U.S. 87 North - Lamesa to Lubbock

North
West
U.S. 180 west joins U.S. 87 north for a 2.9 mile overlap along Lynn Avenue in Lamesa. Lamesa (pronounced "la-MEES-uh") is seat of Lynn County.
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Lynn County 20 connects U.S. 87 north with Los Ybanez. The small city was incorporated in 1983.
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Business U.S. 87K (Dallas Avenue) represents the former alignment of U.S. 87 through Lamesa, traveling 1.747 miles1 one block to the west.
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North
Loop 472 represents the first of three interchanges for the Lynn County seat of Tahoka. The two mile loop follows Avenue J and Main Street through the center of Tahoka.
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U.S. 87 was moved to the freeway section when it opened in 1970, with Loop 472 overtaking the former route through downtown.
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U.S. 87 enters Tahoka city limits at the Loop 472 overpass. Tahoka was founded in 1903 (incorporated 1915) specifically to be the Lynn County seat, and was the first settlement built south of Lubbock.
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U.S. 380 crosses U.S. 87 at a diamond interchange east of Downtown. Regionally, U.S. 380 connects with Brownfield and Post, and is referred to as the Cotton Highway.
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A trumpet interchange joins U.S. 87 and FM 400 to Wilson in one mile. The Farm to Market road totals 85.417 miles, connecting Tahoka with Wilson and Slaton.
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FM 400 spokes northeast to Wilson and Slaton before it beelines north, bypassing Lubbock to the east en route to Plainview. Wilson (established 1912 by William Green of Shiner) is predominantly of German descent.
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Agriculture parcels line the ensuing stretch of U.S. 87 north, which include canola, cotton, and peanut fields.
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U.S. 87 crosses into Lubbock County north of FM 211. The county is actually one of the oldest inhabited places in Texas, with archaeological evidence of constant human habitation for the past 12,000 years.
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U.S. 87 curves to bypass the community of Woodrow to the east. Woodrow was founded in 1917 and was named after President Woodrow Wilson.
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Loop 493 overlays the former alignment of U.S. 87 through Woodrow. Direct access to Loop 493 from U.S. 87 north was severed when the interchange with Woodrow Road was completed.
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Woodrow Road (CR 7600) joins U.S. 87 north with the center of the community. A diamond interchange replaced the at-grade crossing by 2014 at a cost of $10.6 million.2
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References:
- Business U.S. Highway No. 87-K TxDOT Highway Designation File.
- Ports-to-Plains Alliance Historical Construction Expansion Projects As of May, 2018 (pdf), Ports-To-Plains Alliance website.
- Business U.S. Highway No. 87-G TxDOT Highway Designation File.
Photo Credits:
- Justin Cozart: 07/05/08
Page Updated Saturday June 27, 2020.


