U.S. Route 81 has eight
special routes. Three are in
Texas, one in
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 ...
, two in
Kansas, and two in
North Dakota.
Texas
There are officially three business routes of
US 81 designated by the
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Additional former alignments of US 81 are designated as
state highway loops and
state highway spurs, while others became
business routes of Interstate 35
There are fourteen business routes of Interstate 35 (I-35): nine (plus two former business routes) are in Texas, two are in Iowa, and three are in Minnesota.
Texas
Laredo business loop
Business Interstate 35-A (Bus. I-35-A) in Laredo runs ...
(I-35) after US 81 was eliminated south of
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 ...
in 1991.
San Antonio
Loop 353 is the former routing of US 81 in southern San Antonio, formed in 1961 when US 81 was rerouted onto the
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 ...
freeway to the east. It was originally marked as a business route of US 81.
Loop 368 is the former routing of US 81 in northern San Antonio, formed in 1962 when US 81 was rerouted onto the
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 ...
freeway to the east. It was originally marked as a business route of US 81.
Rhome
Business U.S. Highway 81-E (Bus. US 81-E) is the former route of
US 81 and
US 287 through
Rhome. The route was originally designated as Loop 506 on May 31, 1972, and signed as a business route of US 81 and US 287; the portion south of its intersection with
Spur 440 (numbered the same day as a redesignation of
SH 114 through Rhome) was also signed as a business route of SH 114.
Loop 506 was cancelled and transferred to Business US 81 on June 21, 1990.
Decatur
Business U.S. Highway 81-D (Bus. US 81-D) is the former route of
US 81 and
US 287 through
Decatur. The route was originally designated as Loop 357 on April 30, 1962.
Loop 357 was cancelled and transferred to Business US 81 on June 21, 1990.
Alvord
Business U.S. Highway 81-C (Bus. US 81-C) is the former route of
US 81 and
US 287 through
Alvord. The route was originally designated as Loop 249 on June 16, 1980.
Loop 249 was cancelled and transferred to Business US 81 on June 21, 1990.
Although not officially designated as
Business US 287, the route is cosigned as such from the US 81/US 287 bypass and at the junction with
FM 1655.
Oklahoma
Rush Springs
The southernmost Business US-81 in Oklahoma is in the town of
Rush Springs, Oklahoma
Rush Springs is a town in Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,231 at the 2010 census. The town promotes itself as the "Watermelon Capital of the World."
The community's largest event is the annual Rush Springs Watermelon ...
. It begins south of the town, following Rush Street into the central business district. In the middle of downtown Rush Springs, there is a four way stop with Blakeley Avenue. Blakeley carries
Oklahoma State Highway 17
State Highway 17, abbreviated as SH-17, is an east–west highway in Oklahoma. It is a relatively short highway, extending for only from U.S. Highway 277 (US-277) in Elgin to Business US-81 in Rush Springs. It has no lettered spur routes ( ...
, which has its eastern terminus at Business US-81. The business route continues north on Rush Street before angling to the northwest to rejoin mainline US-81.
Business US-81 in Rush Springs is signed with a US-81 shield with a small "B" appended after the number. This method of signing business routes is unusual for Oklahoma.
Business US-81 was originally part of mainline US-81. On May 10, 1971, US-81 was relocated to run west of town, and Business US-81 was designated along the old alignment.
Kansas
McPherson
Business US-81 in Kansas is in
McPherson. This route is long. It begins at the intersection of I-135, US-81, and
US-56 east of McPherson. It goes west on Kansas Ave. for about two miles (3 km) in a concurrency with US-56 and turns south on Main Street for , passing
Central Christian College and
National Cooperative Refinery Association
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
. At
K-61, it exits east in a
"wrong-way" concurrency with K-61 before ending at I-135 and US-81 southeast of McPherson.
BUS US-81 in McPherson first appeared on the Kansas Department of Transportation Map in 1970 when Interstate 35W (now
Interstate 135
Interstate 135 (I-135) is an approximately auxiliary Interstate Highway in central and south-central Kansas, United States. I-135, which is signed as north–south, runs between I-35 and the Kansas Turnpike in Wichita north to I-70, ...
) was completed between McPherson and Salina.
Lindsborg
Former Business US-81 in
Lindsborg
Lindsborg is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,776. Lindsborg is known for its large Swedish, other Nordic and Scandinavian Americans ( Nordic- Scandinavian), and German ...
began at the intersection of
Interstate 135
Interstate 135 (I-135) is an approximately auxiliary Interstate Highway in central and south-central Kansas, United States. I-135, which is signed as north–south, runs between I-35 and the Kansas Turnpike in Wichita north to I-70, ...
,
US-81, and
K-4 north of Lindsborg on an older routing of US-81. It shared a concurrency with K-4, which turns to the west in south Lindsborg. At this junction, it went for another mile south before turning east on Smoky Valley Road, ending later at I-135 and US-81. This BUS US-81 had a total length of .
The Lindsborg business loop first appeared in 1970, at the same time as the McPherson loop.
North Dakota
Fargo
Grand Forks
It starts off of I-29/US-81 at the 32nd Avenue Exit were it travels east on 32nd Avenue to Washington Street S and Follows Washington Street all the way back to I-29
References
External links
*
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*
Kansas Highways Routelog*
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