Texas State Highway 6

Infobox TX State Highway
type=State
route=6

---

length_mi=476.4
length_ref=TxDOT|SH|6|accessdate=2008-03-15]
length_round=1
formed=1939
dir1=South
dir2=North
from=jct|state=TX|I|45|TX|146 in La Marque
junction=jct|state=TX|I|10 in Houston
jct|state=TX|I|35 in Waco
jct|state=TX|I|20 in Eastland
to=jct|state=OK|OK|6 north of Quanah
previous_type=State
previous_route=5
next_type=State
next_route=7
browse=tx browse
previous_type=state
previous_route=156
route=SH 157
next_type=state
next_route=158

State Highway 6. or SH 6, runs from the Red River, the Texas-Oklahoma boundary, to northwest of Galveston. In the Houston area, it runs north to FM 1960/Spring and south to Westheimer Road and Addicks and is known as Addicks Satsuma Road. In the Bryan/College Station area it is known as the Earl Rudder Freeway. In Hearne, it is known as Market Street. Highway 6 is not a freeway in the strict sense. It relies on traffic lights, rather than overpasses, at almost all intersections.

In 1997, the Texas Legislature designated SH 6 as the "Texas Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway". [Transportation Code, § 225.034. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., eff. May 5, 1997.]

Route history

Historic routes

State Highway 6 was one of the original twenty six state highways proposed in 1917, overlaid on top of the King of Trails Highway. From 1919 the routing mostly followed present day U.S. Highway 75 from Oklahoma to Dallas, the U.S. Highway 77 to Waco.

Current routes

In 1926, SH 6 was extended along the eastern Gulf Division branch of State Highway 2 in order to keep SH 2 from having two separate highways with the same number. US 75 and US 77 were overlaid on northern SH 6 from Waco northward through the Dallas area to Denison. While the routes were marked concurrently, the concurrent SH 6 kept its numbering until 1939, when SH 6 was truncated to the Gulf Division routing ending at Waco. In 1945 the roadway was extended northwest to Breckenridge over SH 67 and continuing northwest to near Throckmorton along SH 157, which was decommissioned. Also in 1945, the section in southeast Texas between Hemphill and Sugarland was cancelled for unknown reasons, and transferred to Farm to Market Road 359. In 1952 the route was truncated on the north side, ending at Breckenridge. This section was transferred to U.S. Highway 183. In 1968, the section between Hemphill and Sugarland was reestablished, as it was routed along U.S. Highway 290 until it reached Farm to Market Road 1960, then replacing FM 1960 southward to where the southern branch of SH 6 intersected with U.S. Highway 59 in Sugarland. In the early 1970s, the northern section underwent a massive rerouting due to realignments of numerous U.S. and state Routes. In 1971 the section from Breckenridge south to Eastland was redesignated at State Highway 69. It was instead rerouted west along U.S. Highway 80 to Cisco, then replaced U.S. Highway 380 northwest to near Old Glory. The route was again extended in 1975, replacing State Highway 283 between Old Glory and Stamford northward to the Texas/Oklahoma border, completing the current routing of SH 6. [TxDOT|SH|6]

Business routes

SH 6 has three business routes.

Business State Highway 6-N (formerly Loop 23) is a Business Loop that runs from SH 6 near Marlin in central Texas. The road was bypassed in 1978 by SH 6 and designated Loop 23. The road was redesignated at Business SH 6-N in 1991. [Texas Department of Transportation, [http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/sl/sl0023.htm Highway Designation File - State Highway Loop 23] ] [Texas Department of Transportation, [http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/bs/bs0006n.htm Highway Designation File - Business State Highway 6-N] ]

Business State Highway 6-R (formerly Loop 507) is a business loop that runs through Bryan and College Station. The route runs on Texas Avenue in both cities. The route was created in 1972 when SH 6 was routed furthern northeast. The route is 12.5 miles long. [Texas Department of Transportation, [http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/bs/bs0006r.htm Highway Designation File - Business State Highway 6-R] ]

Business State Highway 6-S (formerly Loop 508) is a business loop that runs through Navasota. This route runs on La Salle Avenue. The route was created in 1972 when SH 6 was rerouted further northeast around town. The route is 6.3 miles. [Texas Department of Transportation, [http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/bs/bs0006s.htm Highway Designation File - Business State Highway 6-S] ]

Route Description

SH 6 begins at an intersection with Interstate 45 and SH 3 in Bayou Vista, Texas and proceeds to the northwest, paralleling the ATSF railroad tracks. The highway makes a mostly straight line through Galveston, Brazoria, and Fort Bend Counties, passing through the city of Alvin. As the highway reaches Sugarland, it makes a turn to the north after passing intersections with US Route 59 and Alternate US Route 90. The highway continues north into western Harris County, reaching the Westpark Tollway and Interstate 10. It then reaches an intersection with US Route 290, joining it as it travels again to the northwest, and finishing a large routing around the southern and western portions of Houston. The route continues northwest with US 290 on a limited access highway. At Hockley the highway veers to the right, forking from an old alignment of the highway, and bypassing the cities of Waller and Hempstead to the north. At Hempstead, it splits from US 290 and turn northward into Grimes County, where it does a bypass around the city of Navasota, while Business SH 6 passes through town. The highway then turns northwest again, crossing into Brazos County. The highway starts another bypass here, going around the Bryan/College Station area to the northeast, while another business routing goes through these cities. On the northeast side of Bryan, the highway intersects US Route 190, which travel together to the northwest out of the region. SH 6 splits with US 190 in the town of Hearne, but then travels briefly with US Route 79 before that route splits a couple miles north of there. SH 6 then continues northwest, travelling through lesser populated farmlands, before approaching Waco. Before entering Waco, it turns southeast on State Loop 340, and bypasses Waco to the south. It reaches an intersection with Interstate 35 and then turns to the northwest again, crossing over Lake Waco. The highway continues northwest and west through more farmland regions in central Texas, before reaching an intersection with Interstate 20 just south of Eastland. The route briefly turns west, travelling along the old route of US Route 80, before turning back to the northwest at Cisco. As it continues, it is briefly concurrent with US Route 180 and 277 in north central Texas. Just northwest of Stamford, the highway makes its final turn to the north at an intersection with SH 283. The highway then travels through sparsely populated areas of Haskell, Knox, Foard, and Hardeman Counties before ending north of Quanah at the Red River at an intersection with Oklahoma State Highway 6.

Junction List

References