1.
Texas Department of Transportation
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The Texas Department of Transportation is a government agency in the U. S. state of Texas. The agency has been headquartered in the Dewitt C, greer Building at 125 East 11th Street in downtown Austin, Texas, since 1933. The Texas Legislature created the Texas Highway Department in 1916 to administer federal highway construction, in 1975, its responsibilities increased when the agency merged with the Texas Mass Transportation Commission, to form the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation. In 1986, the department started using Dont Mess with Texas as its slogan to reduce littering on Texas roadways, the phrase was prominently shown on road signs on major highways, as well as in television, radio, and print advertisements. The slogan is still in use and remains very popular, in 2009, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles was created by the state legislature, taking over some functions from TxDOT. The executive director is currently James Bass, previously Bass served as chief financial officer since 2005. He is assisted by one deputy director and four assistant executive directors, the current interim Deputy Executive Director is Marc Williams. The department is organized into 25 geographical districts and 34 divisions, TxDOT is one of the states largest departments in terms of the number of subordinate offices – it maintains 25 geographical districts throughout the state. The large number of departments is needed due to the size of the state, the widely varying climate and soil conditions affecting public roads. In 2010, TxDOT was reorganized into four regions, North, South, East, the regions are designated as Regional Support Centers. The number of districts remained the same, each district, managed by a district engineer, is responsible for the design, location, construction, and maintenance of its area transportation systems. Local field offices within districts are known as area offices, and many also have separate maintenance offices. Functional divisions and offices headquartered in Austin provide administrative and technical support to the districts, TxDOT also publishes the annual Texas Travel Guide, which offers points of interests for all regions of Texas. Horizon is a quarterly journal focusing on policy issues and financing in particular
2.
U.S. Route 277
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U. S. Route 277 is a north–south United States Highway. It is a spur of U. S. Route 77 and it runs for 633 miles across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277s northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at Interstate 44 and its southern terminus is in Carrizo Springs, Texas at U. S. Route 83. It passes through the states of Oklahoma and Texas, most of U. S. 277s route through the two states overlaps other U. S. highways. Through the Lawton area and again from Randlett, Oklahoma, to near downtown Wichita Falls, the highway begins at an intersection with US83 in Carrizo Springs, about 60 miles northwest of Laredo. The highway runs in an east-west direction, until reaching Eagle Pass, from here to Del Rio, the highway parallels the Rio Grande River at the U. S. -Mexico border. The highway overlaps US377 for about 26 miles, with the passing the Amistad National Recreation Area. US277 crosses I-10 near Sonora, before traveling to Eldorado, the highway overlaps both US67 and US87 in the city. In Abilene, the overlaps with US83 and US84. US83 leaves in Anson, traveling to Aspermont, while US277 travels to Stamford, in Seymour, US82 begins an overlap with US277. The two highways enter the city of Wichita Falls, with US82 leaving the highway at US 281/US287, US277 joins US 281/287 and the three highways travel into the downtown area of the city, where I-44 begins. US287 leaves the freeway, while I-44/US 277/US281 travel to Burkburnett, bailey east of Cement, under the interstate south of Fletcher and under the interstate/turnpike on the west side of Elgin. About five miles west of Elgin, U. S.277 rejoins U. S.62 for the next 10 miles with the triplex 62-277-281 route joining Interstate 44 at the point of the H. E. Bailey Turnpike north section near Medicine Park south through Fort Sill to I-44 Exit 40A, U. S.277 and 281 continue their concurrent route with I-44 through the Lawton-Fort Sill area to a point six miles south of Lawton where I-44 becomes the H. E. Bailey Turnpike at the Walters exit and toll plaza, at this interchange, U. S. 277-281 joins I-44 for the last 6 miles in Oklahoma before crossing the Red River into Texas. From Newcastle to the Red River north of Wichita Falls, Texas, present U. S.281 Business and former U. S. S. When US277 was commissioned in 1930, it ended at the Mexico–United States border in Del Rio and it was extended southeast to its present terminus in 1952. The original northern terminus was in Oklahoma City at its intersection with parent route US77, the northern terminus remained there until 1964
3.
