally planned week of crisscrossing Texas on myriad roads. Except now it's two weeks. So far I have the following:


San Antonio->Corpus->Brownsville->Del Rio->Clinch US 277->OK 3 west to Colorado*->Lubbock->Odessa/Midland->due east to Brownwood->TX 6 through Waco to Galveston->87 ferry->Houston->Dallas (45 clinch)->TX 64->Nacogdoches->Shreveport->49 to Alexandria->US 167->AR 7 clinch->MO 13 up to St. Joseph (and then over west)->I-229->I-49->Fort Smith to Dallas somehow (undecided)->Fort Worth->south along 35 corridor back to San Antonio.


Trip could use any of the airports along this route - most likely DFW, IAH, SAT, or MCI.


So, just throw some things at me. Old signs and bridges, abandoned roads and bridges, unusual signs and sights, amazing roads and sights.

If you've got offroad capabilities, you could try driving on the abandoned section of TX-87 east of High Island. Also, you might want to take a slight detour off 45 to take the Lynchburg Ferry, along with the Washburn Tunnel.

[US 81]

With the caveat that I have driven all these places but some I have not been to recently, here are my thoughts:

Corpus - the Harbor Bridge on US 181, the Aransas Pass ferry, driving on the beach sand on N Padre Island; maybe the I-37 south sharp turn to become US 181 north...

Brownsville - Queen Isabella causeway, drive on however much of Ocean Blvd is still passable onto beach sand, US highways 77, 83 & 281 (ends/bus/old alignments) Bus 83 has the best historic 'feel', best old bldgs & some old signage still, though it gets more rare... (I-2 was cool; I have yet to drive much of the I-69 mess so I'll let others comment on those)

US 83 - between Roma and Ramireno, there is an abandoned old alignment of US 83, parts of which run through the Falcon Reservoir, a fair amount of which was still accessible when I was through there maybe 12 years ago;  with all the drought, I'm sure previously submerged roadway is visible. (I can try to remember more if you're interested)

Laredo - historic US 81 end near the 'old' border crossing bridge - Covent Ave... (I know nothing about I-69W or TX Toll 255)

Eagle Pass - Clinch US 57?

Del Rio - detour west on US 90? So many historic/abandoned alignments are visible/accessible from the current highway, especially the old Pecos River bridge and roadway from "the High Bridge" which itself dates from the 1950's. The ghost lights of Marfa (US 67/90)? FM 170 'El Camino Rio' out of Big Bend? the road rock tunnel on TX 118?

US 277 - Sonora - the caverns are amazing!

Brownwood - SSE of Brownwood + west of Goldthwaite is the Regency suspension bridge, last suspension bridge in TX that is still open to automobile traffic. I highly recommend this one. Also, the geographic center of TX is between Brownwood and Brady on US 377 - at least there's an historic marker that says so...

Bryan/College Station - TX 6 will cross OSR "Old San Antonio Road" closely following the alignment the Camino Real, oldest road in TX. (There are older segments of the Camino near San Antonio - Austin; SW of Cotulla it ends up on private property  )

Houston - agree with TXtoNJ; also love the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge (tolled) and have not yet driven (dying to drive) the Fred Hartman Bridge. Detour to Port Arthur? for the Rainbow and Veterans bridges? maybe the burned out bridge and abandoned sections of US 90 just east of Orange (accessible more or less from LA)? On I-45 near Webster, note NASA Road 1 - it and OSR have the only non-numerical official road designations in TX.

Houston to Dallas - So much of historic US 75 still exists as TX 75 parallel to I-45; also recommend Bus 45 in Corsicana, a bit of old freeway architecture.

Dallas -  Woodall Rogers and the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge. Construction is proceeding quickly, so I may already be out of date, but: clinch I-345; Cesar Chavez, Good-Latimer and TX 310 are older alignments of Central Expressway, very cool architecture if they are still extant; US 75 "Central Expressway" dates from the 1950's but I don't think there is much, if any, of the old architecture left. The "High Five" will not be very impressive once you've been seeing how TX likes to build its intersections. Maybe the US 175 "deadman's curve" (near TX 310) but I believe it too is being reconstructed. Several historic bridges over the Trinity R.

