State Highway 6 (SH 6) runs from the Red River, the Texas–Oklahoma state line, to northwest of

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, where it is known as the Old Galveston Highway. In Sugar Land and Missouri City, it is known as Alvin-Sugarland Road and runs perpendicular to Interstate 69/ U.S. Highway 59 (I-69/US 59). In the

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

area, it runs north to

Farm to Market Road 1960 Farm to Market Road 1960 (FM 1960) is a farm-to-market road in the U.S. state of Texas, maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation. Its western terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Highway 290 (US 290) and State Highway 6 (SH ...

(FM 1960), then northwest along USS 290 to Hempstead, and south to

Westheimer Road Westheimer Road () is an arterial east–west road in Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Bagby Street in Downtown and terminates at the Westpark Tollway on the southern edge of George Bush Park, stretching about long. The street was n ...

and Addicks, and is known as Addicks Satsuma Road. In the Bryan– College Station area, it is known as the Earl Rudder Freeway. In Hearne, it is known as Market Street. In Calvert, it is known as Main Street. For most of its length, SH 6 is not a

limited-access road A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...

. In 1997, the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

designated SH 6 as the Texas Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.

History

Historic routes

SH 6 was one of the original 25 state highways proposed on June 21, 1917, overlaying the King of Trails Highway. From 1919, the routing mostly followed present-day US 75 from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, then US 77 to

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 ...

Current routes

On August 21, 1923, SH 6 was extended along the eastern Gulf Division branch of SH 2 to keep SH 2 from having two separate highways with the same number. In 1926, US 75 and US 77 were overlaid on northern SH 6 from Waco northward through the Dallas area to Denison, and US 75 was overlaid on the section from Houston to Galveston. In 1935, US 290 was overlaid on the section from Hempstead to Houston. While the routes were marked concurrently, the concurrent SH 6 kept its numbering until September 26, 1939, when SH 6 was truncated to the Gulf Division routing ending at Waco. It was rerouted south from Hempstead to Galveston, replacing SH 242 and SH 38. Texas 157

On September 26, 1945, the roadway was extended northwest to Breckenridge over SH 67, continuing northwest to near Throckmorton along SH 157, which was decommissioned. That same day, the section in southeast Texas between Hempstead and

Sugar Land Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...

was canceled, as it was redundant with the new FM 359. On August 20, 1952, the route was truncated on the north side, ending near Breckenridge. This section was transferred to US 183. On September 26, 1967, SH 6 was rerouted to bypass Bremond, with the old route through Bremond transferred to SH 14 and FM 46. On November 1, 1968, the section between Hempstead and Sugar Land was re-established, as it was routed along US 290 until it reached FM 1960, then replacing FM 1960 southward to where the southern branch of SH 6 intersected to what is now I-69/US 59 in Sugar Land. That portion of FM 1960 from US 290 to then US 90 at Addicks was built in the 1950s, replacing and rerouting some of what was known as Jackrabbit Road. In the early 1970s, the northern section underwent a massive rerouting due to realignments of numerous U.S. and state highwayss. On August 4, 1971, the section from Breckenridge south to Eastland was redesignated as SH 69. SH 6 was instead rerouted west along US 80 to

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

, then replaced US 380 northwest to near Old Glory. The route was again extended on July 31, 1975, replacing SH 283 between Old Glory and Stamford northward to the Texas–Oklahoma border, completing the current routing of SH 6. The old route of SH 6 was transferred to new SH 283. On October 27, 1989, a section from US 90A to McKeever Road (McKeever Bypass) was added. A spur, SH 6A was designated on August 1, 1928, from SH 6 to Texas City. On March 19, 1930, this route was renumbered as SH 146. In June 2016, a section of the highway in

Eastland County Eastland County is a county located in central West Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,725. The county seat is Eastland. The county was founded in 1858 and later organized in 1873. It is named for William Mosby Eastland, ...

between

and Albany was destroyed due to major flooding.

