U.S. Highway 75 (US 75) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that travels from Interstate 345 (I-345) in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

northward to the

Canadian border The borders of Canada include: * To the south and west: An international boundary with the United States, forming the Canada–United States border, longest shared border in the world, ; (Informally referred as the 49th parallel north which make ...

in Noyes, Minnesota. In the 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 runs from I-345 in Dallas and heads 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, a distance of about .

History

In the initial assignment of state highways in 1917, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston were connected by a branch of State Highway 2 (SH 2, the Meridian Highway), which ran via Waco and Bryan and continued on to

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

. The more direct route followed by US 75 was not initially part of the system between Richland (connected to Dallas by SH 14) and Huntsville (connected to Houston by SH 19). This Richland–Huntsville cutoff was added by 1919 as SH 32, and US 75 was assigned to the alignment, as well as SH 6 north of Dallas, in 1926. The branch of SH 2, which US 75 followed between Houston and Galveston, eventually became part of SH 6, and these numbers were dropped in the 1939 renumbering. Prior to the coming of the

Interstate Highway System 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 ...

in the late 1950s, the only improvements to US 75 in Texas beyond building a two-lane paved roadway were in the Houston and Dallas areas. However, the highways in and near these cities included some of the first

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s in the state: the Gulf Freeway (Houston, opened to traffic on October 1, 1948) and the Central Expressway. When I-45 was built in the 1960s, its alignment bypassed many of the towns and built-up areas between

Downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...

and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. The bypassed routes retained the US 75 designation until the designation was truncated to Downtown Dallas in 1987. Many of the original alignments continue to exist under other designations. In Dallas, the route followed what is now the Good Latimer Expressway (formerly Spur 559) southeast, out of downtown, along US 175 and south along SH 310. Near Ferris, Trumbull, Palmer,

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 ...

, and Corsicana Interstate 45 veers east to avoid the more populated areas. The old US 75 alignments through these towns, decommissioned in 1987, now carry the following designations: Old_US_75_sign_in_downtown_Dallas

* I-45 Business-J (originally Loop 560) through Ferris * Loop 561 through Trumbull * I-45 Business-H through Palmer (originally Loop 562) * Spur 469, I-45 Business-G (originally

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 ...

and Spur 563) through

* Interstate 45 Business-F (originally Loop 564) through Corsicana Through Streetman, Fairfield, Buffalo, Centerville, Madisonville, Huntsville, New Waverly,

Willis Willis may refer to: Places United States * Willis, Florida, an unincorporated community * Willis, Kansas, a city * Willis, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Willis, Nebraska, an unincorporated community * Willis, Oklahoma, an unincorporat ...

, and Conroe, US 75 followed what is now SH 75. In Galveston, the alignment of State Highway 87 from 20th Street to the southern terminus I-45 was also part of US 75 until its 1987 truncation. In other cases alignments were bypassed while US 75 remained in existence; they now carry the following designations: * SH 3 through La Marque, Dickinson, League City, South Houston and

, bypassed 1952 * SH 5 from north of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

via Plano,

McKinney McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano, Texas, Plano and Frisco, Texas, Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about ...

, Anna and Van Alstyne to Howe, bypassed 1959-1967 * SH 91 from Sherman to Denison, bypassed 1984

Route description

US 75 begins at I-345, an unsigned auxiliary route of I-45 and heads north, first interchanging Spur 366 northeast of

. The highway then interchanges with SL 12 (Northwest Highway) before forming the High Five Interchange with I-635. Then, it interchanges with the

President George Bush Turnpike The President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT) is a controlled-access toll road running through the northern, northeastern and western suburbs, forming a partial beltway around Dallas, Texas, United States. It is named for the late George H. W. Bush ...

as it continues north through Plano. It then interchanges with the Sam Rayburn Tollway, becoming concurrent with SH 121 and then heads through

and interchanging with US 380. The stretch through McKinney is largely unchanged from its original design except for its intersection at the Sam Rayburn Tollway. to replace the original interchange. Plans to upgrade the facility through and north of McKinney are under way with the reconstruction of the US 380 bridge. US 75 then splits from SH 121 in

Melissa Melissa is a feminine given name. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite language, Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". Meliss ...

and continues north. In Sherman, the route crosses over SH 56 and then

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 ...

. North of Denison, it becomes concurrent with US 69 for the next before crossing over the Red River and into

. The exit numbers for US 75 are not based on mile markers; instead, the exits were numbered consecutively (the only remaining stretch of road in Texas with such a system). As the bypass route was completed around the Sherman–Denison area, the numbering system was continued for the new exits. Upon completion of the widened Central Expressway through Dallas, the exit numbering was changed for the section south of I-635 to correspond with the new (and fewer number of) exits, based on mileage, but the numbering system north of I-635 was left unchanged, thus explaining the gap in the current numbering system.

Exit list

References

External links

* - at dfwfreeways.info {{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 75 In Texas Freeways in Texas 75 Texas Transportation in Dallas County, Texas Transportation in Collin County, Texas Transportation in Grayson County, Texas

History

Route description

Exit list

See also

References

External links