U.S. Route 377 in Texas
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U. S. Highway 377 is a U. S. Highway that begins at US90 in Del Rio and heads north through Fort Worth in the U. S. state of Texas before crossing into Oklahoma. When US377 was commissioned in 1930, US77 connected Dallas, Texas with the north and south, but nearby Fort Worth lacked a direct northern connection. US377 connected US77 in Denton, Texas with US81 in Fort Worth, Texas, when the Interstate highway system was built, Interstate 35 paralleled the Dallas/Fort Worth split with routes I-35E through Dallas and I-35W through Fort Worth. The southern terminus is in Del Rio, Texas at an intersection with U. S. Highway 90 and it goes north of town co-signed with U. S. Highway 277 for 20 miles. After splitting off, it enters Edwards County and Carta Valley and it meets SH55 at the county seat, Rocksprings, before serving as the western terminus of SH41. It heads northeast into Kimble County, crossing the county line near Telegraph, at Junction, Texas, it meets both Interstate 10 and US83. It then continues northeast through London, extreme southeastern Menard County, in Mason County, US377 passes through Streeter before forming a concurrency with SH29 near Grit. In Mason, SH29 splits off to its own alignment while US377 turns north to join U. S. Highway 87, US 87/377 head north together into Brady, where they meet US190, the southern terminus of US283, and SH71. US377 splits off to the north and heads to Mercury, in Brownwood, US377 joins with U. S. Highway 67, following its routing all the way to Stephenville, where US377 splits off on its own again. US377 then enters Hood County, where it passes through the county seat and it cuts the corners of both Johnson County and Parker County before entering Tarrant County and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. US377 crosses Interstate 20 at exit 429A in Benbrook and it then enters Fort Worth proper, meeting SH183 and Spur 580. It runs northeast on Camp Bowie Blvd. to Interstate 30, at the Interstate 35W junction, it heads north along that highway before splitting off at Exit 52A. It heads due north as the Denton Highway and continues to run parallel to I-35W through many D/FW suburbs, including Haltom City, Watauga, Keller, Westlake, Roanoke, and Argyle. In Denton, it crosses Interstate 35E and has a concurrency with US380 through the eastern portion of Denton. After splitting from US380, US377 runs east of Aubrey, through Pilot Point, Tioga and it then heads north to cross Lake Texoma into Oklahoma. State Highway Loop 118 is a short and unsigned loop highway, the highway connects Highway 377 to Business State Highway 114-K without the need for an intersection between those highways. The loop is just 0.209 miles long, and is located entirely within the portion of the town of Roanoke. The highway was first designated on February 4,1941, the original route traveled from US377 just south of Roanoke, along Oak Street, past Bus
4.
U.S. Route 83 in Texas
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It is the longest highway in Texas at a length of about 895 miles, besting the east–west I-10, which has a length of 879 miles. In the Lower Rio Grande Valley, US83 is a freeway that is at or close to interstate standards from Brownsville to Penitas. In May 2013, the Texas Department of Transportation applied to the American Association of State Highway, on May 29,2013, the segment of US83 was approved as an I-69 connector using the I-2 designation extending approximately 46 miles from Harlingen to west of Mission. US 83s southern terminus is at a concurrency with I-69E/US77 on the side of Brownsville at the Brownsville – Veterans Port of Entry at the US/Mexico border. It remains co-signed with I-69E/US77 until Harlingen, where I-69E/US77 makes a turn northward and US83 maintains a westerly route to McAllen. From there, the highway parallels the Rio Grande until Laredo where it makes a northwesterly turn toward Carrizo Springs. The speed limit on US83 is briefly 75 mph through Dimmit County, merging with I-35 just south of downtown, US83 remains co-signed with the interstate until an exit at Botines, Texas. From there, it continues northward, intersecting with I-10 just south of Junction, US83 is co-signed with I-10 for approximately 8 miles, turning northward and leaving I-10 at the Kimble County Airport. After continuing northward through rural western Texas towns, US83 then merges with US84 east of Tuscola. US 83/84 remains a co-signed route until Abilene, where US84 turns to the northwest and US83 remains northbound, US 83/277 remains a co-signed route until approximately 2 miles north of Anson, where US277 turns northeast, and US83, northwest. After merging with US380 in Aspermont and briefly sharing a route, US83 continues northward, roads portal Media related to U. S. Route 83 in Texas at Wikimedia Commons
5.
