State Highway 31 (SH 31) runs from U.S. 84 northeast of

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

via

Corsicana Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-business ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

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 ...

Kilgore Kilgore may refer to: Fictional characters * Kilgore Trout, a recurring character in the novels of Kurt Vonnegut * Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore, a character in the Francis Ford Coppola movie ''Apocalypse Now'' * Teddybear Kilgore (AKA Kilgour), a cha ...

to U.S. 80 in Longview.

History

SH 31 was a route proposed on October 9, 1917 to run from Waco northeast via Corsicana and Athens to Tyler, which remains the western portion of its current route to this day. On November 27, 1922, the route had been extended northeast to

Gladewater Gladewater is a city in Gregg and Upshur counties in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 census population of 6,134. In the early 20th century, Gladewater was an oil boom town. In 1995, the Texas Legislature proclaimed it the "Antique Capital o ...

, replacing part of SH 15 so that SH 15 had only one route west of Gladewater. On October 26, 1932, SH 31 Spur was designated through

Malakoff Malakoff () is a suburban commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department southwest of Paris, France. Located from the centre of the city, it had a population of 30,286 in 2016. The European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) is base ...

. On September 26, 1939, the section from Tyler to Gladewater was reassigned to U.S. 271 (which it had been cosigned with earlier), with SH 31 now being extended east to Kilgore over former SH 176. SH 31 Spur was renumbered as Spur 63. On June 30, 1971, SH 31 was extended north to I-20 concurrent with US 259. When U.S. 259 was rerouted on July 25, 1985, SH 31 was extended northeast into Longview. In 2013, a new route was designated around Corsicana for a proposed bypass. Construction on the bypass began in 2016 and opened to traffic in 2021.

Route description

SH 31 begins at an interchange with

US 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short distan ...

northeast of

. The highway travels through rural areas of

McLennan County McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 260,579 . Its county seat and largest city is Waco. The U.S. census 2021 county population estimate is 263,115. The county i ...

, passing just north of Axtell. SH 31 intersects FM 939 then enters Hill County. In Hill County, the highway bypasses the towns of Mount Calm and

Hubbard Hubbard may refer to: Places Canada *Hubbard, Saskatchewan *Hubbards, Nova Scotia Canada/United States * Mount Hubbard, a mountain on the Alaska/Yukon border *Hubbard Glacier, a large freshwater glacier in Alaska and Yukon Greenland *Hubbard Gla ...

. Entering

Navarro County Navarro County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 52,624. Its county seat is Corsicana, Texas, Corsicana. The county is named for José Anton ...

, SH 31 runs through Dawson and has an overlap with FM 709 through the town then intersects FM 667 near Navarro Mills Lake. The highway then bypasses

, passing near or through the towns of Oak Valley, Retreat, and Mildred and intersects

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

and

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 US 281. It serves as the major truck route between Fort Worth and Am ...

in southeast Corsicana. SH 31 passes just north of the

Richland-Chambers Reservoir Richland-Chambers Reservoir is the third largest inland reservoir by surface area and the 8th largest reservoir by water volume in Texas formed by the impoundment of Richland Creek and Chambers Creek east-southeast of the town of Corsicana and so ...

before entering the town of Powell. The highway then travels through the town of Kerens before crossing the Trinity River into Henderson County. In Henderson County, the route becomes less rural. SH 31 passes just south of the Cedar Creek Reservoir while serving the towns of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

and

. The highway then enters

, bypassing the town on Loop 7; along with Loop 7, SH 31 also has overlaps with

US 175 U.S. Highway 175 (US 175) is a east-west United States Numbered Highway located completely within the state of Texas. It comes very close to meeting its parent route, U.S. Route 75 in Texas, US 75, but decommissioning and rerouting in Downt ...

and SH 19 around Athens. SH 31 then leaves the loop in northeast Athens near an intersection with FM 317 then travels through the towns of Murchison and Brownsboro. The highway crosses over the northwestern segment of

Lake Palestine Lake Palestine is a freshwater reservoir in northeast Texas, created for industrial, municipal, and recreational purposes. Description The reservoir was formed by the construction of the 5720-foot-long Blackburn Crossing Dam on the Neches River ...

, travels through

Chandler Chandler or The Chandler may refer to: * Chandler (occupation), originally head of the medieval household office responsible for candles, now a person who makes or sells candles * Ship chandler, a dealer in supplies or equipment for ships Arts ...

, then crosses the

Neches River The Neches River () begins in Van Zandt County west of Rhine Lake and flows for through the piney woods of east Texas, defining the boundaries of 14 counties on its way to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, ...

into Smith County. SH 31 intersects Loop 49 Toll and travels through suburban areas of Smith County before entering

. The highway travels through Tyler along Front Street, passing just south of the downtown area and serves as the southern terminus of

US 271 U.S. Route 271 (US 271, US-271) is a north–south United States highway. Never a long highway, it went from bi-state route (Arkansas and Oklahoma) to a tri-state route (Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas). Its southern terminus is in Tyler, ...

near

The Health Science Center at UT Tyler The Health Science Center at UT Tyler (UT Tyler HSC) refers to the health science education branch of the University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) academic campus on U.S. Highway 271. UT Tyler HSC was chartered in 1977 by the University of Texas ...

, then leaves the city just after intersecting Loop 323 for a second time. Leaving Tyler, the highway's route becomes more rural again, traveling through wooded areas before entering

. In Kilgore, SH 31 has a brief overlap with

US 259 U.S. Route 259 (US 259, US-259) is a north–south spur of U.S. Route 59 that runs for through rural areas of northeast Texas and southeast Oklahoma. The highway's southern terminus is near Nacogdoches, Texas at an interchange with it ...

that lasts until

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between ...

. The highway has an interchange with Loop 281 then enters Longview. SH 31 turns in a more northward direction at South Street then ends at

US 80 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

near downtown, with the road continuing north as Spur 63.

Major intersections

Business routes

SH 31 has four business routes.

Hubbard business loop

Business State Highway 31-C (Bus. SH 31-C) is a business loop that runs through

. The highway is known locally as North 4th Street. ;Junction list

Corsicana business loop

Business State Highway 31-D (Bus. SH 31-D) is a business loop that runs through

. The route was designated in 2013. The highway is known locally as 7th Avenue or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Just east of FM 2555 (45th Street) the road passes by

Navarro College Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Fairfield, Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students. The Corsica ...

. ;Junction list

Athens business loop

Business State Highway 31-H (Bus. SH 31-H) is a business loop that runs through

. The route was designated in 2004 when SH 31 was re-routed along Loop 7. The highway is known locally as Corsicana Street west of downtown and east of downtown it is known as Tyler Street and briefly runs along Prairieville Street for a block near the Henderson County Courthouse. SH 31 Bus. H has an overlap with US 175 Bus. in the western part of town. ;Junction list

Mount Calm business loop

Business State Highway 31-K (Bus. SH 31-K) is a business loop that runs near Mount Calm. The road was designated on July 30, 2015 when SH 31 was rerouted to the west. Both ends of the highway have no access to westbound SH 31 with traffic only be able to access eastbound SH 31. The only highway SH 31 Bus. K intersects between its termini is FM 339. ;Junction list

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Texas State Highway 31 031 Transportation in Gregg County, Texas Transportation in Smith County, Texas Transportation in Henderson County, Texas Transportation in Navarro County, Texas Transportation in Hill County, Texas Transportation in McLennan County, Texas