U.S. Route 277 (US 277, US-277) is a north–south

United States Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

that is a spur route of

U.S. Route 77 U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the Mexican border, whe ...

. It runs for 633 miles (1,019 km) across

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 ...

and

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 ...

. US 277's northern terminus is in

Newcastle, Oklahoma Newcastle is a city in McClain County, Oklahoma, United States, and part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 10,984. History Newcastle became a dot on the map with the opening of a new post offi ...

Interstate 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 ...

, which is also the northern terminus of the

H.E. Bailey Turnpike The H. E. Bailey Turnpike is an toll road in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The route, opened on April 23, 1964, is a four-lane limited access highway that connects Oklahoma City to Lawton in its northern section and L ...

. Its southern terminus is in

Carrizo Springs, Texas Carrizo Springs is the largest city in and the county seat of Dimmit County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,368 at the 2010 census. (2018 estimate 5,470). The name of the town is derived from the local springs, which were named by th ...

U.S. Route 83 U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while US ...

. It passes through the states of Oklahoma and Texas. Most of U.S. 277's route through the two states overlaps other U.S. highways. Those include

U.S. 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canad ...

from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Chickasha Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,036 at the 2010 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The city is named for and strongly connected ...

, Oklahoma, U.S. 62 and U.S. 281 from five miles (8 km) west of Elgin, Oklahoma, to Lawton, U.S. 281 from Lawton 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. Accordin ...

, Texas, U.S. 82 from Wichita Falls to Seymour, Texas, and U.S. 83 from

Anson Anson may refer to: People * Anson (name), a give name and surname ** Anson family, a British aristocratic family with the surname Place names ;United States * Anson, Indiana * Anson, Kansas * Anson, Maine ** Anson (CDP), Maine * Anson, Missouri * ...

, Texas to Abilene, Texas. Through the Lawton area and again from Randlett, Oklahoma, to near downtown Wichita Falls, U.S. 277 is also co-signed 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 Fa ...

Route description

, - , TX , 508.9 , 819.0 , - , OK , 124.1 , 199.7

Texas

The highway begins at an intersection with

US 83 U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while US ...

in Carrizo Springs, about 60 miles northwest of Laredo. The highway runs in an east-west direction, until reaching Eagle Pass. From here to Del Rio, the highway parallels the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

at the U.S.-Mexico border. The highway overlaps

US 377 U.S. Route 377 (US 377) is a north–south United States highway. Originally formed as a short spur to connect Denton, Texas with Fort Worth, Texas, it has since been extended to Oklahoma and Mexico. Route description Texas The sout ...

for about 26 miles, with the highways passing the

Amistad National Recreation Area Amistad National Recreation Area is a national recreation area managed by National Park Service (NPS) that includes the area around the Amistad Reservoir at the confluence of the Rio Grande, the Devils River, and the Pecos River near Del Rio i ...

. US 277 crosses

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 ...

near

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, before traveling to

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

and eventually

San Angelo San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

. The highway overlaps both

US 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues so ...

and

US 87 U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for 1,998 miles (3,215 km) from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north-south roa ...

in the city. In Abilene, the highway overlaps with

and

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 ...

, with the latter leaving shortly after. US 83 leaves in

, traveling to Aspermont, while US 277 travels to Stamford. In Seymour,

US 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 ...

begins an overlap with US 277. The two highways enter the city of

, with US 82 leaving the highway at

US 281 U.S. Route 281 (US 281) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway. At it is the longest continuous three-digit U.S. Route. The highway's northern terminus is at the International Peace Garden, north of Dunseith, North Dakota, at t ...

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 Am ...

. US 277 joins US 281/287 and the three highways travel into the downtown area of the city, where

begins. US 287 leaves the freeway, while I-44/US 277/US 281 travel to

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 ...

, before crossing the Red River into

Oklahoma

From its present terminus at Interstate 44 near Newcastle (Exit 107 and starting/ending point of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike north section), U.S. 277 runs concurrent with U.S. 62 through Blanchard into downtown Chickasha, where U.S. 277 joins U.S. 81 for several miles to an intersection south of Chickasha near Ninnekah, where U.S. 277 turns west/southwest through the cities of Cement, Cyril, Fletcher and Elgin - crossing over I-44/H.E. Bailey east of Cement (no access), under the interstate south of Fletcher (no access) and under the interstate/turnpike on the west side of Elgin (Exit 53 - tolls charged northbound exit/southbound entry and no tolls southbound exit/northbound entry). About five miles west of Elgin, U.S. 277 rejoins U.S. 62 (and U.S. 281, whose concurrency with U.S. 277 to Wichita Falls, Texas begins) for the next 10 miles with the triplex 62-277-281 route joining Interstate 44 at the starting/ending point of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike north section (Exit 46) near Medicine Park south through Fort Sill to I-44 Exit 40A, where U.S. 62 diverts from the interstate. U.S. 277 and 281 continue their concurrent route with I-44 through the Lawton-Fort Sill area to a point six miles south of Lawton where I-44 becomes the H.E. Bailey Turnpike south to Randlett. At this interchange (Exit 30) which also includes Oklahoma 36 west/southwest to Chattanooga and Grandfield, U.S. 277-281 diverts east and then curve south to parallel the interstate past Geronimo, OK and 10 miles later joins Oklahoma 5 about 5 miles west of Walters for three miles west crossing over I-44/H.E. Bailey Turnpike at the Walters exit and toll plaza (Exit 21). West of I-44, U.S. 277-281 turns south from Oklahoma 5 and continues south, crossing under I-44 (with no access) south of Cookietown and then joins U.S. 70 at Randlett, from where the triplex U.S. 70-277-281 continues 3 miles west to an interchange with I-44 at the beginning/ending points of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike (Exit 6). At this interchange, U.S. 277-281 joins I-44 for the last 6 miles in Oklahoma before crossing the Red River into Texas.

