Interstate 69 (I-69) is an

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

that is in the process of being built in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It is part of a longer

I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of eight unconnected segments. The longest segment runs from Evansville, Indiana, northeast to the Canada–United States border, Canadian border in Po ...

extension known as the

NAFTA superhighway The NAFTA superhighway is a term sometimes used informally to refer to certain existing and proposed highways intended to link Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Although the term has not been used publicly by governments in an official polic ...

, that, when completed, will connect

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. In Texas, it will connect Tenaha and the Louisiana segment of the route through the eastern part of the state and along the

Texas Gulf Coast Texas Gulf Coast is an intertidal zone which borders the Coast, coastal region of South Texas, Southeast Texas, and the Texas Coastal Bend. The Texas coastal geography boundaries the Gulf of Mexico encompassing a geographical distance relative be ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, where it will split into three branches: I-69E to Brownsville,

I-69C Interstate 69C (I-69C) is a north–south Interstate Highway running through South Texas. Once complete, the freeway (with connections to both Federal Highway 40 and Federal Highway 97) will begin at I-2/ U.S. Highway 83 ...

Pharr Pharr is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 79,715, and in 2022, the estimated population was 80,187. Pharr is connected by bridge to the Mexican city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Pharr is ...

, and

I-69W Interstate 69W (I-69W) is a relatively short north–south Interstate Highway running through South Texas in the United States. The freeway begins northeast of the middle of the World Trade International Bridge in Laredo and ends at I-35. ...

to Laredo. The first segment of I-69 in Texas was opened in 2011 near Corpus Christi. The

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway A highway is any public or private road ...

(AASHTO) approved an additional of U.S. Highway 77 (US 77) from Brownsville to the Willacy– Kenedy county line for designation as I-69, which was to be signed as I-69E upon concurrence from the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

(FHWA). FHWA approval for this segment was announced on May 29, 2013. By March 2015, a section of US 59 had been completed and designated as I-69 through

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

. , short segments near the southern terminuses of the three branch routes (I-69E, I-69C, and I-69W) have also all been completed. These branches are planned to be connected to the rest of Interstate 69.

Route description

* Currently, the mainline I-69 begins just south of Rosenberg then continues to

Sugar Land Sugar Land (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Sugarland) is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a po ...

before entering through

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45 ...

before exiting through New Caney and ending at

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

where the route continues as US 59. When completed, I-69W and I-69E will merge together just south of Victoria, where mainline I-69 will follow US 59 northeast to

Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded on December 29, 1837, and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in ...

. In

, I-69 follows US 59 (Southwest Freeway) from

to the west loop of I-610. I-69 then follows US 59 (Eastex Freeway) from the north loop of I-610 to the Montgomery–

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

county line. From Houston, I-69 will follow US 59 to the north, serving

Shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...

Lufkin Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas, United States and is the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and is west of the Texas- Louisiana state line. Its population is 34,143 as of 2020. Lufkin was founded in 188 ...

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Stephen F. Austin State University is located in Nacogdoches and specia ...

, and Tenaha. From Tenaha, the I-69 mainline will head east into

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

along the US 84 corridor. In Texas, an Interstate route designated I-369 will proceed north along US 59 from Tenaha to

Texarkana The Texarkana metropolitan statistical area (MSA), as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is a two-county region anchored by the Twin cities (geographical proximity), twin cities of Texarkana, Texas (population 37,33 ...

. I-69 was originally planned to go to Carthage then leave US 59 to head in an east direction into Louisiana.

History

The federal legislation designating the south Texas branches as I-69 suggested that these routes may be designated as "I-69E" (east, following US 77), "I-69C" (central, following US 281), and "I-69W" (west, following US 59). The

AASHTO The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test quality control, protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction through ...

Special Committee on Route Numbering rejected the

Texas Department of Transportation The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a Texas state government agency responsible for construction and maintenance of the state's immense Texas state highway system, state highway system and the support of the state's maritime trans ...

