U.S. 69/287 North - Lumberton to Woodville
North
US 69/287 goes down to two lanes at this point. Reconstruction of this highway through Lumberton began in November 2010, it was rebuilt into a 5-lane roadway.
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The first shields for US 69/287 in Lumberton. Lumberton is a bedroom community for Beaumont, and has about 9,000 residents. The city was hit directly by hurricane Rita in 2005 and again hit by hurricane Ike in 2008.
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US 69/287 continues through Lumberton as a series of traffic signals and poorly planned sprawl. FM 421, the only numbered state route encountered in the town past the end of the freeway, runs west through rural Hardin County.
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Hurricane symbols are painted on the shoulder throughout Hardin and Tyler Counties to indicate that the pavement here can be used in evacuation situations. This scene has changed as U.S. 69 & 287 are now five lanes wide with a continuous center turn lane.
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Past Lumberton, US 69/287 continues north through forest and farm land, the next state highway encountered is SH 327.
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US 69/287 northbound before SH 327.
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Despite what the signs may imply, the junction with SH 327 is not a grade-separated interchange, but is only a free-flowing at-grade junction with yield signs. The state highway runs east of this point about 8 miles to US 96 in the town of Silsbee.
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North of SH 327, US 69/287 is a 4-lane divided roadway with periodic crossovers.
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US 69/287 enters the town of Kountze here. The county seat, Kountze is notable as the first town in America to have a muslim mayor (elected 1991).
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US 69/287 shields northbound in Kountze.
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The grassy median disappears and becomes a center turn lane town.
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A rare (and probably unintentional) instance of consecutive road numbering in Texas comes here at SH 326 in Kountze.
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SH 326 runs south and west from here to Sour Lake and SH 105. This intersection marks the eastern terminus of this state highway.
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More reassurance markers in Kountze.
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FM 418 is the next signed state route in town.
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FM 418 runs east of here for about 12 miles to the larger town of Silsbee.
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North of FM 418, US 69/287 leaves the town of Kountze and the more densely populated quadrant of Hardin County.
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The US highway continues northbound through heavily forested country known as the "Big Thicket". The region is characterized by pine trees and undergrowth too thick to pass through without assistance. The John H. Kilby State Forest and other protected areas are here in this part of Hardin County.
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FM 1003 is a short forest road the runs west into rural areas.
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U.S. 69 & 287 reassurance markers posted after Woodard Road and the crossing over Beaumont Creek.
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The Big Thicket National Preserve visitor center is located in rural northern Hardin County, just to the side of US 69/287.
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FM 420 is a short 3.8 mile spur running east off the US highway.
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US 69/287 northbound at FM 420 and the Big Thicket Visitors Center. The Big Thicket is notable for being one of the most biodiverse areas on earth not in the tropics. The National Preserve was established in 1974.
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US 69/287 continues north past the visitors center. It is approximately 30 miles between Kountze and Woodville, with no large population centers in between - and very little traffic.
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US 69 between Lufkin and Beaumont is the Big Thicket National Preserve Parkway, so named by the state legislature in 2001. Several signs exist to name the route for travelers.
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US 69/287 shields northbound in Hardin County. Traffic on this stretch of roadway is minimal.
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Village Mills is a former logging community and a spot on the road north of Kountze.
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FM 3063 runs west to the settlement of Wildwood.
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Shields for U.S. 69 & 287 posted between FM 3063 west and Gore Store Road east.
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US 69/287 distance sign south of Warren.
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The highway enters Tyler County here, south of Warren. Tyler County was named after President John Tyler, and has about 20,000 residents. The majority of the county is forestland.
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US 69/287 northbound at FM 2827 in Tyler County. The FM road runs west into rural, forested areas.
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US 69/287 shields north of FM 2827.
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A distance sign in the clearview font announces distances to Warren and Woodville.
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The two lane US highway continues through Tyler County and the Big Thicket region.
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A short five lane section of U.S. 69/287 leads through the community of Warren.
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The unincorporated community of Warren sits along US 69/287 and contains the highways' junction with FM 1943. The FM road runs east of here to the community of Fred.
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US 69/287 have a brief multiplex with FM 1943 through Warren. This view looks northbound at the junction of FM 1943 east.
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Northbound in Warren before the junction with FM 1943 west.
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The 5-lane section of US 69/287 through Warren ends here as FM 1943 runs west out of town as a spur.
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US 69/287 is slightly more built-up north of Warren, with several junctions with county roads and many driveways.
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A faded FM 1013 sign in the community of Hillister, Tyler County. FM 1013 runs east to Kirbyville.
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US 69/287 enters the town of Woodville here. The county seat, Woodville is an important lumber producing center. Despite what the name may suggest, Woodville was actually named after Texas governor George Wood - and not trees.
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US 69/287 through Woodville has 5 lanes.
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The first US highway junction since US 96 split off in Lumberton, US 190 runs east/west through Tyler County.
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Heritage Village is a frontier town tourist area, and Indian Village is the home of the Alabama-Coushatta Native American tribe. The Indian Village is on the only Indian Reservation in this region.
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US 69/287 northbound at US 190 in Woodville, Texas. US 190 runs east/west parallel to IH 10 through Texas and Louisiana, ending in Slidell at US 90.
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US 69/287 northbound in Woodville.
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US 287 separates from US 69 for the first time since their shared southern terminus in Port Arthur.
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US 287 unceremoniously splits off from US 69 on the north side of Woodville. The US highway continues north and west for over 1,700 miles to Montana.
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Photo Credits:
- Justin Cozart: 11/21/10
Page Updated Sunday April 29, 2012.