Uvalde, Texas
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Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,751 at the 2010 census, Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde after Spanish governor Juan de Ugalde and was chosen as county seat and it is usually considered the southern limit of the Texas Hill Country or the most northerly part of South Texas. Historically, Uvalde is known as the Honey Capital of the World for production of huajillo honey, Uvalde was the home of John Nance Cactus Jack Garner, former Speaker of the House and Vice President of the United States. Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, actress Dale Evans, and former Governor of Texas Dolph Briscoe, were born in Uvalde, the city is also home to the Grammy Award-winning Tejano/Norteño group Los Palominos. Uvalde is located at 29°12′52″N 99°47′23″W at the crossroads of U. S Hwy 90, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.6 square miles, all of it land. Uvalde is known as one of the best locations for soaring in the United States and it is the site of the 1991 and 2012 World Gliding Championships. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers, according to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Uvalde has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa, on climate maps. At the 2010 census, the population was 15,751 people At the 2000 census, the population density was 2,220.2 per square mile. There were 5,313 housing units at a density of 790.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 73. 27% White,0. 47% African American,0. 62% Native American,0. 48% Asian,0. 07% Pacific Islander,22. 12% from other races, and 2. 97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 75. 48% of the population,20. 1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10. 4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the family size was 3.50. 32. 4% of the population were under the age of 18,9. 6% from 18 to 24,25. 7% from 25 to 44,18. 3% from 45 to 64, the median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The median household income was $25,259 and the family income was $27,897. Males had an income of $25,600 compared with $15,674 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,735, about 24. 2% of families and 29. 0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40. 1% of those under age 18 and 23. 8% of those age 65 or over
6.
Texas state highway system
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Texas state highways are a network of highways owned and maintained by the U. S. state of Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation is the agency responsible for the day-to-day operations. Texas has the second-largest state highway next to North Carolinas state highway system. The system also includes a network of farm to market roads that connect rural areas of the state with urban areas. The state also owns and maintains some park and recreational roads located near and within state and national parks, all state highways, regardless of classification, are paved roads. The Old San Antonio Road, also known as the El Camino Real, is the oldest highway in the United States, the length of the highways varies from I-10s 878.6 miles inside the state borders to Spur 200 at just 0.05 miles long. The Texas State Highway System can trace its roots to the establishment of the Texas Highway Department on April 4,1917, administrative control of the department was given to a three-member commission appointed by the governor for two-year terms. On June 21,1917, the commission conducted its first public hearing to solicit input on potential highway routes, the committee also divided the state into six divisions to be headquartered in Amarillo, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Angelo, and San Antonio. Later that year, the commission designated 26 state highways covering 8,865 miles which were to be accessible to 89% of the states population. In 1921, Congress amended the Federal Aid to Roads Act of 1916 to require the states to control of road design, construction. As a result, on January 1,1924, the Texas Highway Department took full control of maintaining the highways from the counties within which they resided. By 1927, the system covered 17,960 miles, of which 96 miles were concrete,1,060 miles were asphalt,5,000 miles were gravel, shell or stone. In 1951, a 50-mile section of the Gulf Freeway opened, in 1957, the state began receiving federal funding for the construction of the Interstate Highway System. The first section of Interstate Highway from county line to county line to open in the state was a 43-mile section of I-35 in Bexar County, by 1967, the highway system controlled 66,000 miles of highway. In 1984, US66 was replaced by I-40 and the US66 designation was removed from the highway system the following year. In 1992, the 3,200 miles of Interstate Highway System in Texas was completed with the opening of a section of I-27. In 1997, the Texas Turnpike Authority was merged with TxDOT and independently, the North Texas Turnpike Authority became responsible for projects in Collin, Dallas, Denton. The Interstate Highway with the longest segment in Texas is I-10 at 880.6 miles, the shortest in the state is I-110 at 0.9 miles
7.
Texas State Highway 54
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The route, located in western Culberson County, is largely isolated passing through no cities or towns beyond Van Horn and intersecting no other highways between Van Horn and its northern terminus. Within Van Horn, the route has intersections with Business Interstate 10-D, the route was established early in the history of the Texas highway system originally beginning in Alpine and ending at the New Mexico state line near Carlsbad, NM. The routes length and termini have changed over the years as have the roads with which it intersect largely due to two factors, in 1919, another proposal incorporated a route called SH12 from New Mexico through Van Horn and then south to the Rio Grande. The road would run parallel with the river to Brownsville. In 1922, a further revision aligned this route similar to the current US90 between Van Horn and Del Rio and this original designation occurred sometime between 1924 when the state assumed maintenance responsibilities for state highways and 1926. Between 1926 and 1928, SH130, a predecessor of US62, over the next several years, many changes to the route were spurred by the creation of the United States Highway system. In 1927, US90 was newly designated in Texas over a route that replaced the portion of SH54 between Alpine and the route of the new US80 and SH1 in Van Horn. In 1932, US62 was created along SH54 from the line to SH130. By 1933, SH3 was realigned westward concurrently with US90 to Van Horn, SH54 and SH130 kept their designations as concurrent routes to US62. Between 1936 and 1940, US90 was extended northward through Van Horn to US62, SH54 and intersecting routes SH1, SH3, and SH130 were all decommissioned in favor of their redundant U. S. highway routes. The decommissioning of SH54 was short lived as US90 was shortened in 1940 back to its previous terminus at US80 in Van Horn, in 1943, US180 was designated over the route of US62 at the northern terminus of SH54. In 1953, construction began on FM2185 from SH54 in Van Horn into northeastern Culberson County, changes to the route and its intersecting highways occurred again after the construction of the I-10 bypass at Van Horn. In 1975, US80 was realigned along I-10 with its route through town designated as State Highway Loop 519 although it was signed as US80 Business. The following year, SH54 was extended southward to terminate at I-10, in 1990, the designation of Loop 519 was changed to Bus. One year later, US80 was decommissioned throughout western Texas, SH54 begins at I-10 Exit 140A in Van Horn. From I-10 the route runs concurrently with US90 north along Van Horn Dr, US90 terminates and SH54 turns east along Bus. I-10-D for half a block and then north along La Caverna St. The route intersects FM2185 at Ninth St. before leaving Van Horn, north of town, the route passes through a gap between the Beach Mountains and the Baylor Mountains and then emerges onto a large salt basin
8.
Texas State Highway 56
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State Highway 56 is a state highway in the U. S. state of Texas that runs through Grayson and Fannin Counties in North Central Texas. This highway was designated in 1974 to replace U. S. Highway 82 when it was rerouted north of Whitesboro, SH56 has been extended further since then as the US82 bypass continued to be extended north of Bonham and Honey Grove. Through Sherman, SH56 operates on a pair of streets, Lamar. SH56 was originally designated by 1926 through the northwestern Panhandle, construction was completed by 1938, when the SH56 designation was dropped in favor of US54. SH56 begins at an intersection with U. S. Route 82 just outside of Whitesboro, the highway then enters Whitesboro with indirect access to U. S. Route 377. SH56 next travels through Southmayd, where it meets State Highway 289, just east of Farm to Market Road 1417, the highway splits into a pair of one–way streets, with eastbound traffic traveling on Lamar Street and westbound on Houston Street. SH56 meets U. S. Route 75 before entering downtown Sherman, the highway merges back into one street, just before State Highway 11 before leaving Sherman. SH56 runs through an undeveloped area of Grayson County before entering Bells. Between Bells and Savoy, SH56 enters Fannin County, the highway runs through Ector, before entering Bonham where it meets State Highway 121 and State Highway 78. SH56 runs through Dodd City, Windom and Honey Grove before ending at an intersection with US82
9.
