U.S. Route 283 (US 283) is a
United States Numbered Highway whose southern terminus is 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 ...
near
Brady. It runs primarily south–north through rural areas of the state, via towns and cities such as
Coleman,
Albany, and
Seymour, before crossing the
Red River into
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 ...
north of
Vernon. At a length of , US 283 in Texas is relatively short compared to other U.S. highways that travel the state.
Route description
The southern terminus of US 283 is at an intersection with
US 87 about northwest of
Brady.
The highway travels through rural areas of
McCulloch County before entering
Coleman County.
US 283 maintains its rural route before entering the town of
Santa Anna, beginning an overlap with
US 84
U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short distan ...
.
The two highways travel northwest together to the town of
Coleman before they split.
US 283 returns to a rural route once again and intersects
State Highway 36 (SH 36) in southern
Callahan County.
The highway runs through the city of
Baird
Baird may refer to:
Places United States
* Baird, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Baird, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Baird, Texas, a city
* Baird, Washington, a community
* Baird Mountains, Alaska
* Baird Inlet, Alaska
...
, where it crosses
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 ...
(I-20).
US 283 next enters the city of
Albany, where it shares a short overlap with
US 180 and
SH 6.
Just south of
Throckmorton, US 283 begins a lengthy overlap with
US 183.
The two routes travel to
Seymour and begin an overlap with
US 277 and
US 82.
US 183 and US 283 separate from US 82 and US 277 in the unincorporated community of
Mabelle.
In
Vernon, US 283 separates from US 183 at a junction with
US 70 and
US 287.
US 283 runs in a slight northwest direction before crossing the
Red River into
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 ...
.
The segment that is concurrent with US 84 in Coleman County and the segment that is concurrent with US 277 between Seymour and Mabelle are part of the
National Highway System (NHS),
a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.
History
The US 283 route and number were originally approved by the
American Association of State Highway Officials
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United St ...
(AASHO) in 1930,
and the route was officially listed as part of the Texas state highway system by 1932.
Its southern terminus was originally near
Brownwood in the vicinity of the present-day city of
Early
Early may refer to:
History
* The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.:
** Early Christianity
** Early modern Europe
Places in the United States
* Early, Iowa
* Early, Texas
* Early ...
, which would be incorporated in 1951.
It ran north along present-day US 183 to
Rising Star and
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 northwest to
Albany along what is now
SH 6, at which point it continued north into Oklahoma along its present route.
The segment of present-day US 283 between Albany and Throckmorton had been designated as part of the Southwest Trail, connecting
Laredo to the Oklahoma state line near
Burkburnett
Burkburnett is a city in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas metropolitan statistical area. Its population was 10,811 at the 2010 census. The community newspaper, the ''Burkburnett Informer/Star,'' is publi ...
, in 1917.
By 1922, the roadway connecting Cisco and Throckmorton was shown as part of
SH 23.
SH 23 was extended to Seymour in 1923 and via Vernon to the Oklahoma state line in 1925.
The segment from Brownwood to Rising Star was designated as
SH 129 in 1928,
and it and US 283 were briefly cosigned until 1934, when SH 129 was cancelled.
By 1935, US 283 and SH 23 were cosigned from Rising Star to the Oklahoma state line.
By the time the state highway system was
redescribed in 1939, US 283 had replaced SH 23 from Brownwood to
Brady and was extended to
US 83 in
Junction
Junction may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film
* Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film
* Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille
* Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002
* Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
,
replacing
SH 9 between Brady and
Mason
Mason may refer to:
Occupations
* Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces
* Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...
and
SH 29 between Mason and Junction.
The codesignation with SH 23 was also removed, as that route was cancelled. AASHO had also approved the extension of US 183 into Texas that year; it overlapped US 283 from the Oklahoma state line to Albany, then ran over former
SH 191 via
Baird
Baird may refer to:
Places United States
* Baird, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Baird, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Baird, Texas, a city
* Baird, Washington, a community
* Baird Mountains, Alaska
* Baird Inlet, Alaska
...
to
Coleman,
and replaced
SH 16 to Brady.
From here, US 87, US 183, and US 283 ran together to Mason,
where US 87 separated and US 183 and US 283 continued concurrently to Junction.
In 1940, TxDOT requested that the US 283 designation be removed between Brady and Junction, but this was denied by AASHO.
In 1951, the US 183 and US 283 designations were switched south of Albany, in anticipation of an extension of US 183 to
Corpus Christi, and also to reduce the overlap in the two routes. US 283 took over the routing of US 183 from Albany to Brady; US 183 was rerouted to run from Early to
Refugio, replacing
SH 284 and
SH 74,
and overlapping
SH 29.
The roadway from Brady to Junction became part of an extended
US 377.
US 283 is indicated as having run concurrently with US 87 from its current southern terminus to the center of Brady until at least 1972.
In 1952, US 183 was rerouted along its current configuration from
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, ...
via
Breckenridge to the current southern end of its concurrency with US 283 near
Throckmorton, replacing
SH 187 and a segment of
SH 6. This was done to further reduce the concurrency of the two routes, and because it was desired to route US 183 over roadways that were superior and saw more traffic.
The road between Albany and Cisco was renumbered as an extension of
US 380,
and would become part of SH 6 in 1971.
The US 84/US 283 bypass route around the east side of Coleman had been proposed by 1965.
The project was let in 1968,
and construction was completed by 1969. The section on the south side of Coleman that did not overlap
SH 206 became an extension of
FM 53 (now
SH 153).
In 2006, US 283, along with US 183 and US 277, was redesignated to follow a new freeway bypass around
Seymour. The bypass was completed in 2009,
and the former route was retained on the state highway system 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 or ...
.
Junction list
Seymour business route
US 283 has one business route in Texas, inventoried as Business U.S. Highway 283-B (Bus. US 283-B), in
Seymour.
It runs concurrently with Business U.S. Highway 183-B (Bus. US 183-B) and Business U.S. Highway 277-C (Bus. US 277-C) for its entire length.
The combined business route begins just south of the Seymour city limits at an interchange with the US 183/US 277/US 283 freeway bypass. It runs north along Main Street, intersecting
Spur 334, before reaching a junction with
SH 114 (Ingram Street). Westbound SH 114 runs concurrently with the business route until they reach
US 82 (California Street). Here, westbound SH 114 turns onto westbound US 82, and
FM 422 begins to the east. The business routes and eastbound US 82 run concurrently to the north, curving to the northeast at an intersection with RM Spur 1919, before meeting mainline
RM 1919. Business US 183/US 277/US 283 end at another interchange with the US 183/US 277/US 283 bypass northeast of the city, with eastbound US 82 joining the other three routes toward
Mabelle.
The business routes, along with Spur 334, were designated on August 24, 2006, while the designations of US 183, US 277, and US 283 were all shifted onto the freeway bypass to the south and east of Seymour. Upon completion of the bypass in 2009,
the former route through the city along Main Street, along with the newly-constructed connection to the bypass, was redesignated Business US 183/US 277/US 283, while the former segment between the US 277 south cutoff and Main Street became
Spur 334.
References
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=283, state=Texas, stateafter=Oklahoma
83-2
Transportation in McCulloch County, Texas
Transportation in Coleman County, Texas
Transportation in Callahan County, Texas
Transportation in Shackelford County, Texas
Transportation in Throckmorton County, Texas
Transportation in Baylor County, Texas
Transportation in Wilbarger County, Texas
2 in Texas