State Highway 6 (SH6) runs from the Red River, the Texas–Oklahoma state line, to northwest of Galveston. In Sugar Land and Missouri City, it is known as Alvin-Sugarland Road and runs perpendicular to Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 (I-69/US59). In the Houston area, it runs north to Farm to Market Road 1960 (FM1960), then northwest along US 290 to Hempstead, 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. In Calvert, it is known as Main Street. For most of its length, SH6 is not a limited-access road. In 1997, the Texas Legislature designated SH6 as the Texas Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.

History

Historic routes

SH6 was one of the original 25 state highways proposed on June 21, 1917, overlaying the King of Trails Highway. From 1919, the routing mostly followed present-day US 75 from Oklahoma to Dallas, then US 77 to Waco.

Current routes

On August 21, 1923, SH6 was extended along the eastern Gulf Division branch of SH 2 to keep SH2 from having two separate highways with the same number. In 1926, US75 and US77 were overlaid on northern SH6 from Waco northward through the Dallas area to Denison, and US75 was overlaid on the section from Houston to Galveston. In 1935, US290 was overlaid on the section from Hempstead to Houston. While the routes were marked concurrently, the concurrent SH6 kept its numbering until September 26, 1939, when SH6 was truncated to the Gulf Division routing ending at Waco. It was rerouted south from Hempstead to Galveston, replacing SH 242 and SH 38.

On September 26, 1945, the roadway was extended northwest to Breckenridge over SH 67, continuing northwest to near Throckmorton along SH157, which was decommissioned. That same day, the section in southeast Texas between Hempstead and Sugar Land was canceled, as it was redundant with the new FM 359. On August 20, 1952, the route was truncated on the north side, ending near Breckenridge. This section was transferred to US 183. On September 26, 1967, SH6 was rerouted to bypass Bremond, with the old route through Bremond transferred to SH 14 and FM 46. On November 1, 1968, the section between Hempstead and Sugar Land was re-established, as it was routed along US290 until it reached FM 1960, then replacing FM1960 southward to where the southern branch of SH6 intersected to what is now I-69/US59 in Sugar Land. That portion of FM1960 from US290 to then US90 at Addicks was built in the 1950s, replacing and rerouting some of what was known as Jackrabbit Road. In the early 1970s, the northern section underwent a massive rerouting due to realignments of numerous U.S. and state highways. On August 4, 1971, the section from Breckenridge south to Eastland was redesignated as SH 69. SH6 was instead rerouted west along US80 to Cisco, then replaced US 380 northwest to near Old Glory. The route was again extended on July 31, 1975, replacing SH 283 between Old Glory and Stamford northward to the Texas–Oklahoma border, completing the current routing of SH6. The old route of SH6 was transferred to new SH283. On October 27, 1989, a section from US90A to McKeever Road (McKeever Bypass) was added.

A spur, SH6A was designated on August 1, 1928, from SH6 to Texas City. On March 19, 1930, this route was renumbered as SH 146.

In June 2016, a section of the highway in Eastland County between Cisco and Albany was destroyed due to major flooding.

Route description

SH6 begins at an intersection with I-45 and SH 3 in Bayou Vista, 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 traverses through Sugar Land, it makes a turn to the north after passing intersections with I-69/US59 and Alternate US90. The highway continues north into western Harris County, reaching the Westpark Tollway and I-10. It then intersects US290 in CyFair, joining it as they travel to the northwest, thus finishing a large routing around the southern and western portions of Houston. The route continues northwest with US290 as 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 US290 at a hybrid interchange with direct ramps from westbound US290/northbound SH6 to northbound SH6, and from southbound SH6 to eastbound US290/southbound SH6. SH6 then turns northward into Grimes County, where it bypasses the city of Navasota, while Business SH6 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 the business route goes through these cities. On the northeast side of Bryan, the highway meets US190, and they travel together to the northwest out of the region. SH6 splits with US190 in the town of Hearne, but joins US79 before that route splits to the northeast about a mile north of town. SH6 then continues northwest, traveling through lesser populated farmlands, before approaching Waco. Before entering Waco, it turns southwest on Loop340, and bypasses Waco to the south. It reaches an intersection with I-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 I-20 just south of Eastland. The route briefly turns west, traveling along the former route of US80, before turning back to the northwest at Cisco. As it continues, it is briefly concurrent with US180/US277 in north central Texas. Just northwest of Stamford, the highway makes its final turn to the north at an intersection with SH283. The highway then travels through sparsely populated areas of Haskell, Knox, Foard, and Hardeman counties before ending north of Quanah at the Red River, where it meets Oklahoma State Highway 6.

Major intersections

Business routes

SH6 has four business routes.

Marlin business loop

Business State Highway 6-N (Bus. SH6-N, formerly Loop 23) is a business loop that runs from SH6 near Marlin in central Texas. The road was bypassed on November 30, 1978 by SH6 and designated Loop 23. The road was redesignated as Business SH6-N on June 21, 1990.

Reagan business loop

Business State Highway 6-P (Bus. SH6-P) is a business loop that runs near Reagan. The road was bypassed on June 25, 2015, by SH6 when it was rerouted west. Bus. SH6-P shares a short, one-block concurrency with FM 413 through Reagan. Both ends of the route are only accessible directly from SH6 northbound. Access to SH6 southbound can only be reached via an interchange with SH6 and FM413.

Major intersections

Bryan-College Station business loop

Business State Highway 6-R (Bus. SH6-R, formerly Loop 507) is a business loop that runs through the cities of Bryan and College Station. The highway is known locally as Texas Avenue in both cities and runs along the eastern boundary of Texas A&M University in College Station.

The route was created in 1990 with the re-designation of Loop 507. Loop 507 was designated in 1972 when SH 6 was re-routed along a bypass around Bryan and College Station.

1. Junction list

Navasota business loop

Business State Highway 6-S (Bus. SH6-S, formerly Loop 508) is a business loop that runs through Navasota on La Salle Avenue. The route was created in 1972 when SH6 was rerouted further north and east around town; it is long. The road was redesignated as Bus. SH6-S on June 21, 1990.

See also

Notes

References

External links