Existed: c. 1917 – 1952 Constructed 1917 | Length 1,348 km | |
History: Replaced by US 80 and several other highways in 1939
Designated to short spur route located in Dallas in 1939
Cancelled and redesignated to State Loop 260 in 1952 West end: New Mexico state line, near El Paso East end: Arkansas state line, in Texarkana | ||
State Highway 1 (SH 1) was a Texas state highway that traveled across the U.S. state of Texas. The highway traveled from Texarkana on the eastern border to El Paso on the western border, via Dallas and Fort Worth, Abilene, and Midland–Odessa. SH 1 was approximately 842 miles (1,355 km) long, and was one of the original 26 Texas state highways, which were designated in 1917. In 1920, the entire length of the highway was designated as part of the Bankhead Highway, a transcontinental Auto trail. In the Texas Department of Transportation's 1939 state highway renumbering, most of SH 1 was redesignated as U.S. Route 80, as well as U.S. Route 287, Texas State Highway 16, and others. Most of these highways were replaced by Interstate 10, Interstate 20, and Interstate 30. The only portion of SH 1 that existed after 1939 was a short spur located in Dallas. Texas State Highway 1 was officially cancelled on September 19, 1952. Due to the highway's historic value, a highway can not be designated as Texas State Highway 1 unless by the order of TxDOT Executive Director or by the Transportation Commission.
Contents
Map of SH 1, New Zealand
Texas State Highway 1 had several long spur routes. Most of these were simply numbered as State Highway 1, and were renumbered within a few years. Two of these spurs were separately numbered. They were Texas State Highway 1A, which was a long alternate route of SH 1 that traveled from Abilene to just west of Palo Pinto, and Texas State Highway 1B, which was a short spur located in Dallas that was redesignated as SH 1 in 1939.
Route description
In terms of today's Interstate Highways, the routing of SH 1 is followed by Interstate 10 (I-10) from New Mexico to east of Van Horn, I-20 to west of Fort Worth, and I-30 to Texarkana. The only major difference was between east of Ranger and Weatherford, where SH 1 used what is now designated SH 16 and U.S. Highway 180.
History
SH 1 was assigned in 1917 as one of the original 26 state highways. Known as the Texarkana, Dallas, Fort Worth and El Paso Highway, it crossed from Arkansas at Texarkana and ran west through Dallas, Fort Worth, Albany, Abilene, Big Spring and Van Horn to end in El Paso. By 1919, it had been extended northwest from El Paso to the New Mexico border. In February 1920, the whole of SH 1 was included in the transcontinental Bankhead Highway, a marked auto trail.
In late 1926, the United States Numbered Highways were assigned. State Highway 1 kept its number, but was also assigned U.S. Highway 80 from New Mexico to Dallas and U.S. Highway 67 from Dallas to Texarkana.
By 1936, US 80 had been moved off SH 1 west of downtown Dallas. While SH 1 angled northeast on Fort Worth Avenue from Cockrell Hill, crossing the Trinity River on the Commerce Street Bridge, US 80 continued east on Davis Street, turning north on Zang Boulevard and over the Houston Street Viaduct. In downtown, US 80 turned east on Commerce Street (State Highway 15), and US 67, which had joined US 80 along Davis Street, turned east on Elm Street (SH 1). (Commerce Street and Elm Street later became a one-way pair.)
In the 1939 general redescription, SH 1 was truncated to only this short piece west from downtown Dallas. It split from US 80 (Davis Street) and ran northeast on Fort Worth Avenue and Commerce Street. Upon entering downtown Dallas, it split into the one-way pair of Commerce and Elm Streets, ending at US 80 (Houston Street). In 1952, the route was renumbered to Loop 260 and signed as U.S. Route 80 Business. Loop 260 was removed from the State Highway System and turned over to the City of Dallas in 1991.
Branches
In the original 1917 definition, SH 1 had a split between Abilene and Palo Pinto (west of Mineral Wells). Another split was present between Sulphur Springs and Texarkana, and a branch ran from the northern route at Naples east to State Highway 8 at Douglassville. By 1919, the southern route between Sulphur Springs and Texarkana had become State Highway 1-A, and a new State Highway 1-C ran southeast from SH 1-A at Atlanta to the Louisiana state line. A road from Sulphur Springs northwest to State Highway 34 at Commerce was also a section of SH 1 in 1919, and a branch was added from Texarkana north to the Red River (the Arkansas border). The old route of SH 1 from Sulphur Springs to Greenville became part of State Highway 11. By 1929, SH 1 was rerouted back on the direct route between Sulphur Springs and Greenville. By 1922 the spur to Douglassville was State Highway 1-B, and the piece north from Texarkana was an extension of SH 1-A.
The southern route between Abilene and Palo Pinto was improved first. Thus it was designated as part of US 80 in 1926. The north route was designated US 80N (later U.S. Highway 80 Alternate) in 1932, and by 1926 it was State Highway 1-A. By 1933, SH 1 was rerouted back on the direct route between Sulphur Springs and Greenville. The old route from Sulphur Springs and Commerce became part of SH 11. At the beginning of 1939, US 80 and SH 1 were rerouted onto the direct route between Ranger and Weatherford (formerly State Highway 89), and US 80 Alternate and SH 1-A were extended east to Weatherford. The SH 1-A designation was removed in the 1939 general redescription, and US 80A was replaced in 1943 by State Highway 351 and U.S. Highway 180.
The other branches, located east of Dallas, were all renumbered by 1926: