U.S. Route 80 (also known as U.S. Highway 80 and US 80) is a U.S. highway that begins in the state of

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 ...

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 ...

at an interchange with I-30. US 80 runs in an east–west direction for most of its length from Dallas to

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Before the advent of the

Interstate Highway System 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 ...

, US 80 through Texas was once a vital link in a major transcontinental highway with the national western terminus being in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

rather than Dallas. Since 1991, most of US 80 in Texas has been decommissioned in favor of

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 ...

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 ...

and I-30 between the New Mexico state line and its current western terminus.

History

The current route of US 80 in Texas is significantly shorter than it was when the highway was first commissioned in 1927. The highway in Texas used to run from the

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

state line, near

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

, to the

state line, via

Pecos Pecos may refer to: Places * Pecos River, rises near Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States * Pecos, Texas, a city in Reeves County, Texas, United States * Pecos County, Texas, named for the Pecos River ** Pecos Spring, a spring * Pecos, New Mexico, a ...

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 ...

, Abilene, Weatherford,

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 ...

, Longview and Marshall. Nationally, US 80 ran from

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, being a major transcontinental highway. Beginning in the 1950s, much of the highway was bypassed/replaced by the

. US 80 has been replaced by

from New Mexico to

, southwest of

. The rest of the highway has been replaced by I-20 and I-30 from Pecos to Louisiana. Replacement by the Interstates made US 80 an obsolete highway to the southwestern states. Between 1964 and 1989, US 80 was decommissioned entirely within

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and all of New Mexico outside of Anthony (which is located near the Texas state line). In 1991, the remainder of US 80 in both New Mexico and Texas west of Dallas was decommissioned, bringing the national western terminus to its current location. The old highway west of Dallas has since been replaced by local roads and state highways.

Route description

The current highway begins as a freeway at I-30 (also unsigned US 67) in

, almost in Mesquite. The freeway continues east into Mesquite where it meets

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), ...

at a

stack interchange A directional interchange, colloquially known as a stack interchange, is a type of grade-separated junction between two controlled-access highways that allows for free-flowing movement to and from all directions of traffic. These interchanges e ...

. East of I-635, the US 80 freeway serves as the northern terminus of SH 352, the main highway into downtown Mesquite. Bisecting Samuell Park, US 80 enters

Sunnyvale Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north ...

, then crosses into Kaufman County. The freeway makes a curve to the southeast, skirting the town of Forney. US 80 is the main highway and only freeway serving the town. Though there is no business loop through Forney proper, FM 688, which runs the entire length of Broad Street through town, serves a similar function. On the outskirts of

Terrell Terrell, Terell, Terrel, or Terrelle may refer to: Places United States *Terrell, Georgia, unincorporated community *Terrell, North Carolina, unincorporated community in Catawba County, North Carolina, United States *Terrell, Texas, city in Kau ...

, US 80 leaves the freeway and becomes a four lane divided highway known as Moore Avenue, intersecting SH 205 on the western edge of town, then SH 34 Bus. and SH 34 in the center of Terrell. The remainder of the freeway between Terrell and

makes up the full route of Spur 557. The entire US 80/Spur 557 freeway was a section of I-20 until 1987, when the Interstate was moved onto a new freeway through

Lawson Lawson may refer to: Places Australia * Lawson, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Lawson, New South Wales, a town in the Blue Mountains Canada * Lawson, Saskatchewan * Lawson Island, Nunavut United States * Lawson, Arkansas ...

and

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

. A pair of frontage roads services the entire US 80 segment of the freeway, except for a small area west of Forney, where US 80 crosses a bridge over the East Fork Trinity River. In

, US 80 serves as the major east–west highway in the town, passing through the

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

. US 80 leaves Terrell serving smaller communities, such as Elmo. US 80 intersects SH 19 east of Edgewood. The highway runs in mostly a straight line from Terrell to Mineola, where it intersects US 69 about 30 miles north of Tyler. US 80 leaves Mineola running in a slight southeast direction towards Longview. From here, the highway turns in a slight northeast direction traveling into Marshall. The highway soon overlaps

, leaving the interstate to serve the community of

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 ...

. The two highways cross into

, parallel with each other traveling to

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

Major intersections

Related Routes

U.S. Route 180 U.S. Route 180 is an east–west United States highway. Like many three-digit routes, US 180 no longer meets its "parent", US 80. US 80 was decommissioned west of Mesquite, Texas, and was replaced in Texas by Interstate 20 and Interstate 1 ...

* Texas State Highway 20 * Texas State Highway 180 *

Texas State Highway 352 State Highway 352 (SH 352) is a Texas state highway running from Dallas east through Mesquite before finally ending in Sunnyvale. The route mainly runs along Scyene Rd. The highway was designated on October 6, 1943 from U.S. Highway 80 in Mesq ...

Texas State Highway Spur 557 Spur 557 is a spur route in the city of Terrell in the U.S. state of Texas. Spur 557 is a freeway connector between I-20 and US 80. It is signed as "Spur 557 To I-20" eastbound or "Spur 557 To US 80" westbound. Spur 557 is the original rout ...

Texas State Highway Spur 580 Spur 580, also called Camp Bowie West, is a state highway spur route in western Fort Worth, Texas. Spur 580 is a former segment of U.S. Highway 80, and received its current designation when US 80 was decommissioned west of Mesquite, Texas. It is ...

Notes

References

External links

* * - Shows the historic extent of US 80 in Texas, including the decommissioned route between Anthony, New Mexico and Dallas. * - Map of US 80 through Texas prior to its truncation in 1991.
Historic U.S. Highway 80 in East Texas
- Web page on the official East Texas website highlighting the active portion of US 80 through the state.
Old Highway 80 Driving Directions by State - Bygone Byways
- Website section detailing directions and information on old and current routings of US 80 from Louisiana to California, with three entire sections dedicated to Texas. {{Commons category, U.S. Route 80 in Texas Texas 80 Transportation in Dallas County, Texas Transportation in Kaufman County, Texas Transportation in Van Zandt County, Texas Transportation in Smith County, Texas Transportation in Wood County, Texas Transportation in Upshur County, Texas Transportation in Gregg County, Texas Transportation in Harrison County, Texas 1927 establishments in Texas