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 the Canadian border, where it continues as

Highway 10 Route 10, or Highway 10, can refer to routes in the following countries: International * European route E10 * European route E010 Argentina * La Pampa Provincial Route 10 Australia Queensland * Smith Street Motorway (Queensland) * Scenic ...

. The route between Dunseith and the border is shared with North Dakota Highway 3. US 281 has two southern termini. The western terminus, known as International Blvd. in Hidalgo, begins from the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge. The southern eastern terminus of US 281 is in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

, just short of the Mexican border ending on Bus. 77. The two spurs come together at South Cage Blvd in Las Milpas, Texas going north into Pharr, Texas. Thus, US 281 is the only continuous three-digit US route to extend from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. The original ''Military Telegraph Road'' was incorporated into the US-281 route. US 281 is a "child" of US 81. As a result of decommissioning portions of the parent route that have been superseded by concurrent Interstate Highways, the length of US 281 is greater than that of its parent. US 281 no longer connects to its "parent", US 81.

Route description

Texas

US 281, beginning at the west, or the lower Rio Grande Valley, at an intersection with Business US 77 and SH 48 about from the Mexico border. It travels along close to the border through the Rio Grande Valley. At the east, or Upper Rio Grande Valley, turning north from Hidalgo, travelling through Las Milpas, Pharr, Edinburg, and many small towns while also having a Border Patrol checkpoint in Brooks County south of Falfurrias, Texas. It is alternating as a divided highway and main street, until joining I-37. It splits with I-37 and travels through

Pleasanton Pleasanton may refer to: Places * Pleasanton, California * Pleasanton, Iowa * Pleasanton, Kansas * Pleasanton, Nebraska * Pleasanton, New Mexico * Pleasanton, Ohio * Pleasanton, Texas * Pleasanton Township, Michigan Other * Pleasanton High School ...

as Business 281, travelling north to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

. In San Antonio, US 281 overlaps

I-410 Interstate 410 (abbreviated I-410, and colloquially called Loop 410) is a loop route of I-10 around San Antonio, Texas. It is identified as Connally Loop in honor of former Texas Governor John Connally. Route description I-410 ci ...

on the south side of the city until the interchange with I-37. US 281 and I-37 then overlap north into downtown San Antonio until I-37 ends at

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 ...

. US 281 continues north from downtown San Antonio as a freeway, intersecting I-410 again on the north side of the city, with access to the San Antonio International Airport. A project to construct a stack interchange at I-410 (the "San Antonio Web") was completed June 9, 2008; formerly there was no direct access between the two freeways and surface streets were required travel between the freeways. North of San Antonio, US 281 is not a freeway and forms the Main Street of Blanco. It overlaps US 290 south of Johnson City. US 290 continues toward Austin, so US 281 and US 290 between San Antonio and Austin are available as a scenic and less congested alternate to I-35. North of San Antonio, US 281 continues through central and north-central Texas, passing through many towns, including Stephenville, Mineral Wells and Jacksboro before reaching Wichita Falls, where the highway begins a concurrency with I-44 north across 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 ...

Oklahoma

US 281 enters the state of Oklahoma at the Red River bridge north of Burkburnett, Texas on a route concurrent with I-44 starting in Wichita Falls. About north of the Red River, US 281 leaves I-44 at Randlett and follows a two-lane roadway parallel to the newer I-44, which becomes the Wichita Falls–Lawton section 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 ...

, from Randlett to a point south of Lawton. Through the Lawton/Fort Sill metropolitan area, US 281 again overlaps a toll-free section of I-44, while the former US 281 alignment through the city of Lawton is designated as Business US 281 between I-44 exits 34 and 39B. About north of downtown Lawton, US 281 departs from I-44 to continue north through the cities of Apache, Anadarko, Gracemont, Binger and Hinton. About north of its junction with I-40 near Hinton, US 281 crosses a 1930s-vintage 38-span steel pony truss bridge over the South Canadian River that served traffic of the former east–west US 66 before that highway was superseded by I-40 in the 1960s. A section of US 281's paving from north of I-40 to a point south of Geary is the original concrete surface of US 66. Through central and northern Oklahoma, US 281 then proceeds through the cities of Geary, Watonga, Seiling, Waynoka and Alva. The highway crosses the Kansas state line about north of Alva at Hardtner, Kansas.

Kansas

Passing largely through sparsely populated areas of central Kansas, US 281 enters the state at Hardtner in

Barber County Barber County (county code BA) is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 4,228. Its county seat and most populous city is Medicine Lodge. It was named for Tho ...

and passes through Medicine Lodge,

Pratt Pratt is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: A–F * Abner Pratt (1801–1863), American diplomat, jurist, politician, lawyer * Al Pratt (baseball) (1847–1937), American baseball player * Andy Pratt (baseball) (bor ...

, St. John and

Great Bend Great Bend is a city in and the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States. It is named for its location at the point where the course of the Arkansas River bends east then southeast. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...