Nacogdoches - detour to Rusk for the TX State RR? TX 21 east is more of the Camino Real, which follows TX 21 to LA 6.

Shreveport - are there still "fraction signs" for US 79/US 80? hopefully someone knows...

There any number of ways to get from Ft. Smith to Dallas, but US 259 is scenic and the OK 1/AR 88 "Talemina Scenic Drive" is spectacular.

Dallas to Ft. Worth - I-30 is the former DFW Turnpike and a little of the old architecture is still visible (at least as of the last time I drove thru) at Hampton, at Loop 12 and at TX 360. Nice view of FW as you drive westward from a hill to downtown. TX 180 is historic US 80 through here, too.

Ft. Worth - the I-30/I-35W intersection is recently reconstructed, the new I-30 runs south of the old Lancaster elevated. There is an historic traffic circle in SW Ft. Worth where US 377 meets TX 183 and used to meet US 80 (now Spur 580). Further west along I-30/20 are some extant bits of the Bankhead Hwy (some of which runs onto private property 

Ft. Worth to San Antonio: There are many old alignments of US 81 still extant along I-35. In some places there are two identifiable old alignments; some remnants of abandoned alignments are still identifiable, too. Waco has some great old freeway architecture, 'downgraded' to city streets but well-maintained and accessible, also an historic traffic circle right off I-35. Austin has the upper/lower deck split and the lower deck is classic 1950's architecture - maybe the best example I know of with nearly non-existing entrance/exit ramps and horrible sight lines. San Antonio also has an upper/lower deck split that is clearly historic but feels safer than in Austin. I have spent a fair amount of time tracing this segment and could share more info if you're interested. And, as much as I have to recommend the I-35 corridor for road history, I must propose US 281 from west of FW as a scenic alternate.



Brevity - clearly not one of my traits. I'll answer any questions that I can, and will appreciate being corrected/updated as needed.

I hope you have a fabulous trip, Alps. Welcome to Texas. 

[TXtoNJ]

The last little bit of the Central Expressway architecture still exists going from downtown surface streets (Central Expy and Pearl) on to 75 north.

[Brian556]

On I-45, there are a couple of old temporary connections to SH 75 (then US 75).

[formulanone]

MCI is the least bewildering of all the airports you chose, since the baggage claim and ticketing are all on the same level, which is rare for a medium-sized airport. SAT comes in second, as it's not very large. The MCI airport puts the rental car bus stop into a bit of an underground bunker, although the cars on at ground level after you take an elevator. An unusual visual setup, but nothing terribly confusing.

IAH and DFW might be interesting if you're into the huge magnitude of either one, and you're more likely to get a direct flight into/from most large cities at the latter two. The also have airport light rail.

US 377 from Rock Springs to Junction at I-10 was really scenic, picks up I-10 for a few miles where it's still an 80mph speed limit. Very quiet outside Del Rio towards Rock Springs.

Is there still button copy on US 83 around Pharr? A year before if became I-2, it still had a rare patch of the non-reflective stuff.

I-35, et al was under major construction along the proposed "I-14 corridor" along US 190, and until 30 minutes north of Austin.

Don't forget the occasional "vehicle insepctions" leading out of border towns. US 77 a bit north of the split from US 83 has one. Just south of the US 277/377 split was another. US 90 has one west of Uvalde.

OSR was scenic enough, and it's easy to collect a few extra counties since many of them use OSR for their borders.

I-35 in San Antonio has upper and lower decks.

Not sure which part of AR 7 you need to finish up, but it's quite scenic through the Ouichita Forest, some old bridges, too.

[noelbotevera]

I-635 in Dallas is also another double decker.

