Existed: 1919 – present Spur 5 FM 5 → Constructed 1919 | East end: I-45 in Houston Length 332.3 km | |
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West end: I-37 / US 181 near Corpus Christi | ||
State Highway 35, or SH 35, is a largely north–south highway in southeastern and southern Texas between Houston, junction of I-45 on the southeast side of the city and Corpus Christi, where it terminates at I-37.
Contents
Map of TX-35, Texas, USA
SH 35 takes a generally north–south route from Houston to Angleton, junction SH 288, and then roughly parallels the inlets of the Gulf of Mexico in a roughly northeast-southwest course through a low, flat coastal plain. To the south and west of Palacios it gives vistas of several inlets of the Gulf of Mexico, becoming one of the more scenic routes of southern Texas.
At Gregory it meets and joins U.S. Highway 181, which coincide to their mutual terminus over a causeway and bridge over Corpus Christi Bay, meeting I-37 and SH 286 at a freeway interchange.
Only in its southernmost part near Corpus Christi is State Highway 35 a freeway, although significant stretches of it are divided highway. It is not to be confused with Interstate 35, which it never meets. It is not the shortest or quickest route between Houston and Corpus Christi, which consists largely of US 59 and US 77.
Route description
SH 35 begins at an interchange with Interstate 37 near downtown Corpus Christi concurrent with US 181. The two highways run as a freeway near Corpus Christi Bay before crossing Nueces Bay into the town of Portland. In Portland, US 181 leaves SH 35, traveling towards Sinton. Just outside Gregory, the freeway segment of SH 35 ends. After crossing FM 136, SH 35 begins to run in an east-west direction to Aransas Pass, before turning towards the northeast. In the town of Rockport, SH 35 runs as a divided expressway before returning to its business loop. The highway passes by the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge before entering into Refugio County.
Spur 5
In Houston, SH 35 is Telephone Road and Reveille Street from its northern terminus at Interstate 45. An upgrade of the facility (in a slightly different corridor) to freeway standards is planned, tentatively named the Alvin Freeway. As of 2006, only 1.3 miles (approximately 2 km) had been built, under the sign Spur 5 (constructed between 1996–99; officially opened September 1999; designated 1998). However, the mainlanes extend less than half a mile south of Interstate 45 adjacent to the campus of the University of Houston.
Loop 5
It should be noted that the number has been previously used for Loop 5, which was designated in 1939 from US 81 through Kyle to US 81. In 1950, the section along Burleson St was cancelled and the rest along Center St became Spur 5. In 1952, Spur 5 was cancelled and transferred to FM 150(now RM 150). In 1958, another route, also called Spur 5, was designated from FM 1406 and SH 124 to Interstate 10. In 1962, The section of the Spur 5 from FM 1406 to SH 73 became a rerouting of SH 124. In 1988, Spur 5 was cancelled and mileage was transferred to FM 1663. The current route was designated in 1998.
An overlap of Highway 35 with the Gulf Freeway was also constructed in the 1980s. This portion extends from Spur 5 to Dowling Street, a distance of about 1.6 miles (2.6 km). This section contains three elevated lanes in each direction (briefly four southbound lanes near the southern terminus). This overlap section is 22 lanes wide, including mainlanes, feeder roads, and a reversible HOV lane.
Once built, the Alvin Freeway is planned to follow a corridor near Mykawa Road from the terminus to Beltway 8 before returning to its normal undivided state.
History
SH 35 was originally proposed in 1919 as a route from Paris to Houston. In 1926 the northern half of the highway had been redesignated as SH 49, with the new northern end now going east to the Louisiana border. By 1935, it had been extended southwest along cancelled SH 58 and SH 57, ending in Corpus Christi. By 1939, the section north of Houston was removed when it was renumbered as U.S. Highway 59.
SH 35A was a proposed spur route off SH 35, with a route splitting off at Livingston, and travelling south via Liberty and Devers to Anahuac. By 1926, the section between Devers and Anahuac renumbered as SH 61. By 1928, the Livingston to Liberty section was renumbered as SH 132. By 1933, that became a portion of SH 146.