, the only city along the route in Kansas which has more than 7,000 people. Along its venture through southern Kansas, US 281 intersects several major east–west routes: first US 54 and US 400, which heads east to Wichita and west to Dodge City, Garden City and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

; US 50, which veers east to Hutchinson and west to Garden City; and US 56, heading to Dodge City westbound and Overland Park eastbound. Following a four-mile (6 km) concurrency with K-4 near Hoisington, the highway intersects I-70 at

Russell Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) Places Australia *Russell, Australian Capital Territory *Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation) **Ru ...

before joining

K-18 K18 may refer to: * K-18 (Kansas highway) * Keratin 18 Keratin 18 is a type I cytokeratin. It is, together with its filament partner keratin 8, perhaps the most commonly found products of the intermediate filament gene family. They are expressed in ...

near

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

for an concurrency. The two highways split at Luray, and US 281 turns north into Osborne County, passing through the town of

Osborne Osborne may refer to: * Osborne (name) Places Australia * Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area * Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region Can ...

before joining US 24 and K-9 for another concurrency. US 281 joins US 36 at Smith Center, turning east before the two highways split; US 281 turns north for its final stretch in the state, passing through

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. All sections of US 281 in Kansas are two-lane. The last stretches of the highway overlaid with bricks, through downtown Pratt and Hoisington, were recently resurfaced with concrete.

Nebraska

US 281 enters Nebraska south of Red Cloud and meets US 136 there. It continues north to

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

and meets US 6 and US 34. Between Hastings and Grand Island, US 281 overlaps US 34 and is designated as the

Tom Osborne Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is a former American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and politician from Nebraska. He served as head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1973 to 1997 (25 season ...

Expressway after the former Nebraska Cornhuskers football coach and U.S. Representative, who is a native of Hastings. At Grand Island, US 281 intersects I-80, loses US 34 and intersects US 30. US 281 continues north of Grand Island to St. Libory as American Legion Memorial Highway. From there northward, US 281 is a two-lane undivided highway passing mostly through unpopulated areas, with the exception of the regional trade center

O'Neill The O'Neill dynasty (Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin, that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically the most prominent family of the Northern ...

, where it junctions US 20 and US 275. US 281 exits the state north of Spencer.

South Dakota

US 281 enters South Dakota in Gregory County. Just north of the South Dakota-Nebraska border, it is cosigned with US 18. It crosses the Missouri River at

Fort Randall Dam Fort Randall Dam is a earthen dam which spans the Missouri River and impounds Lake Francis Case, the 11th-largest reservoir in the U.S. The dam joins Gregory and Charles Mix counties, South Dakota a distance of 880 river miles (1,416 km) u ...

. Just south of

Armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

, US 18 leaves the US 281 alignment. North of Armour, US 281 makes a short jaunt west on South Dakota Highway 44, then continues north. US 281 and

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

intersect at Plankinton. On both sides of Wolsey, US 14 is cosigned with US 281 for a stretch of - from 3 miles south of Wolsey to 4 miles north of town. US 281 becomes an expressway at South Dakota Highway 20. This expressway continues through

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

to a point near Westport.

South Dakota Highway 10 South Dakota Highway 10 (SD 10) is a state highway in the north-central and northeastern portions of South Dakota, United States. It connects SD 1804 in Pollock with the Minnesota state line southeast of Sisseton. SD 10 wa ...

is cosigned with US 281 for near

Barnard Barnard is a version of the surname Bernard, which is a French and West Germanic masculine given name and surname. The surname means as tough as a bear, Bar(Bear)+nard/hard(hardy/tough) __NOTOC__ People Some of the people bearing the surname Ba ...

. It exits the state north of Frederick. US 281 was recently realigned in the city of Aberdeen. A bypass was built that travels on the west side of Aberdeen, and the US 281 designation was moved onto that new roadway. It runs north from US 12 and connects with the old alignment south of 24th Avenue Northeast. The South Dakota section of US 281, with the exception of concurrencies with US 18 and US 14, is defined at South Dakota Codified Laws § 31-4-229.

North Dakota

In North Dakota, US 281 is a major north–south artery. It enters south of Ellendale and intersects I-94 and US 52 at Jamestown. US 281 and US 52 remain paired together to Carrington. From there, US 281 continues northward through Sheyenne. north of Sheyenne, the highway curves in order to go around Devil's Lake, and it then continues to west of Minnewaukan, North Dakota. From there it goes to

North Dakota Highway 5 North Dakota Highway 5 (ND 5) is a east–west state highway in North Dakota. Its route is in the extreme north part of the state, near the Canada–United States border. The eastern terminus is located about four miles (6 km) east of Jo ...

at Rocklake. US 281 follows ND 5 westward to Dunseith, where the highway turns north in concurrence with North Dakota Highway 3 to its end at the Canadian border in the International Peace Garden. The northernmost section of US 281 passes through North Dakota's Turtle Mountains. Recently, US 281 was rebuilt near Minnewaukan, North Dakota to accommodate flooding close to the city.