Free road alternative to the H.E. Bailey Turnpike

From Newcastle to the Red River north of Wichita Falls, Texas, U.S. 277 (and concurrent sections of U.S. 62, U.S. 81 and U.S. 281) serves as an alternate free route to the two sections of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike between Oklahoma City and the Red River from Newcastle southwest of Oklahoma to near Medicine Park north of Lawton and from near Geronimo south of Lawton to Randlett just north of the Red River near Burkburnett, Texas.

Former U.S. 277 route in Lawton now U.S. 281 Business

The former route of U.S. 277 (and 281) through the City of Lawton via 2nd Street and 11th Street (and a diagonal street connecting those two streets) has been designated as U.S. 281 Business since the completion of Lawton's Pioneer Expressway (now I-44) in 1964 from present I-44 Exit 39-B to Exit 33. Present U.S. 281 Business and former U.S. 277-281 follows 2nd Street south of I-44 (Exit 39B) into the downtown area and south of Lee Boulevard (Oklahoma 7), curves into the diagonal route to 11th Street and still locally designated by the City of Lawton as Highway 277 even though it is officially designated as U.S. 281 Business. From the end of the diagonal route at 11th and Tennessee Avenue south past the Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport to Exit 33 of Interstate 44, the former U.S. 277-281 and current U.S. Business 281 route follows 11th Street. South of this point, U.S. 281 Business ends/begins and current U.S. 277-281 continues to run concurrent with I-44 for another 3 miles to Exit 30 (the starting/ending point for the southern section of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike), bypassing 3 miles of the former U.S. 277-281 concurrency that followed 11th Street south of Lawton until the completion of the present I-44 route south of Lawton in 1964, when the former highway reverted to local jurisdiction. At Exit 31, Oklahoma 36 begins its route to Chattanooga and Grandfield west of I-44 while U.S. 277-281 uses the same route east of the interstate for a half-mile and turning south toward Geronimo, over the continuation of Lawton's 11th Street.

History

When US 277 was commissioned in 1930, it ended at the

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...

in Del Rio, Texas. It was extended southeast to its present terminus in 1952. The original northern terminus was in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

at its intersection with parent route US 77 and US 62. The northern terminus remained there until 1964. when it was truncated to its present terminus following the completion of the

and the connecting US 62 freeway into Oklahoma City, which would become

in the 1980s. The section of highway through

was recently upgraded to a freeway. Known as Kell Boulevard, the freeway opened in late-2009/early-2010. As of February 2010, US 277 allows a speed limit of only in

Dimmit County Dimmit County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 8,615. The county seat is Carrizo Springs, Texas, Carrizo Springs. The county was fou ...

, Texas.

Major intersections

Business U.S. Route 277

Wichita Falls, Texas 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. Accordin ...

Holliday, Texas Holliday is a city in Archer County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,758 at the 2010 census. The town is named for nearby Holliday Creek, named in turn for John Holli ...

Seymour, Texas Seymour is a city in and the county seat of Baylor County, Texas, United States. Its population was 2,575 as of the 2020 Census. Geography Seymour is located on the Brazos River. It is southwest of Wichita Falls and north-northeast of Abilen ...

Munday, Texas Munday ( ) is a city in Knox County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,246 at the 2020 census. Geography Munday is located at (33.449292, –99.626028). It is situated at the junction of U.S. Highway 277, State Highway 222, and Far ...

* Weinert, Texas *

Haskell, Texas Haskell is a city in central Haskell County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,322. It is the Haskell county seat. Geography Haskell is located at (33.160152, –99.734572). U.S. Route 277 passes th ...

Stamford, Texas Stamford is a city on the border of Jones and Haskell Counties in west-central Texas. The population was 3,124 at the 2010 census, down from 3,636 at the 2000 census. Henry McHarg, president of the Texas Central Railroad, named the site in 1900 fo ...

Eagle Pass, Texas Eagle Pass is a city in and the county seat of Maverick County in the U.S. state of Texas. Its population was 28,130 as of the 2020 census. Eagle Pass borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, which is to the southwest and across th ...

References

External links

Endpoints of U.S. Highway 277
{{US 77 77-2 77-2

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 ...