Texas Hill Country
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The Texas Hill Country is a 25-county region of Central Texas and South Texas featuring karst topography and tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite dome in the United States, the Hill Country reaches into portions of the two major metropolitan areas, especially in San Antonios northern suburbs and the western half of Travis County, ending southwest of Downtown Austin. The region is the portion of the Edwards Plateau and is bound by the Balcones Fault on the east. The terrain is punctuated by a number of limestone or granite rocks and boulders and a thin layer of topsoil. The Texas Hill Country is also home to several types of vegetation, such as various yucca, prickly pear cactus, cedar scrub. Several cities were settled at the base of the Balcones Escarpment, including Austin, San Marcos, the regions economy is one of the fastest growing in the US. The deeper caverns of the area form several aquifers which serve as a source of drinking water for the residents of the area, wonder Cave in San Marcos was formed by an earthquake along the Balcones Fault. The Guadalupe, San Antonio, Frio, Medina, and Nueces rivers originate in the Hill Country and this region is a dividing line for certain species occurrence. For example, the California Fan Palm is the species of palm tree that is native to the continental United States west of the Hill Countrys Balcones Fault. The region has hot summers, particularly in July and August, winter temperatures are sometimes as much as ten degrees cooler than in other parts of Texas to the east. For example, the accordion was popularized in Tejano music in the 19th century due to exposure to German settlers. It later re-aired when this series was hosted by Dennis Farina, the region has emerged as the center of the Texas wine industry. Three American Viticultural Areas are located in the areas, Texas Hill Country AVA, Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country AVA, the Hill Country is also known for its tourism. In 2008, The New York Times listed the Hill Country in an article about North American vacation destinations, Hill Country has also made Texas second to Florida as the most popular retirement destination in the United States. The region has attracted Baby Boomers as they near retirement age, frederick Day, a demographer with Texas State University, said that the Hill Country life-style reminds one of the small towns of the recent past. Cost of living is pretty low, to people who have spent their work life in Houston or Dallas, the Hill Country is very attractive
10.
Rocksprings, Texas
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Rocksprings is a town in Edwards County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,182. It is the county seat of Edwards County, the town received its name from natural springs that bubble forth from the porous limestone rocks in the area. J. R. Sweeten sited Rocksprings in 1891 because of the springs nearby, also in 1891, the town acquired a post office and was made county seat. The original courthouse built in the town burned in 1897, by 1914 Rocksprings had a population of around 500. On April 12,1927, the town was hit by an F5 tornado that destroyed 235 of the 247 buildings in the town, the tornado killed 72 townspeople and injured 205, almost 1/3 of the population at the time. Rocksprings is located northeast of the center of Edwards County at 30°0′58″N 100°12′32″W, Rocksprings sits on top of the Edwards Plateau. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 1.2 square miles. U. S. Route 377 passes through the center of the town, leading northeast 46 miles to Junction, Texas State Highway 55 joins US377 as Main Street through Rocksprings, but leads northwest 55 miles to Sonora and south 68 miles to Uvalde. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers, according to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Rocksprings has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated Cfa on climate maps. The economy of Rocksprings is centered on the wool and mohair industry, tourism has become a growing part of the economy with the opening of Devils Sinkhole State Natural Area located approximately 8 miles northeast of Rocksprings. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,285 people,420 households, the population density was 1,064.1 people per square mile. There were 535 housing units at a density of 443.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 76. 26% White,1. 17% African American,0. 93% Native American,0. 16% Asian,18. 75% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 66. 69% of the population. 23. 1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11. 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.58. In the town, the population was out with 33. 5% under the age of 18,8. 3% from 18 to 24,25. 6% from 25 to 44,20. 5% from 45 to 64. The median age was 32 years, for every 100 females there were 105.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males, the median income for a household in the town was $19,970, and the median income for a family was $22,614
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