[TXtoNJ]

On I-45, there are a couple of old temporary connections to SH 75 (then US 75).

Where are these? I tried to track them down on Google Maps, but had difficulty recognizing exactly which ones were temporary, and which ones were later converted into diamond interchanges.

[US 81]

Looks like where US 277 crosses Amistad that there is an abandoned alignment; roadway is exposed in the Google maps imagery: www.google.com/maps/place/US-277,+Del+Rio,+TX+78840/@29.49883,-100.9122233,1977m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x86572c3f51beda49:0xb9facd9ce6625b42

Haven't seen this one in person, so can't comment further....

[Alps]

Looks like where US 277 crosses Amistad that there is an abandoned alignment; roadway is exposed in the Google maps imagery: www.google.com/maps/place/US-277,+Del+Rio,+TX+78840/@29.49883,-100.9122233,1977m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x86572c3f51beda49:0xb9facd9ce6625b42

Haven't seen this one in person, so can't comment further....

I will. Thanks.

[Alps]

The last little bit of the Central Expressway architecture still exists going from downtown surface streets (Central Expy and Pearl) on to 75 north.

Does this look like anything interesting? My impression as an outsider is that even the oldest Texas freeways look fairly shiny and boring.

[Alps]

With the caveat that I have driven all these places but some I have not been to recently, here are my thoughts:

Corpus - the Harbor Bridge on US 181, the Aransas Pass ferry, driving on the beach sand on N Padre Island; maybe the I-37 south sharp turn to become US 181 north...

Brownsville - Queen Isabella causeway, drive on however much of Ocean Blvd is still passable onto beach sand, US highways 77, 83 & 281 (ends/bus/old alignments) Bus 83 has the best historic 'feel', best old bldgs & some old signage still, though it gets more rare... (I-2 was cool; I have yet to drive much of the I-69 mess so I'll let others comment on those)

US 83 - between Roma and Ramireno, there is an abandoned old alignment of US 83, parts of which run through the Falcon Reservoir, a fair amount of which was still accessible when I was through there maybe 12 years ago;  with all the drought, I'm sure previously submerged roadway is visible. (I can try to remember more if you're interested)

Laredo - historic US 81 end near the 'old' border crossing bridge - Covent Ave... (I know nothing about I-69W or TX Toll 255)

Eagle Pass - Clinch US 57?

Del Rio - detour west on US 90? So many historic/abandoned alignments are visible/accessible from the current highway, especially the old Pecos River bridge and roadway from "the High Bridge" which itself dates from the 1950's. The ghost lights of Marfa (US 67/90)? FM 170 'El Camino Rio' out of Big Bend? the road rock tunnel on TX 118?

US 277 - Sonora - the caverns are amazing!

Brownwood - SSE of Brownwood + west of Goldthwaite is the Regency suspension bridge, last suspension bridge in TX that is still open to automobile traffic. I highly recommend this one. Also, the geographic center of TX is between Brownwood and Brady on US 377 - at least there's an historic marker that says so...

Bryan/College Station - TX 6 will cross OSR "Old San Antonio Road" closely following the alignment the Camino Real, oldest road in TX. (There are older segments of the Camino near San Antonio - Austin; SW of Cotulla it ends up on private property  )

Houston - agree with TXtoNJ; also love the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge (tolled) and have not yet driven (dying to drive) the Fred Hartman Bridge. Detour to Port Arthur? for the Rainbow and Veterans bridges? maybe the burned out bridge and abandoned sections of US 90 just east of Orange (accessible more or less from LA)? On I-45 near Webster, note NASA Road 1 - it and OSR have the only non-numerical official road designations in TX.

Houston to Dallas - So much of historic US 75 still exists as TX 75 parallel to I-45; also recommend Bus 45 in Corsicana, a bit of old freeway architecture.