(TxDOT)'s request for these three designations along the proposed I-69 branches, citing that AASHTO policy no longer allows Interstate Highways to be signed as suffixed routes. Stating that the I-69E, I-69C, and I-69W designations for the three I-69 branches south of Victoria were written into federal law, the initial denial of TxDOT's applications were subsequently overturned by the AASHTO Standing Committee on Highways, and the approval for the I-69E, I-69C, and I-69W branch designations were confirmed by the AASHTO Board of Directors, pending concurrence from the FHWA during the AASHTO Spring Meeting on May 7, 2013. During this same meeting, the section of US 83 between Harlingen and Peñitas was conditionally approved to be designated as I-2, with FHWA concurrence. The US 83 freeway in south Texas was widely anticipated to receive an I-X69 designation instead of I-2. In any case, Texas is proceeding in the same fashion as Indiana, conducting environmental studies for its portion of I-69 in a two-tier process. The mainline route through Texas will be approximately . On June 11, 2008, TxDOT announced they planned to limit further study of I-69 to existing highway corridors (US 59, US 77, US 84, US 281, and State Highway 44 H 44 outside transition zones in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, Houston, and Texarkana. Texas originally sought a

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sectors, private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Revie ...

to construct much of the route through Texas as a privately operated toll road under the failed

Trans-Texas Corridor The Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) was a proposal for a transportation network in the U.S. State of Texas that was conceived to be composed of a new kind of transportation modality known as supercorridors. The TTC was initially proposed in 2001 and ...

project. On June 26, 2008, however, TxDOT announced that they had approved a proposal by Zachry American and

ACS Group ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. () is a Spanish company dedicated to civil engineering, construction, all types of services and telecommunications. It is one of the leading construction companies in the world, with projects ...

to develop the I-69 corridor in Texas, beginning with upgrades to the US 77 corridor between Brownsville and I-37; the Zachry American/ACS Group plan calls for the majority of the freeway to be toll-free; the only two tolled sections would be bypasses of

Riviera () is an Italian word which means , ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria (the Genoa region in northwestern Italy) in the form , then shortened in English. Riviera may a ...

and

Driscoll O'Driscoll (and its derivative Driscoll) is an Irish surname. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Ó hEidirsceoil''. The O'Driscolls were rulers of the Dáirine sept of the Corcu Loígde until the early modern period; their ancestors were Kings of ...

. Original plans for the route included a potential overlap with the "TTC-35" corridor component as well, but the preferred alternative for that component follows I-35 south of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

instead of entering the

Lower Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

Recent and future improvements

Since July 2011, Texas has been proceeding with upgrading rural sections of US 59, US 77, and US 281 to

Interstate standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway t ...

by replacing intersections with interchanges and converting two-lane stretches to four lanes by adding a second

roadway A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) is a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of traffic lane ...

to the existing roadway and adding one-way

frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. Where parallel high-speed roads are provided as part of a maj ...

s. Some

bypasses Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart b ...

will be built around some cities with some of them being known as a relief route. A stated goal of TxDOT's I-69 initiative is that "existing suitable freeway sections of the proposed system be designated as I-69 as soon as possible". A bill was introduced and passed by the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

that allows Interstate quality sections of US 59, US 77, and US 281 to be signed as I-69 regardless of whether or not they connected to other Interstate Highways. Meanwhile, TxDOT has submitted an application to the

FHWA The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

and

to designate of US 59 in the Houston area and of US 77 near Corpus Christi as I-69, as these sections are already built to Interstate standards and connect to other Interstate Highways. In August 2011, TxDOT received approval from the FHWA for a segment of US 77 between I-37 and SH 44 near Corpus Christi and was approved by AASHTO in October 2011. Officials held a ceremony on December 5, 2011, to unveil I-69 signs on the Robstown–Corpus Christi section. On May 29, 2013, the Robstown–Corpus Christi section of I-69 was resigned as I-69E. At the May 18, 2012, AASHTO meeting, of US 59 (Eastex Freeway) from I-610 in Houston (on the loop's northern segment) to Fostoria Road in Liberty County were also approved as ready for I-69 signage, pending concurrence from the FHWA. The FHWA later granted concurrence and with the final approval of the

Texas Transportation Commission The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a Texas state government agency responsible for construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system and the support of the state's maritime, aviation, rail, and public trans ...

