U.S. Route 87 in Texas
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| U.S. Route 87 |
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| Length: | 660.071 mi[1] (1062.281 km) | ||||||||||||||||
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| Formed: | 1935 | ||||||||||||||||
| West end: |  SH 238 in Port Lavaca |
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| Major junctions: |
 I-410 in San Antonio I-10 in San Antonio I-37 in San Antonio I-35 in San Antonio I-20 in Big Spring I-27 from Lubbock to Amarillo |
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| East end: |  US 87 near Texline |
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In the U.S. state of Texas, U.S. Highway 87 is a U.S. Highway that begins near the Gulf Coast in Port Lavaca, Texas and heads north through San Antonio and Lubbock to the New Mexico border near Texline.
[edit] Route description
US 87's southern terminus is at an intersection with State Highway 238 in Port Lavaca, Texas. It takes a northwesterly route out of the town, and follows this path all the way to Cuero, where it merges with (and is briefly co-signed with) US 183 before turning back toward the north. US 87 follows a gentle northwesterly route until just before Smiley, where it takes a more due-westerly turn. At Nixon, US 87 merges with State Highway 97 and continues west as a co-signed route until just west of Stockdale, where SH 97 leaves the route and US 87 continues to the northwest to San Antonio.
On the southeast side of the city, US 87 merges with I-10, where it continues through San Antonio as a co-signed, concurrent route for 54 miles, until an exit at Comfort, where the highway once again picks up its own signage and continues on, in an almost due northern heading before making a slight turn back to the northwest to Mason, where it merges with US 377.
From Mason, US 87/377 continues north/northwest to Brady, where US 377 leaves the route and US 87 makes a hard turn to the west before taking yet another slight turn to the north and continuing on to San Angelo, and on to the northwest. After intersecting with I-20 at Big Spring, US 87 continues the same northwesterly path to Lamesa, where it takes a turn back to the northeast. After making another turn back to the north just outside of O'Donnell, US 87 continues on to Lubbock, where it merges with I-27 on the south side of the city.
From this point, US 87 continues as a co-signed, concurrent route with I-27 all the way north to Amarillo, occasionally deviating from the interstate route to spur into rural towns along the route (such as Kress, Tulia, and Canyon) before merging with US 287 in Amarillo. US 87/287 continues almost due north until Dumas, where US 87 splits off the route with a sharp turn to the west before merging with US 385 in Hartley and turning to the northwest. US 385 leaves the route in Dalhart, and US 87 continues on a slight northwesterly path, crossing into New Mexico approximately a mile west of Texline.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Texas Department of Transportation. Highway Designation File - U.S. Highway No. 87. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ Google Maps. Overview Map of US 87 [map]. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
