State Highway 96 (SH 96), also known as League City Parkway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The highway runs approximately between

Interstate 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 146/future SH 99 in

Galveston County Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...

, connecting the cities of

League City League City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Galveston County, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 112,129. The city of League City has a small portion north of Clear Creek within Harris ...

and Kemah.

Route description

SH 96 begins in

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 ...

, just south of the Harris County line. From here, the highway travels to the east, crossing SH 3. It then passes over the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

line and has an incomplete interchange with the parallel Dickinson Avenue; access to the street is available from westbound SH 96 only, while traffic on the street can enter only eastbound SH 96. The route then crosses FM 270 before turning to the northeast, passing the site of the former Houston Gulf Airport. After intersections with several other surface streets, including the Columbia Memorial Parkway, SH 96 ends at SH 146/future SH 99 at the city line between League City and Kemah.

History

SH 96 was designated along its current route on April 28, 1994. The SH 96 designation was previously used on a route from Raymondville to Harlingen, mainly along the Gulf Coast, beginning on June 16, 1924. On February 22, 1928, it was extended north to the Kenedy County Line. On March 19, 1930, a section from Chapman Ranch to Corpus Christi was added, replacing that section of SH 57 and creating a gap. On April 1, 1931, the sections were connected. On August 3, 1932, the connecting section was to go through Rivera. The connecting section was finally added to the state highway log on November 30, 1932. On April 19, 1935, SH 96 was rerouted to go through

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

. On July 15, 1935, the section from Chapman Ranch to Bishop was cancelled. The route was truncated to Robstown on September 26, 1939, with an already-constructed section between Corpus Christi and Chapman Ranch transferred to SH 286. SH 96 was instead extended to Sinton, replacing a portion of SH 44. This was redesignated as U.S. Highway 77 on June 30, 1945 when that route was extended south. A section of FM 1266 shared a concurrency with SH 96, providing access to FM 646 to the south and FM 518 to the north. This concurrency was removed on May 29, 2003 when sections of FM 1266 within League City were returned to the city's jurisdiction.

Major intersections

References

{{reflist 096 Greater Houston Galveston Bay Area Transportation in Galveston County, Texas U.S. Route 77