Dallas -  Woodall Rogers and the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge. Construction is proceeding quickly, so I may already be out of date, but: clinch I-345; Cesar Chavez, Good-Latimer and TX 310 are older alignments of Central Expressway, very cool architecture if they are still extant; US 75 "Central Expressway" dates from the 1950's but I don't think there is much, if any, of the old architecture left. The "High Five" will not be very impressive once you've been seeing how TX likes to build its intersections. Maybe the US 175 "deadman's curve" (near TX 310) but I believe it too is being reconstructed. Several historic bridges over the Trinity R.

Nacogdoches - detour to Rusk for the TX State RR? TX 21 east is more of the Camino Real, which follows TX 21 to LA 6.

Shreveport - are there still "fraction signs" for US 79/US 80? hopefully someone knows...

There any number of ways to get from Ft. Smith to Dallas, but US 259 is scenic and the OK 1/AR 88 "Talemina Scenic Drive" is spectacular.

Dallas to Ft. Worth - I-30 is the former DFW Turnpike and a little of the old architecture is still visible (at least as of the last time I drove thru) at Hampton, at Loop 12 and at TX 360. Nice view of FW as you drive westward from a hill to downtown. TX 180 is historic US 80 through here, too.

Ft. Worth - the I-30/I-35W intersection is recently reconstructed, the new I-30 runs south of the old Lancaster elevated. There is an historic traffic circle in SW Ft. Worth where US 377 meets TX 183 and used to meet US 80 (now Spur 580). Further west along I-30/20 are some extant bits of the Bankhead Hwy (some of which runs onto private property 

Ft. Worth to San Antonio: There are many old alignments of US 81 still extant along I-35. In some places there are two identifiable old alignments; some remnants of abandoned alignments are still identifiable, too. Waco has some great old freeway architecture, 'downgraded' to city streets but well-maintained and accessible, also an historic traffic circle right off I-35. Austin has the upper/lower deck split and the lower deck is classic 1950's architecture - maybe the best example I know of with nearly non-existing entrance/exit ramps and horrible sight lines. San Antonio also has an upper/lower deck split that is clearly historic but feels safer than in Austin. I have spent a fair amount of time tracing this segment and could share more info if you're interested. And, as much as I have to recommend the I-35 corridor for road history, I must propose US 281 from west of FW as a scenic alternate.



Brevity - clearly not one of my traits. I'll answer any questions that I can, and will appreciate being corrected/updated as needed.

I hope you have a fabulous trip, Alps. Welcome to Texas. 

Thanks! Very thorough.
* I am definitely interested in old 83 at Roma. Can't find anything compelling on aerials though.
* Also possibly interested in tracing old US 81 south of Ft. Worth instead of using the US 281 corridor. Would have to see what old alignments I can find.

[TXtoNJ]

The last little bit of the Central Expressway architecture still exists going from downtown surface streets (Central Expy and Pearl) on to 75 north.

Does this look like anything interesting? My impression as an outsider is that even the oldest Texas freeways look fairly shiny and boring.

It is a bit interesting, if you're a roadgeek:

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7908328,-96.7922812,3a,75y,324.38h,75.55t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1spbxwtTRls5dsWBqDHOtPHw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

You can see how low the original center barrier was, along with the lack of inner shoulder and narrow lanes. Just imagine how bad the geometrics were on the ramps!

[US 81]

Thanks! Very thorough.
* I am definitely interested in old 83 at Roma. Can't find anything compelling on aerials though.
* Also possibly interested in tracing old US 81 south of Ft. Worth instead of using the US 281 corridor. Would have to see what old alignments I can find.

I am not finding my pics from abandoned US 83 at Roma and I fear they're stuck on a dead laptop or some such. So, from memory (which at my age is a terrible thing to rely on) as one drives north/west from Roma, you "go straight" on FM 2098 as current US 83 veers +/- due north. There is a very straight line with a very slight veer NNW-ward to become FM 3074. I think that's it. There was roadway exposed by low water along this line that sure seemed to be consistent with an old map I had that showed US 83 closer to the border than it now runs. Scholars on this website may be able to confirm or deny. Google earth imagery not promising for finding much of it still there, tho.

