U.S. Route 281 (US 281) is a

United States Numbered Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

that runs from Brownsville near the

Mexican border Mexico shares international borders with three nations: *To the north the United States–Mexico border, which extends for a length of through the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. *To the sou ...

in the Rio Grande Valley to the

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near Dunseith, North Dakota. 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 ...

, the highway is a major south–north corridor, connecting Brownsville 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 at the Red River in Burkburnett. Several segments of U.S. 281 are concurrent with Interstate routes, including I-69C in the Rio Grande Valley, I-37 in

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 ...

, and I-44 north of Wichita Falls.

Route description

US 281 has two signed segments near its southern terminus in the Rio Grande Valley, both of which are signed west–east. The eastern segment, considered mainline US 281 by

TxDOT 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 ...

, begins in Brownsville at an intersection with Business US 77 and SH 48 about from the Mexico border, and travels west through several communities along the border to Pharr. The western segment, officially listed as a spur connection by TxDOT and often labeled on maps as US 281 Spur, begins just north of the McAllen–Hidalgo–Reynosa International Bridge in Hidalgo and travels north along International Boulevard before turning east onto Coma Avenue and entering Pharr. The two segments (along with Spur 600, which provides access to the Pharr–Reynosa International Bridge) meet at Cage Boulevard, where signage changes to south–north, and the highway turns to the north. North of the interchange with I-2, US 281 is concurrent with I-69C to that route's northern terminus () in Edinburg. US 281 travels through small towns and sparsely populated areas, alternating between a divided highway and a main street and passing through a Border Patrol checkpoint south of Falfurrias, until joining I-37 north of Three Rivers. The two routes split south of Pleasanton and separately travel northward to

. In San Antonio, US 281 overlaps I-410 on the south side of the city until another interchange with I-37. US 281 and I-37 then overlap north into

Downtown San Antonio Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, and the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people. Downtown San Antonio is encircled by Texas State Highway Loop 1604, 16 ...

until I-37 ends at

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico–Uni ...

. US 281 continues north from Downtown San Antonio as the McAllister Freeway, intersecting I-410 again at a stack interchange in Uptown San Antonio, with access to the San Antonio International Airport. The freeway ends several miles north of Loop 1604. In

Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...

, it serves as the main street of

Blanco Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to: People *Blanco (surname) Fictional characters *Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth *Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'' *Graboid#El Blanco, ...

before beginning a concurrency with US 290 south of Johnson City. As US 290 continues toward Austin, US 281 and US 290 provide a scenic and less congested alternative to I-35 between San Antonio and Austin. The two routes split in the city, with US 281 continuing toward Marble Falls, Burnet, and

Lampasas Lampasas ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lampasas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,291 at the 2020 census. Lampasas is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area. History For his ...

. North of Stephenville, US 281 crosses

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 ...

and continues through North Central Texas, passing through Mineral Wells and Jacksboro. Upon reaching Wichita Falls, US 281 becomes a freeway. It begins a concurrency with I-44 at that route's western terminus, and the two routes travel north, crossing the Red River into

near Burkburnett.

History

A project to construct a stack interchange at I-410 (the "San Antonio Web") was completed June 9, 2008; formerly there was no direct access between the two freeways and surface streets were required to travel between the freeways. The reason for this initial lack of direct interchange was due to litigation filed in the late 1960s against the Texas Highway Department over the highway's original construction alignment through portions of Brackenridge Park and Olmos Park that were alleged to be in violation of several Federal laws, ultimately including NEPA. As a result of the Supreme Court decision in a more advanced and very similar case involving the proposed construction of I-40 through Overton Park in Memphis, Tennessee which upheld and affirmed the plaintiffs in that circumstance and precluded that highway's construction through the parkland with Federal funding, the Texas Highway Department chose instead to construct the McAlister Freeway entirely with State funding using a modified design that would increase curvature but limit encroachment into and noise impact on the Sunken Gardens area within Brackenridge Park. Funding of various highway projects from around Texas was re-allocated to the McAlister Freeway project, which was initially completed with only the indirect interchange via existing surface streets to Loop 410 since it required no Federal funding or approval and the Loop 410 overpass of that location where the McAlister Freeway main lanes would pass beneath had already been completed many years earlier. In 2010, US 281 from Loop 1604 to Bulverde Road in north San Antonio was re-constructed as a superstreet. Groundbreaking was held on March 11, 2010 with construction finishing later that year in September. The re-construction slightly increased travel times but this section of US 281 was still the most congested highway in Bexar County. After nearly two decades of planning an delays, TxDOT upgraded this section of highway from a superstreet to a limited–access freeway, with construction beginning in 2017 and concluding in 2022. Section 1, from Loop 1604 to Stone Oak Parkway, was constructed from 2017 to 2020. Section 2, from Stone Oak Parkway to Borgfeld Drive, was constructed from 2019 to 2022. The estimated cost for the project was $532 million. Ground breaking for the project was held on March 31, 2017 with construction officially beginning on July 17. The highway was expanded from a two-lane highway to a four-lane divided highway from River Crossing to the Comal-

county line at a cost of $30.5 million.

Future

The section of US 281 from I-2/ US 83 in Pharr to George West is steadily being upgraded to an interstate-grade freeway as part of the

Interstate 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 Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, and includ ...

expansion, and will be signed as Interstate 69C.

Major intersections

Special routes

Hidalgo spur route

Spur US Route 281 began at the McAllen–Hidalgo–Reynosa International Bridge in Hidalgo, ran north along International Boulevard, then turned east along Military Highway before it ended at the main route of US 281 in Pharr, and now it's Spur 241. ;Junction list

Edinburg business route

Bus. US 281-W is a business route of US 281 that serves the central business district of Edinburg where it is known locally as Closner Boulevard. The highway was created in 1990 as a re-designation of Loop 113. ;Junction list

Encino business route

Bus. US 281-U is from US 281 north of Encino southward to US 281 south of Encino, a distance of approximately 2.8 miles.

Falfurrias business route

Bus. US 281-T is from 15th St, north of SH 285, to Taylor Rd, south of SH 285, a distance of approximately 1.84 miles.

Alice business route

Bus. US 281-R is from the new location of US 281, approximately 1.0 mile north of FM 3376, southward to US 281 at FM 625, a distance of approximately 7.8 miles.

Lampasas business route

Bus. US 281-J is from a segment of US 281 was redesignated on the state highway system as Bus. US 281-J from the intersection of US 183 southwestward to the intersection of US 190, a distance of approximately 0.4 miles.

Whitsett–Campbellton loop

Alternate U.S. Route 281 is an alternate routing of US 281 that serves the small communities of Whitsett and Campbellton. The highway was designated in 1982 when the main highway was re-routed east along I-37.

Lampasas truck route

Truck U.S. Route 281 is a truck route of US 281 located in

. Truck US 281 begins at the intersection of US 281 and E. E. Ohnmeiss Drive near Hancock Springs Park. The highway travels for east along E. E. Ohnmeiss Drive before reaching an intersection with US 183 (Key Avenue) / US 190 (Central Texas Expressway). Truck US 281 then turns north onto Key Avenue, running concurrent with US 183 and US 190. After running for along Key Avenue, the highways then intersect the main route of US 281, which is the northern terminus of Truck US 281. The truck route provides a more direct routing to US 183 south and US 190 east over the main US 281. Truck US 281 also provides a wider crossing over the Sulphur Creek, with the Key Avenue bridge having five lanes (two travel lanes in each direction plus a bi-directional center lane), whereas the older crossing on the original US 281 is only two lanes. ;Junction list

Wichita Falls business loop

Notes

References

External links