Interstate 20 in Texas (I-20) is a major east–west

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

in the Southern United States, running east from a junction with

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

east of Kent, Texas, through 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 a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...

to the border with Louisiana near Waskom, Texas. The original distance of I-20 was from I-10 to the Louisiana border, reduced to the current distance of with the rerouting of I-20 in the 1980s and 1990s. I-20 is known as the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway within the

History

I-20 in Texas was designated in 1959, and was to replace or run parallel to

U.S. Route 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 rou ...

(US 80). Initial construction began from east to west and as bypass loops around larger cities. On October 1, 1964, I-20 was rerouted so that it followed I-35W through Fort Worth (it still followed I-35E through Dallas). By 1967, the highway was complete from the Louisiana border to the western side of Fort Worth on a route to the south of US 80, with slower construction in the lesser populated areas of West Texas concurrent with US 80. On December 2, 1971, I-20 was rerouted across the southern side of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, with the old section through downtown Dallas and Fort Worth being redesignated as I-30. In 1991, the entire concurrent designation of US 80 was removed from the I-10 interchange to Dallas.

Route description

West Texas

I-20 begins its eastward journey at a junction with

in a desolate region of West Texas about east of the town of Kent. I-20 leaves the interchange with I-10 with a speed limit of until milemarker 89. I-20 also generally heads to the east-northeast passing by the cities of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

and

Midland Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...

while transitioning from the West Texas desert to the prairie. I-20 runs concurrently with the

La Entrada al Pacífico La Entrada al Pacífico is a trade corridor designated as "Trade Corridor 56" by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. The corridor is an international project between Mexico and the United States as a route from the Pacific Ocean po ...

corridor from its junction with US 385 in Odessa to its junction with

Farm to Market Road 1788 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 ...

(FM 1788) near

Midland International Airport Midland International Air and Space Port (formerly Midland International Airport) is in the city limits of Midland, Texas, United States, about midway between Downtown Midland and Downtown Odessa, owned and operated by the City of Midland. In ...

. Near Sweetwater, I-20 begins to head east as it heads toward the city of Abilene. In Abilene, I-20 curves toward the north and transverses the northern part of the city while also forming the northern arc of the loop around the city. I-20 continues heading east from Abilene until the town of

Eastland SS ''Eastland'' was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On 24 July 1915, the ship rolled over onto its side while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. In total, 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was the largest loss ...

when I-20 takes a more northeasterly route toward Weatherford while transitioning from the West Texas prairie to the central plains of North Texas as the terrain grows hilly. In Weatherford, I-20 again heads back toward the east as it heads toward the

Dallas–Fort Worth area

I-20 interchanges with I-30 west of Fort Worth with I-30 heading east and I-20 to the southeast. I-20 heads back toward the east when it interchanges with

I-820 Interstate 820 (I-820) is a loop of I-20 in Fort Worth, Texas, of approximately around the city and some of its suburbs. Exit numbers begin at its intersection with I-20 in southwest Fort Worth, and continue in a clockwise direction around ...

. I-20 forms the southern arc of the complete loop around the city of

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, and serves as the southernmost west–east freeway in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Interchanging with I-35W south of downtown Fort Worth, I-20 heads east toward Dallas passing through Arlington, where it is also known as the

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Memorial Highway.But see also US 190, another road which has been designated the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway. From Arlington, I-20 passes into Dallas County at

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it th ...

and heads east in to Dallas, interchanging with I-35E south of downtown and I-45 shortly after. I-20 intersects with

I-635 Interstate 635 may refer to: * Interstate 635 (Kansas–Missouri), a connector highway between Interstate 35 in Overland Park, Kansas and Interstate 29 in Kansas City, Missouri, signed as the Harry Darby Memorial Highway * Interstate 635 (Texas), ...

(where it completes a three-quarter loop around the city) on Dallas' southeast side before heading east toward East Texas. The Interstate varies from 4 to 10 lanes from its I-30 junction near Aledo to its US 80 junction near Terrell.

East Texas

I-20 leaves the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and heads generally to the east-southeast through East Texas. I-20 begins heading to the east as it passes to the north of the city of

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

. The intersection of I-20 at US 69 in Lindale just north of

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

is the highest traffic count intersection on I-20 east of Terrell to the Louisiana state line. From Lindale, I-20 continues east, going through the piney woods region of East Texas intersecting US 259 with Kilgore to the south and Longview to the north and US 59 future I-369 with Marshall just to the north and Texarkana further north along US 59 future I-369. I-20 leaves the state of Texas near

Waskom Waskom is a city in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 census-tabulated population of 1,910, down from 2,160 residents in 2010. It is located in Harrison County and lies approximately east of the county seat, Marshall, on U.S. Route 80 and Int ...

and just west of the Shreveport, Bossier City, Louisiana area.

Auxiliary route

I-20 has one auxiliary route in Texas. *

is a loop around the city of Fort Worth. I-20 absorbed the southern section as part of its relocation to the south and I-30 being extended westward over the old alignment of I-20 through the center of town.

Business routes

All of the business loops within Texas are maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). I-20 has fifteen business loops in the state, all located in western Texas. Along I-20, TxDOT identifies each business route as Business Interstate 20 (Bus. I-20) followed by an alphabetic suffix. Along Texas Interstates, the alphabetic suffixes on business route names ascend eastward and northward. There are gaps in the alphabetic values to allow for future system expansion. The alphabetic naming suffixes are included as small letters on the bottom of route shields. State Highway Loop 254 (Loop 254) takes the place of a business route in Ranger, Texas, and follows the original route of US 80. I-20 business routes in Texas generally follow the path of the former US 80 through the central portions of towns now bypassed by the Interstate route.

Exit list

Notes

References

External links