Loop 279, formerly Business U.S. Highway 66, is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It runs from Amarillo Boulevard ( Interstate 40 Business) and Bell Street east along 9th Avenue, Bushland Boulevard and 6th Avenue to end at Fillmore Street (northbound

U.S. Route 87 U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north–south road to not have a "1" in ...

Route description

Loop 279 begins at an intersection with Business Loop I-40 near

Amarillo College Amarillo College (AC) is a public community college in Amarillo, Texas. It enrolls over 9,100 students and was established in 1929 as Amarillo Junior College. Amarillo College has a total of six campuses as of August 2023. As defined by the Tex ...

in Amarillo, Potter County, heading east on SW 9th Avenue, a four-lane divided highway. The road soon becomes a five-lane road with a

center left-turn lane A reversible lane, also known as variable lane, dynamic lane, and tidal flow, is a managed lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, ...

as it passes through commercial areas before heading between the Amarillo Country Club to the north and residential areas to the south, losing the center turn lane. The highway turns northeast onto Bushland Boulevard at this point and continues south of the golf course. Loop 279 narrows into a two-lane road and heads past businesses, turning east onto SW 6th Avenue. The road heads through more commercial areas with some homes before heading into an area of more businesses. The highway heads into the commercial downtown of Amarillo, widening into a four-lane road. Here, Loop 279 crosses the southbound direction of

US 287 U.S. Route 287 (US 287) is a north–south (physically northwest–southeast) United States highway. At long, it is the second longest three-digit U.S. Route, behind U.S. Route 281, US 281. The highway is broken into two segments by Ye ...

before ending at the intersection of SE 6th Avenue and Fillmore Street (the northbound direction of

US 87 U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north–south road to not have a "1" in ...

History

The route was originally the main line of

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

, which turned north on Fillmore Street (concurrent with US 87) to the current Business I-40. A new alignment along Amarillo Boulevard was built ca. 1953, and on May 25, 1954 the old alignment (west of Fillmore Street) was designated Loop 279 and signed as Business US 66 (Business US 66 continued north on Fillmore Street to new US 66). At some point, Fillmore Street became one-way northbound, and westbound Business US 66 was moved to either Taylor Street or Pierce Street. When US 66 was decommissioned in Texas in 1985, the Business US 66 designation was dropped.

Junction list

References

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279 __NOTOC__ Year 279 ( CCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Paternus (or, less frequently, year 1032 ''Ab urbe condita''). The den ...

Transportation in Potter County, Texas