(posting separately about US 81)

[coatimundi]

Looks like where US 277 crosses Amistad that there is an abandoned alignment; roadway is exposed in the Google maps imagery: www.google.com/maps/place/US-277,+Del+Rio,+TX+78840/@29.49883,-100.9122233,1977m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x86572c3f51beda49:0xb9facd9ce6625b42

Haven't seen this one in person, so can't comment further....

There's an abandoned section of US 90 on the west side of Amistad as well. It's now officially a park road. Years ago, we camped and took mushrooms there. But there was a lot more water then, and the road just went into the water. The yellow centerline was still clearly visible. From the satellite view now, it looks like there's a lot more road now.
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.5138431,-101.0413402,996m/data=!3m1!1e3

You may as well do NASA Road 1 while you're down there. It's pretty short, and, like OSR, it's one of those interesting highways within the system. For Ship Channel crossings, the Hartman Bridge is impressive, but I have an old affinity for the Washburn Tunnel. You used to be able to access the old approaches to the Baytown Tunnel, but I think these are gone because they don't like people getting close to the Ship Channel (at least, that's what I've always assumed).
If you're adventurous, you can also drive down the old 87 east of High Island, at least for a bit. I would mostly walk it if I had a rental car. I haven't been there in years, and the condition changes constantly. But 87 used to extend from High Island to Sabine Pass until 1989, when the storm surge from Hurricane Jerry destroyed it and finally convinced TxDOT to stop maintaining it. The road on the other side of the San Luis Pass Bridge (west end of Galveston), the Bluewater Highway, is pretty cool. But, again, I haven't driven it in years, and there have been hurricanes since then.

[Mapmikey]

Thanks! Very thorough.
* I am definitely interested in old 83 at Roma. Can't find anything compelling on aerials though.
* Also possibly interested in tracing old US 81 south of Ft. Worth instead of using the US 281 corridor. Would have to see what old alignments I can find.

I am not finding my pics from abandoned US 83 at Roma and I fear they're stuck on a dead laptop or some such. So, from memory (which at my age is a terrible thing to rely on) as one drives north/west from Roma, you "go straight" on FM 2098 as current US 83 veers +/- due north. There is a very straight line with a very slight veer NNW-ward to become FM 3074. I think that's it. There was roadway exposed by low water along this line that sure seemed to be consistent with an old map I had that showed US 83 closer to the border than it now runs. Scholars on this website may be able to confirm or deny. Google earth imagery not promising for finding much of it still there, tho.

(posting separately about US 81)

Per Historical Aerials this is correct...

Old US 83 along FM 2098 becomes Park Road 46 which eventually turns towards the Rio Grande and it may not be possible to continue along old US 83; looking at Google it might be possible to get to another segment of the abandoned alignment via Alejandreras Rd (opposite FM 2687/US 83).  most of FM 3074 is old US 83.

[US 81]

Thanks! Very thorough.
* I am definitely interested in old 83 at Roma. Can't find anything compelling on aerials though.
* Also possibly interested in tracing old US 81 south of Ft. Worth instead of using the US 281 corridor. Would have to see what old alignments I can find.

US 81: old alignments/suspected old alignments/a few things that make me go 'hmmm': (organized from FW to San Antonio)