, the stretch was officially designated as I-69. It was announced on February 6, 2013, that the FHWA had approved a segment of US 59 (Southwest Freeway) from I-610 in Houston (on the loop's western segment) to just southwest of Rosenberg; the transportation commission gave final approval later that month and signage was erected on April 3, 2013. The remaining segment of the original submission (the section within Houston between the northern and western sections of I-610) was approved for designation as I-69 by the FHWA on March 9, 2015, and approved for signage as I-69 by the transportation commission on March 25, 2015. On May 29, 2013, the transportation commission gave approval to naming completed Interstate-standard segments of US 77 and US 281 as I-69. On July 15, 2013, the Interstate markers were unveiled. US 77 through

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 19 ...

and Willacy counties are signed as I-69E. That includes of existing freeway starting at the international boundary in the middle of the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

in Brownsville and running north past Raymondville. The of US 281 freeway in Pharr and Edinburg are signed as I-69C. On November 20, 2014, the transportation commission voted to add two new sections totaling to I-69 in south Texas. The first section is of newly finished freeway near Robstown in

Nueces County Nueces County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 353,178, making it the 16th-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Corpus Christi. The county was formed in 1846 from portions o ...

and was co-designated as I-69E/US 77, and the second section is a section of new freeway on the north side of Edinburg in Hidalgo County which was codesignated as I-69C/US 281.The segment of US 59 inside the I-610 loop, through

, was approved for designation as I-69 by the FHWA on March 9, 2015, and approved for signage as I-69 by the

on March 25, 2015. The designations were approved by the FHWA and by AASHTO making a total of of I-69 in Texas (including I-2). On May 24, 2019, both the Texas

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

approved a 10-year extension of highway funding needed for I-69. The southern terminus of the I-69 designation is to be extended to the Fort Bend– Wharton county line. This project was scheduled for completion in 2022. The northern terminus of I-69 will also be extended to Cleveland. This project was scheduled for completion in by end of 2022 but got delayed to 2023 due to weather and supply chain issues. Both of these segments have since been completed and are awaiting approval to be designated as I-69. AASHTO approved the extension in 2024. Although the Riggs Cemetery, established in 1892, lies in the path of the freeway in

Liberty County Liberty County is the name of four counties in the United States: * Liberty County, Florida * Liberty County, Georgia * Liberty County, Montana * Liberty County, Texas Liberty County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 ...

, TxDOT is choosing to preserve it. Work to extend I-69 northward to

and south to

are in various stages of planning, development, design, and construction. There is no timeline of when I-69 in Texas will be completed as there is no funding to complete it entirely. Various portions of US 59 are being upgraded to Interstate standards with some bypasses being constructed. Construction on building a new alignment in

to bypass the existing US 59 at Loop 224 interchange began in 2019 and is scheduled to be completed by 2026. It was scheduled for completion in 2023 but supply chain issues played a role in its delay. TxDOT also held a public meeting on August 3, 2023, on the planned $115-million reconfiguration of the US 59 and US 259/ Business US 59-F (Bus. US 59-F) interchange just north of Nacogdoches, although construction is not scheduled to start until 2029. This meeting came about one year after the last public meeting and discussed how the horseshoe-style intersection would be removed with the addition of flyover bridges. Other construction in the area is not expected to be funded until 2034. A bypass for Diboll is under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2025, northbound lanes opened in May 2025. US 59 was redesignated on the unfinished bypass on May 25, 2023 with the former alignment becoming Bus. US 59-H. The bypass for Corrigan started construction in late 2022 and is scheduled for completion in 2028.

Exit list

Notes

References

External links