In the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

, U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is a U.S. Highway that begins on the

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

border and heads east through

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betw ...

and

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

to the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

border at Texarkana.

Route description

New Mexico to Wichita Falls

US 82 crosses into Texas from New Mexico at Texas Farm to Market Road 769, turning northeastward toward Plains, where it merges with

US 380 U.S. Route 380 (US 380) is an east–west United States highway. The highway's eastern terminus is in Greenville, Texas at an intersection with Interstate 30, of which the easternmost 3–4 miles are concurrent with US 69 in a loop around ...

. US 82 is co-signed with US 380 from Plains to

Brownfield In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land pre ...

, where it joins US 62, and US 380 leaves the route. US 82/62 continues northeastward toward

. In Lubbock, US 82 and US 62 split, where US 82 has been upgraded to a full access freeway, named the Marsha Sharp Freeway, in honor of retired Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball coach Marsha Sharp. On the east side of the city, US 82 travels as a surface street along Parkway Drive and it once again merges with US 62 (along with State Highway 114) where it continues eastward through Ralls, where US 62 makes a sharp turn to the north and leaves the route. US 82 continues eastward across the level plains of the

Llano Estacado The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the Nort ...

to Crosbyton and then dips downward as it crosses the White River of

Blanco Canyon Blanco Canyon is a canyon located in the U.S. state of Texas. Eroded by the White River into the Caprock Escarpment on the east side of the Llano Estacado, the canyon runs for in a southeasterly direction, gradually widening from its beginning i ...

, where the

Texas Department of Transportation 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 ...

maintains the Silver Falls Rest Area with facilities and hiking trails. After climbing out of

, US 82 eventually exits the

and enters the rolling plains near

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 ...

. US 82/SH 114 continues eastward as a co-signed route until

Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia * Seymour, Victoria, a township * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Seymour, Tasmania, a localit ...

, where it merges with U.S. Highways 183,

277 __NOTOC__ Year 277 ( CCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Paulinus (or, less frequently, year 1030 ''A ...

and

283 Year 283 ( CCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carus and Carinus (or, less frequently, year 1036 ''Ab urbe cond ...

, with US 183 and 283 leaving the route at Mabelle. US 82/277 continues eastward to

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. According ...

, merging with

I-44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

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 A ...

just south of downtown at Mile marker 0.

Wichita Falls to Arkansas

US 82 leaves US 287 at Henrietta and continues east towards the small towns of Nocona (beginning as a four-lane divided highway), St. Jo and Muenster and crossing

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

in Gainesville at a

partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to- arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also be ...

(It has since been converted to a frontage road interchange in 2012.). The highway continues east towards Whitesboro and Sherman where it crosses US Highway 75 at a three-level diamond interchange (the portion through Sherman is called the

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on ...

Freeway in honor of the country music star, who was born in Sherman). Prior to the 1990s, the two highways ran concurrently on the route of SH 56 before being rerouted northeast of Sherman on its present-day route. The highway continues east to

Bells Bells may refer to: * Bell, a musical instrument Places * Bells, North Carolina * Bells, Tennessee * Bells, Texas * Bells Beach, Victoria, an internationally famous surf beach in Australia * Bells Corners, Ontario Music * Bells, directly st ...

where US 82 cross

US Route 69 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well as ...

. In

Bonham, Texas Bonham is a city and the county seat of Fannin County, Texas. The population was 10,408 at the 2020 census. James Bonham (the city's namesake) sought the aid of James Fannin (the county's namesake) at the Battle of the Alamo. Bonham is part of t ...

, US 82 crosses SH 121 while the route runs parallel with SH 56 until Honey Grove where SH 56 ends. US 82 enters

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

at a diamond interchange where it runs concurrent with Loop 286 on the north side of the city as a

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 ...

runs through the center of the city before rejoining on the east side of Paris. At a diamond interchange on the north side of Paris, US 82/TX Loop 286 meets with US 271 where both highways run concurrent on the northeast side of town before US 82 branches off at another diamond interchange on the east side of Paris. After passing around Clarksville and other smaller towns the highway is crossed by

Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels from I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas, to I-40 in North Little Rock, A ...

east of New Boston at a partial cloverleaf and continues to run parallel to IH 30 into Arkansas through downtown Texarkana.

History

US 82 was first designated in Texas in 1939, traveling from Lubbock to Texarkana. The highway was extended from Lubbock to the New Mexico state line in 1963. Between 1974 and 1994, US 82 was re-routed from Whitesboro to Honey Grove; the old routing became SH 56. The highway was re-routed from Allendale Road to US 281/US 287 through Wichita Falls in 1998 with a bypass built around Holliday in 2005. US 82 was re-routed around Clarkesville in 2006, creating a concurrency with SH 37. The highway was re-routed south of Guthrie in 2007, with part of the former route becoming Spur 729.

Marsha Sharp Freeway

The Marsha Sharp Freeway, named for former Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball coach Marsha Sharp, was built along US 82 in

, with construction officially beginning in May 2003, with development going back to the 1980s. In 1998, funding was first received. The five-phase project was scheduled to be completed in 2015. Phase 2 of the project was scheduled to be completed in December 2008 at a cost of $140 million. It involved construction of the freeway from Salem Avenue to Avenue L and erecting interchanges at 19th Street, Quaker Avenue, Fourth Street, and Avenue Q in Lubbock. Currently construction on the freeway has started from Milwaukee Ave. to Upland Ave. and on the intersection of Spur 327 and U.S. 62/82. The section of freeway between West Loop 289 and Avenue L was widened from four lanes to six lanes between March 6, 2017 and March 5, 2018, officially marking the end of the freeway's construction.

Future

TxDOT began upgrading U.S. 82 in Grayson and Fannin County in 2013. The four-lane divided highway upgrade between Sherman and Bonham was completed in 2015. TxDOT plans to continue this upgrade to the Fannin and Lamar County line by 2020. Long term planning calls for U.S. 82 to be a four-lane divided highway system the entire length between Wichita Falls and Texarkana as a potential alternate route through north Texas in order to bypass the overcrowded Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. It is being upgraded to a 4 lane divided highway west of Nocona, and a partial bypass is planned to run south of Gainesville. Image:US 82 outside of Henrietta, TX.JPG, US 82 Outside of Henrietta, TX Image:Marsha Sharp Freeway, Lubbock, TX IMG 0231.JPG, The Marsha Sharp Freeway on

U.S. Highway 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...

Image:West On US82 BetweenGainesvilleAndSherman.jpg, Heading west on US-82 out of Sherman, TX

Major intersections

References