Future

US 281 will be upgraded between US 59 in George West in Texas to I-2 in

Pharr Pharr is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 70,400, and in 2019, the estimated population was 79,112. Pharr is connected by bridge to the Mexican city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Pharr is p ...

to become I-69C, a spur of I-69. An segment exists running from Business US 281 in Edinburg to I-2 in Pharr. US 281 between Grand Island and St. Paul in Nebraska is planned to be a four-lane expressway for its entire length. Currently, some sections are still two lanes, with stubs and grading in place for expansion to four lanes in these areas.

Major intersections

;Texas : in Brownsville : in

. I-69C/US 281 travels concurrently to Edinburg. They will travel concurrently to George West : in George West : north of Three Rivers. The highways travel concurrently to southeast of

. : in

. The highways travel concurrently through San Antonio. : in San Antonio. I-37/US 281 travels concurrently through San Antonio. : in San Antonio : in San Antonio : in San Antonio : south-southeast of Johnson City. The highways travel concurrently to Johnson City. : in

Lampasas Lampasas ( ) is a city in Lampasas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,291 at the 2020 census. It is the seat of Lampasas County. Lampasas is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area. History ...

. The highways travel concurrently through Lampasas. : in Evant : in Stephenville : in Stephenville : south-southeast of Brazos : in Mineral Wells : south-southeast of Jacksboro. The highways travel concurrently to Jacksboro. : in Wichita Falls. The highways travel concurrently through Wichita Falls. : in Wichita Falls. US 277/US 281 travels concurrently to east of

Medicine Park, Oklahoma Medicine Park is a town in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States, situated in the Wichita Mountains near the entrance to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Medicine Park has a long history as a vintage cobblestone resort town. Medicine Park ...

. : in Wichita Falls. The highways travel concurrently to west-southwest of

Randlett, Oklahoma Randlett is a town in Cotton County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 438 at the 2010 census, a decline of 14.3 percent from 511 in 2000. History The town of Randlett was named for James F. Randlett, an agent for the Comanche and Kiowa ...

. ;Oklahoma : west-southwest of Randlett. US 70/US 281 travels concurrently to Randlett. : in Walters : northwest of

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ba ...

. The highways travel concurrently to east of Medicine Park. : in Lawton. The highways travel concurrently to Anadarko. : in Hinton : in Geary. The highways travel concurrently to Seiling. : in Seiling. The highways travel concurrently to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. : south of Waynoka : in Alva. The highways travel concurrently through Alva. ;Kansas : west-southwest of Medicine Lodge. The highways travel concurrently to Medicine Lodge. : in

: south of St. John : in

: south of

: in

. The highways travel concurrently to south of Portis. : in Smith Center. The highways travel concurrently to south of

. ;Nebraska : in Red Cloud : in

. US 6/US 281 travels concurrently through Hastings. US 34/US 281 travels concurrently to Grand Island. : south of Grand Island : in Grand Island. The highways travel concurrently from the junction of US 34/US 281 to the north end of Grand Island. : in

. US 20/US 281 travels concurrently through O'Neill. ;South Dakota : east-southeast of

Fairfax Fairfax may refer to: Places United States * Fairfax, California * Fairfax Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California * Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California, centered on Fairfax Avenue * Fairfax, Georgia * Fairfax, Indiana * Fa ...

. The highways travel concurrently to south of

. : southeast of Plankinton : south-southeast of Wolsey. The highways travel concurrently to north-northwest of Wolsey. : in Redfield. The highways travel concurrently through Redfield. : in

;North Dakota : in Jamestown. I-94/US 281 travels concurrently through Jamestown. US 52/US 281 travels concurrently to Carrington. : west-northwest of Churchs Ferry. The highways travel concurrently to west of Churchs Ferry. : at the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

north-northeast of Dunseith

Bypass

U.S. Route 281 Alternate was a long

alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

of U.S. Route 281 running within the northeastern and eastern portions of Great Bend, Kansas. US-281 Alternate was formed in 1955 and was decommissioned about 1983. Since then it has been known as US 281 Bypass, which is mostly unsigned, two-lane surface

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

bypasses downtown Great Bend. The only visible indication of this being a bypass is via street signs along intersecting streets; thus it is not a true bypass route, but a local street that is named as a bypass.

Route description

281 Bypass begins its journey near the intersection of 10th ( US-56/ K-96/ K-156) and Pine Streets. 10th Street, which is normally east–west, travels slightly southwest-northeast for one block with its intersection with the bypass. The bypass travels mostly to the northwest until near Park and Frey Streets. Then, it steers towards the north-northwest. After intersecting with 22nd Street, 281 Bypass starts to curve to the west until it intersects with 24th Street. It remains unsigned on 24th Street until its northwestern terminus with its parent route on Main Street (US-281). The northwestern terminus of U.S. Highway 281 Bypass is directly adjacent to

Brit Spaugh Park Brit, Brits or BRIT may refer to: People Nicknames * British people, people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies, and their descendants * Brit Hume (born 1943), American TV journalist * Br ...

in Great Bend.

References

External links

Endpoints of U.S. Highway 281
{{US 81 81-2 81-2 81-2 81-2 281

Route description

Texas

Oklahoma

Kansas

Nebraska

South Dakota

North Dakota

Future

Major intersections

Bypass

Route description

See also

Related routes

References

External links