Ft. Worth: Bus 287 Saginaw Blvd/N Main; *Hemphill St was 81-Alt*; Thelin Rd/Old Hemphill Rd; [see also "Old Burleson Rd" parallel to/just west of I-35 just north of I-20]
Burleson: FM 3391/Renfro St becomes Johnson Co Rd 600/Cummings Dr
Alvarado: Co Rd 401
Grandview: TX 81
Itasca: TX 81 and (older, more or less abandoned) Hill Co 4281 [marginally passable, some of it has been streetviewed]
Hillsboro: Hill Co 3102 (more or less abandoned)[the westernmost segment has been streetviewed, also marginally passable; I did not drive the segment between I-35 and Co Rd 3103 but further east it slowly improves until the next streetviewed section at Abbott] Also, note the southernmost mile on TX 81/Abbott Ave - classic old highway structure with the frontage roads but at-grade crossovers.
West: S. Main becomes Old Dallas Rd/Old Dallas Hwy [slowly deteriorates as one drives south; cool railroad underpass near the south end]
Lacy Lakeview: Central St, Old Dallas Rd, later Bus 77
Waco: Waco Suspension Bridge (now ped only). Bus 77 to US 84 to downtown then southeast on 17th & 18th as one-way pair to Bagby Ave, thence Circle Rd to the traffic circle; later Bus 77 "New Dallas Highway"; Bagby Ave becomes McLennon Co 3476 becomes N Old Temple Rd
Lorena: Old Lorena Rd to Bordon St to S Old Temple Rd [becomes gravel but passable]
[Just north of exit 319: Old Temple Rd comes back to the fwy and apparently ends but there is a line of utility poles/trees that makes me wonder if it continued across the road and became a couple of discontinuous short segments. Pavement/gravel goes in the right directions but I just can't tell and I haven't found the right map to give me any more info.]
Bruceville-Eddy: Falls Co 498/Old Troy Rd "Old 81", possibly First St and/or Eagle Dr.
Troy: "Old US 81"/Pegasus Dr. Historic pony truss here.
Temple: Spur 290/Third St down to Adams & Central as one-way pair.
Belton: Charter Oak Dr/Waco Rd/FM 817; Toll Bridge Rd [Google maps shows it as discontinuous but a new bridge has supposedly just been built - what a shame the beautiful old Whipple truss is gone]
Salado: Main St/FM 2268
Georgetown: Austin Ave (Inner Space Caverns was discovered while building I-35 here)
Round Rock: Chisholm Tr/Williamson Co 173 (next to the -eponymous- Round Rock); later Mays St/Loop 379
Pflugerville: FM 1825
Austin: Lamar Blvd/Loop 275 to Congress Ave/Loop 275 (maybe Circle S road?); Old San Antonio Rd
Buda: Main St; see also "Old Stagecoach Rd" thru Kyle
Kyle: "Old Highway 81"; Post Rd
San Marcos: Hunter Rd; later Aquarena Springs/Allen Parkway
New Braunfels: Common St to San Antonio St; later Bus I-35/Elliot Knox
Solms: FM 2252/Old Nacogdoches Rd, later FM 482, also a short stretch off FM 482 "Old Hwy 81"
San Antonio: Old Nacogdoches Rd, later Austin Hwy/Loop 358; Old Pearsoll Rd, later Nogalitos Hwy/Loop 353.

Again I apologize for the length of this post; I hope you find something useful in here somewhere. I am happy to answer any questions I can, but I definitely defer to the TX experts here on this forum.

[US 81]

The last little bit of the Central Expressway architecture still exists going from downtown surface streets (Central Expy and Pearl) on to 75 north.

Does this look like anything interesting? My impression as an outsider is that even the oldest Texas freeways look fairly shiny and boring.

It is a bit interesting, if you're a roadgeek:

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7908328,-96.7922812,3a,75y,324.38h,75.55t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1spbxwtTRls5dsWBqDHOtPHw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

You can see how low the original center barrier was, along with the lack of inner shoulder and narrow lanes. Just imagine how bad the geometrics were on the ramps!

http://www.texasfreeway.com/Dallas/historic/photos/images/us75_central_undated_circa_1980s.jpg

Stubby ramps, no merge lanes.  It was fun but scary.

[formulanone]

If you're headed to New Braunfels, there's the Gauss Bridge (pedestrians only) which dates to 1887. Also, Naegelin's Bakery, the oldest in the state. Lots of 1840-1920s  architecture along Business SH 46(C).

[US 81]

Alps, how was your trip in and around Texas?  Hope you had a great time.