Route description

SH 6 begins at an intersection with

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 SH 3 in Bayou Vista, and proceeds to the northwest, paralleling the ATSF railroad tracks. The highway makes a mostly straight line through Galveston, Brazoria, and Fort Bend Counties, passing through the city of

Alvin Alvin may refer to: Places Canada *Alvin, British Columbia United States *Alvin, Colorado *Alvin, Georgia *Alvin, Illinois * Alvin, Michigan *Alvin, Texas * Alvin, Wisconsin, a town *Alvin (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community Other ...

. As the highway traverses through Sugar Land, it makes a turn to the north after passing intersections with I-69/US 59 and Alternate US 90. The highway continues north into western Harris County, reaching the Westpark Tollway and I-10. It then intersects US 290 in CyFair, joining it as they travel to the northwest, thus finishing a large routing around the southern and western portions of Houston. The route continues northwest with US 290 as a limited-access highway. At Hockley, the highway veers to the right, forking from an old alignment of the highway, and bypassing the cities of Waller and Hempstead to the north. At Hempstead, it splits from US 290 and turns northward into Grimes County, where it bypasses the city of Navasota, while Business SH 6 passes through town. The highway then turns northwest again, crossing into Brazos County. The highway starts another bypass here, going around the Bryan–College Station area to the northeast, while the business route goes through these cities. On the northeast side of Bryan, the highway meets US 190, and they travel together to the northwest out of the region. SH 6 splits with US 190 in the town of Hearne, but joins US 79 before that route splits to the northeast about a mile north of town. SH 6 then continues northwest, traveling through lesser populated farmlands, before approaching Waco. Before entering Waco, it turns southeast on Loop 340, and bypasses Waco to the south. It reaches an intersection with I-35, and then turns to the northwest again, crossing over

Lake Waco Lake Waco is a man-made reservoir located just northwest of Waco, in McLennan County, Texas, which serves as the western border for the city of Waco (pop. 135,858). This reservoir provides water to several cities in the Waco Metropolitan Stati ...

. The highway continues northwest and west through more farmland regions in Central Texas, before reaching an intersection with I-20 just south 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 ...

. The route briefly turns west, traveling along the former route of US 80, before turning back to the northwest at

. As it continues, it is briefly concurrent with US 180/US 277 in north central Texas. Just northwest of Stamford, the highway makes its final turn to the north at an intersection with SH 283. The highway then travels through sparsely populated areas of Haskell, Knox, Foard, and Hardeman counties before ending north of Quanah at the Red River, where it meets

Oklahoma State Highway 6 State Highway 6, abbreviated SH-6 or OK-6, is a state highway in Oklahoma. It runs in a crescent through the southwestern part of the state, running from the Texas state line north of Quanah, Texas, to State Highway 152 (Oklahoma), SH-152 in ...

Major intersections

Business routes

SH 6 has four

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

Marlin business loop

Business State Highway 6-N (Bus. SH 6-N, formerly Loop 23) is a

business loop A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

that runs from SH 6 near

Marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to deri ...

in central Texas. The road was bypassed on November 30, 1978 by SH 6 and designated Loop 23. The road was redesignated as Business SH 6-N on June 21, 1990.

Reagan business loop

Business State Highway 6-P (Bus. SH 6-P) is a business loop that runs near

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 ...

. The road was bypassed on June 25, 2015, by SH 6 when it was rerouted west., Bus. SH 6-P shares a short, one-block concurrency with FM 413 through Reagan. Both ends of the route are only accessible directly from SH 6 westbound. Access to SH 6 eastbound can only be reached via an interchange with SH 6 and FM 413. Major intersections

Bryan-College Station business loop

Business State Highway 6-R (Bus. SH 6-R, formerly Loop 507) is a

that runs through Bryan and College Station. The route runs on Texas Avenue in both cities. The route, created in 1972 when SH 6 was routed further north and east, is long. The road was redesignated as Bus. SH 6-R on June 21, 1990. It serves as the eastern boundary of

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

Navasota business loop

Business State Highway 6-S (Bus. SH 6-S, formerly Loop 508) is a

that runs through Navasota on La Salle Avenue. The route was created in 1972 when SH 6 was rerouted further north and east around town; it is long. The road was redesignated as Bus. SH 6-S on June 21, 1990.

References

External links