State Highway 70 (SH 70) is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. The route runs approximately from
US 277 near
Blackwell Blackwell may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Blackwell, Ontario
;United Kingdom
* Blackwell, County Durham, England
* Blackwell, Carlisle, Cumbria, England
* Blackwell (historic house), South Lakeland, Cumbria, England
* Blackwell, Bolsover, Alfre ...
to
US 83 south of
Perryton.
Route description
SH 70 begins in far northeastern
Coke County at a junction with
US 277 north of
Bronte.
The highway soon crosses into
Nolan County, where it serves as the northern terminus of
SH 153.
The first large city along SH 70's route is
Sweetwater; here, the route is concurrent with
Interstate 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 Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...
and
US 84 along the south side of the city, between I-20's Exits #244 and #247, before it resumes its northward course and enters
Fisher County.
SH 70 intersects
US 180 in
Roby and
SH 92 in
Rotan.
Continuing north into
Kent County, the route begins a concurrency with
US 380 that lasts until
Jayton.
In
Dickens County, SH 70 serves as the northern terminus of
SH 208 and passes through the east and north side of
Spur
A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...
before reaching
Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
and an intersection with
US 82 /
SH 114.
After heading almost due north from here, the route enters
Motley County and passes through the town of
Roaring Springs.
The next major city along the route is
Matador
A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...
, where SH 70 and
US 70 intersect one another (along with
US 62).
After leaving Matador, SH 70 enters
Hall County, where it has a brief concurrency with
SH 86 through
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
The highway then briefly turns to the northwest and enters
Briscoe County, beginning a brief concurrency with
SH 256, before turning to the west and reentering Hall County; the two routes separate near the community of
South Brice.
SH 70 resumes a more northerly path into
Donley County, and has a short concurrency with
US 287 through
Clarendon.
After the two routes separate, SH 70 heads due north to a junction with
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
at its Exit #124, near the Donley–
Gray County line.
Northbound SH 70 is concurrent with the freeway for about before the routes split at I-40 Exit #121. SH 70 continues north into
Pampa
The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...
, where it intersects
US 60 and has a half-mile duplex with
SH 152. After leaving Pampa, the route turns more to the north-northeast, and enters the sparsely-populated
Roberts County, where its only intersections are with a few
farm to market road
In the United States, a farm-to-market road or ranch-to-market road (sometimes farm road or ranch road for short) is a state highway or county road that connects rural or agricultural areas to market towns. These are better quality roads, usually ...
s that connect to the county seat of
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
.
SH 70 then enters
Ochiltree County and reaches its northern terminus at
US 83 south of
Perryton.
While the current official route description of SH 70 indicates a concurrency with US 83 to a junction with
SH 15 in Perryton, that roadway is presently signed only as US 83, which agrees with
TxDOT
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...
's County Map Book, and signage in Perryton at the SH 15 junction with US 83 directs traffic to SH 70 using "TO SH 70" markers.
History
SH 70 was originally designated on August 21, 1923 from
Aspermont to
San Angelo
San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...
along a portion of the original
SH 4, which had been shifted farther east. On October 13, 1925, it was routed through
Robert Lee. On September 18, 1929, SH 70 was rerouted to bypass Robert Lee. Part became SH 70A, but Robert Lee to San Angelo was cancelled, but restored as
SH 208 on July 16, 1934. On December 1, 1930, the route had been rerouted north to
Jayton, replacing
SH 161 and a small portion of
SH 84. On September 26, 1939, SH 70 was extended north from Jayton to
Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
, absorbing a portion of
SH 18. Significant extension came on October 10, 1947, when SH 70 was extended to
Perryton in the northern Panhandle; this was due to the realignment of
US 62 between Matador and
Ralls, bypassing Dickens, and the cancellation of SH 18 from Matador to Perryton.
On February 12, 1948,
US 277 was rerouted to a more westerly alignment between
Abilene, Texas
Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...
and
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...
, and the section from just south of Blackwell to near San Angelo was transferred to that route.
On September 27, 1957, SH 70 was shifted to a more westerly alignment in Dickens, and
Loop 120 was extended along the old route of SH 70 through the city.
A spur, SH 70A, was designated on September 18, 1929 from Robert Lee east to Bronte.
This route was renumbered as
SH 158 on March 19, 1930.
On September 27, 1985, Texas State Highway Loop 549 was designated as a bypass of SH 70 in Sweetwater and was signed, but not designated, as SH 70, and the old route was signed as a business route. On June 21, 1990, SH 70 was designated on Loop 549, and the old route of SH 70 became a business route, cancelling Loop 549.
Business route
SH 70 has one business route, Business SH 70-G in
Sweetwater, which is a former alignment of the state highway through that city. The route was designated in 1990, when SH 70 was rerouted along the south and east side of the city to use the
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 ...
freeway. The business route is also concurrent with
BL I-20 through downtown Sweetwater.
;Junction list
Major intersections
Notes
References
{{reflist, 2
070
Transportation in Ochiltree County, Texas
Transportation in Roberts County, Texas
Transportation in Gray County, Texas
Transportation in Donley County, Texas
Transportation in Hall County, Texas
Transportation in Briscoe County, Texas
Transportation in Motley County, Texas
Transportation in Dickens County, Texas
Transportation in Kent County, Texas
Transportation in Fisher County, Texas
Transportation in Nolan County, Texas
Transportation in Coke County, Texas