U.S. Highway 287 (US 287) in the U.S. state of

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 ...

is a major U.S. Highway that begins on the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

in Port Arthur and heads north through Fort Worth, northwest to Childress, Clarendon,

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 ...

, and

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

in the

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

and into Oklahoma near Kerrick.

Route description

US 287 begins at the intersection of Woodworth Boulevard and SH 87 in Port Arthur and runs northwest, running concurrent with

US 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 ...

and

US 96 U.S. Highway 96 (US 96) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs for about entirely in the U.S state of Texas. Its number is a violation of the standard numbering convention, as even-numbered two-digit highways are east– ...

. At the cloverleaf interchange with SH 73, the route becomes a freeway and remains so heading towards I-10 in

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

. It runs concurrent with I-10 heading through Beaumont until separating from the interstate north of the city. In Lumberton, US 287 separates from US 96, remaining concurrent with US 69 until reaching Woodville, where it splits after intersecting

US 190 U.S. Route 190 (US 190) is an east–west United States Highway in Louisiana and Texas. Segments of US 190 will be upgraded to Interstate 14 (I-14); the first segment was opened on January 26, 2017. Route description , - , TX , , - , ...

. The highway continues northwest, running through Chester and intersecting

US 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway Sy ...

in Corrigan. In Crockett, US 287 becomes concurrent with SH 19 and remains so until reaching Palestine, where it splits from the state highway northwest of town. The route continues west, passing by the Richland-Chambers Reservoir until reaching

I-45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...

Corsicana Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-business ...

. It remains concurrent with I-45 until reaching exit 247 southeast of Ennis and heading west. In

Waxahachie Waxahachie ( ) is the seat of government of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. Etymology Some sources state that the name means "cow" or "buffalo" in an unspecified Native American language. One possible ...

, the highway interchanges

US 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, w ...

and

I-35E Interstate 35E may refer to: *Interstate 35E (Texas), a long branch route serving Dallas, Texas *Interstate 35E (Minnesota), a long branch route serving St. Paul, Minnesota See also * Interstate 35W (disambiguation) Interstate 35W may refer to: * ...

. In Midlothian, it interchanges with

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 ...

before continuing northwest as a freeway towards the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, heading through Mansfield. The route then reaches I-20 northeast of Kennedale and runs concurrent with I-20 until reaching I-820, where it runs concurrent with the beltway for about . The highway then runs northwest toward Fort Worth, also known as the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway. Near downtown Fort Worth, the highway interchanges with

I-30 i30, I30, i-30 or I-30 may refer to: *Interstate 30, an Interstate Highway in the southern United States *, an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine during World War II * (1940-1968), a Royal Australian Navy ''Tribal''-class destroyer *I30, a 9000 serv ...

and runs concurrent with Spur 280 until reaching

I-35W Interstate 35W may refer to: * Interstate 35W (Texas), an Interstate highway serving Fort Worth, Texas, and its suburbs * Interstate 35W (Minnesota), a Interstate highway serving Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its suburbs **The I-35W Mississippi Riv ...

, where it runs concurrent with it until exit 60 north of I-820. The route continues northwest, running concurrent with

US 81 U.S. Route 81 or U.S. Highway 81 (US 81) is a major north–south U.S. highway that extends for in the central United States and is one of the original United States Numbered Highways established in 1926 by the American Association of Stat ...

and remains as a freeway. It loops around Rhome and is concurrent with SH 114 for about . It then runs through Decatur and interchanges

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 ...

. It continues northwest until separating from US 81 in Bowie. In

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...

, US 287 becomes concurrent with

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 ...

. In

, the route interchanges and becomes concurrent with

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 ...

and becomes concurrent as well as US 277 heading through the city. US 82 splits from US 287 at the US 277 interchange.

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 ...

begins at Bellevue Park and the route remains concurrent with it until reaching Spur 325, where it becomes independent while US 277 and US 281 remains concurrent with I-44. The highway then passes through Iowa Park, Electra, and Harrold. In Oklaunion, the route becomes concurrent with

US 183 U.S. Route 183 (US 183) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Presho, South Dakota, at an intersection with Interstate 90. Its southern terminus is in Refugio, Texas, at the southern intersectio ...

and

US 70 U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States. E ...

. US 183 separates at the

US 283 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

interchange and US 70 separates from US 287 west of Vernon. The highway continues northwest, heading toward

. In Childress, the highway intersects

US 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 Canada ...

and

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 ...

. Between Childress and Amarillo, US 287 passes through Estelline. The reduction of the speed limit from to at the city limits has given the city the reputation of being a

speed trap Speed limits are enforced on most public roadways by authorities, with the purpose to improve driver compliance with speed limits. Methods used include roadside speed traps set up and operated by the police and automated roadside ' speed camera' ...

. In Amarillo, the highway runs concurrent with

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

until reaching I-27, becoming concurrent with

US 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as Pacific Avenue, in the ...

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 ...

heading through downtown. US 60 becomes concurrent with I-40 Business while US 87 and US 287 continues north. US 287 splits from US 87 in Dumas. The highway continues north through

Cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

and intersects

US 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific and Rock Island Lines "Golden ...

in Stratford. The route continues northwest and crosses into Oklahoma from Kerrick.

History

When US 287 was first commissioned in 1935, none of its route was in Texas. The route was extended southward from Colorado to the

at Port Arthur, Texas in 1939. Before this extension, the portion from the Oklahoma state line to

was SH 9, from Amarillo to Henrietta was SH 5, Henrietta to Bowie was SH 50, Bowie to Fort Worth was SH 2 and US 81, Fort Worth to Ennis SH 34, Ennis to Corsicana was SH 14/

US 75 U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it once continued as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other side ...

, Corsicana to Palestine was

SH 22 Route 22, or Highway 22, can refer to: International * European route E22 Argentina * National Route 22 Australia * Great Western Highway, Parramatta Road Austria * Donauufer Autobahn Canada * Alberta Highway 22 ** Alberta Highway 22X * B ...

, Palestine to Crockett was SH 19, Crockett and Woodville was Texas State Highway 106, Woodville to Port Arthur was SH 8. US 370 Texas 1926

From 1926 to 1939, the aforementioned state routes between US 66 in Claude and

in Bowie were co-designated with U.S. Route 370, which was commissioned in 1926. US 370 was extended westward to Amarillo by 1935 with the northward relocation of US 66. This route also traveled concurrently with US 70 between Vernon and

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. Accord ...

. With the 1939 general re-description of the Texas State Highway system all of the state highway designations were removed and US 370 was decommissioned from Oklahoma state line to Port Arthur. SH 106 was decommissioned entirely.

Future

Currently in Beaumont a construction project is widening the highway from four lanes to six lanes for a future Interstate Corridor for

to connect to future

Interstate 14 Interstate 14 (I-14), also known as the "14th Amendment Highway", the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway, and the Central Texas Corridor, is an Interstate Highway that is located entirely in Central Texas, following U.S. Route 190 (U ...

. Between Ennis and Waxahachie the highway is getting grade separated interchanges and service roads.

Major intersections

Notes

Image gallery

Image:Us 287 midlothian.JPG, Approaching US 287 in Mansfield. Image:U.S. Highway 287 IMG 0694.JPG, US 287 runs northwest-southeast through Childress, located equidistant from Amarillo and Wichita Falls. File:FM 1719 at US 87-287.jpg, US 287 is concurrent with US 87 between Amarillo and Dumas. File:US 287 Northern Texas.jpg, US 287 in North Texas.

References

External links