State Highway 34 (SH 34) 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 ...

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 ...

that runs from Honey Grove to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

near the

Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

History

SH 34 was originally proposed on November 19, 1917, starting in Ft. Worth travelling southeast to

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

. On October 15, 1923, SH 34 was extended to Kaufman. On December 17, 1923, SH 34 was extended to Greenville, replacing SH 38. On May 25, 1925, the eastern end had been extended north to Honey Grove. On December 21, 1926, it was extended north to the

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

state line via the current FM 100. On October 10, 1927, the western end had been extended to near Jacksboro. On July 15, 1935, the section north of Honey Grove was cancelled. On September 26, 1939, the section from Jacksboro to Ennis was removed from SH 34, becoming parts of U.S. Highway 287 and SH 319 (which was originally planned as SH 281 and became part of SH 199 one month later). It was instead routed farther southwest into Italy, replacing SH 306. In or around 1945, the section from Kaufman to Ennis was re-routed through Scurry, south of Rosser, and on a new bridge over the Trinity River. The former route from Scurry to Peeltown (Kaufman County) was assigned to an extension of

Farm to Market Road 148 Farm to Market Road 148 (FM 148) is a farm to market road located in Kaufman County in Texas. Route description FM 148 begins at an intersection with State Highway 274 near Kemp just west of Cedar Creek Reservoir. The highway runs in a west� ...

, and about a mile of the old route is now

Farm to Market Road 1181 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

in Telico (Ellis County). The old bridge over the Trinity River no longer exist

in addition, the replacement bridge (a narrow, two-lane truss bridge) was replaced with a wider, traditional span. On August 18, 1987, SH 34 was extended north from US 77 to I-35E, replacing Farm to Market Road 1134, FM 1134. On April 24, 2003, SH 34 was extended east and north concurrent with SH 56 and FM 100 to US 82. A bypass around the city of Terrell was designated on February 28, 2013, but completed in early 2014. Construction began in October 2014 on a bypass around the city of Kaufman, with construction lasting approximately 22 months. The section south of US 175 opened in May 2016 while the section north of US 175 opened later that year in August.

Route description

SH 34 begins at

I-35E Interstate 35E may refer to: *Interstate 35E (Texas), a long branch route serving Dallas, Texas *Interstate 35E (Minnesota), a long branch route serving St. Paul, Minnesota See also * Interstate 35W (disambiguation) Interstate 35W may refer to: ...

in the community of

. The highway runs southeast through the town to

US 77 U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the Mexican border, ...

before turning in a more east direction. Near

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

, the highway turns to the northeast and runs through the community of Bardwell before crossing Lake Bardwell. After crossing the lake, SH 34 enters

and intersects

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 ...

. The highway shares overlaps with the business routes of I-45 and US 287 in the city and leaves the city after intersecting

I-45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. While most primary Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, ...

. After crossing the Trinity River, SH 34 enters Kaufman County and runs near the communities of Scurry and Rosser before entering Kaufman. The highway intersects US 175 and shares an overlap with SH 243 in the city. Leaving the city, SH 34 runs in a sharp northeast direction for a few miles, turning north in Oak Ridge. In southern Terrell, the highway intersects

I-20 I20, I 20 or I-20 may refer to: * Interstate 20, a highway in the southeastern United States * I-20 (form), a United States government document that provides supporting information for the issuance of a student visa or change of status * I-20 (rap ...

, which is the sight of a

Tanger Outlet Center Tanger Inc. is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, that invests in open air outlet and lifestyle shopping centers in the United States and Canada. As of March 31, 2025, the company owns and manages 37 o ...

. Near

Terrell Municipal Airport Terrell Municipal Airport is a public access airport located within the city limits of Terrell, Texas, 1 mile SE of central Terrell. The airport has services for commercial and private aviation. Aircraft operations, including local general avia ...

, SH 34 runs along a new alignment, bypassing the downtown area of the city and crosses over

US 80 U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the ...

. Leaving Terrell, the highway runs by many farms before turning more north and running near the western shore of

Lake Tawakoni Lake Tawakoni ( ) is a reservoir located in Northeast Texas, about east of Dallas. It lies within three Texas counties, Hunt, Rains, and Van Zandt. It is used for water supply and recreation. It is under the Sabine River Authority of Texas and ...

. In Quinlan, the highway shares a short overlap with SH 276 and crosses near an inlet of Tawakoni north of the town. Since 2023, the short overlap that SH 34 and SH 276 shared was eliminated when SH 276 was rerouted south of Quinlan. Entering Hunt County, SH 34 runs in a straight north direction. The highway enters Greenville and intersects

I-30 i30, I30, i-30 or I-30 may refer to: *Interstate 30, an Interstate Highway in the southern United States *, an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine during World War II * (1940-1968), a Royal Australian Navy ''Tribal''-class destroyer *I30, a 9000 serv ...

US 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas Presidio is a c ...

, which used to be a cloverleaf interchange. Shortly after intersecting

US 69 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway in the central United States. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's ...

US 380 U.S. Route 380 (US 380) is an east–west United States highway. The highway's eastern terminus is in Greenville, Texas at an intersection with Interstate 30, of which the easternmost 3–4 miles are concurrent with US 69 in a loop around ...

, SH 34 overlaps with a business route of US 69 through the city's downtown area. Leaving the city, the highway serves as the western terminus for SH 224. North of Wolfe City, the highway makes a sharp turn and runs east for a few miles before turning back north in Ladonia. SH 34 intersects SH 56 in Honey Grove before terminating at

US 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a route extend ...

just north of the town.

Junction list

Business routes

There are currently no

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route that branches off a parent numbered highway at its beginning, continues through the central business district of a nearby city or to ...

s for SH 34, though the highway previously had two.

Terrell

Business State Highway 34-A (Bus. SH 34-A) was a bypass of Terrell, designated on February 28, 2013 and completed in early 2014. This business route was removed from the state highway system on July 27, 2017; the southern part of Bus. SH 34-A was re-designated as Spur 226 while the northern section was given over to the city of Terrell.

Kaufman

A second business route served the downtown area of Kaufman, along Washington Street and Mulberry Street. The route ran along a previous routing of SH 34. It became a business route after a bypass was completed in October 2016 around the south and east sides of Kaufman for SH 34. The Kaufman business route had been completely cancelled and removed by September 24, 2020, with maintenance being turned over to the city.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Texas State Highway 34 034 Transportation in Ellis County, Texas Transportation in Kaufman County, Texas Transportation in Hunt County, Texas Transportation in Fannin County, Texas