U.S. Highway 83 (US 83), dedicated as the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway, is a

U.S. 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 h ...

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 ...

that begins at

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 ...

( Interstate 69E, I-69E) in Brownsville and follows the Rio Grande to Laredo, then heads north through Abilene to the Oklahoma border north of Perryton, the seat of Ochiltree County. In the Lower Rio Grande Valley, US 83 is a freeway that is at or close to interstate standards from Brownsville to Peñitas. In May 2013, the Texas Department of Transportation applied to the

American Association of State Highway and Transportation 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 ...

(AASHTO) to designate this section as I-2. After the Special Committee on Route Numbering initially disapproved the application, the AASHTO Board of Directors approved the I-2 designation, conditional on the concurrence of the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

. On May 29, 2013, the segment of US 83 was approved as an I-69 connector using the I-2 designation extending approximately from Harlingen to west of Mission. At a length of 906.5 mi (1,458.9 km), it is the longest numbered highway in Texas, besting the east west I-10, which runs 880 miles. It is also the longest stretch of a single US Highway within a single US state.

Route description

US 83's southern terminus is at a concurrency with I-69E/

on the south side of Brownsville at the Brownsville – Veterans Port of Entry at the US/Mexico border. It remains co-signed with I-69E/US 77 until Harlingen, where I-69E/US 77 makes a sharp turn northward and US 83 maintains a westerly route to

McAllen McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

, concurrent with I-2 until Peñitas. From there, the highway roughly parallels the Rio Grande until Laredo where it makes a northwesterly turn toward Carrizo Springs, the seat of

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 ...

. The speed limit on US 83 is briefly 75 mph through Dimmit County. Merging with I-35 just south of downtown, US 83 remains co-signed with the interstate until an exit at Botines. From there, it continues northward, intersecting with I-10 just south of

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 ...

. US 83 is co-signed with I-10 for approximately , turning northward and leaving I-10 at the Kimble County Airport. After continuing northward through several rural western Texas towns, US 83 then merges 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 dist ...

east of Tuscola, where it makes a sharp turn back to the north. US 83/84 remains a co-signed route until Abilene, where US 84 turns to the northwest and US 83 remains northbound, merging with

US 277 U.S. Route 277 (US 277, US-277) is a north–south United States Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 77. It runs for 633 miles (1,019 km) across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277's northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at I ...

on the west side of the city. US 83/277 remains a co-signed route until approximately north of

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, Missour ...

, where US 277 turns northeast, and US 83, northwest. After merging with

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 ...

in Aspermont and briefly sharing a route, US 83 continues northward, merging with

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 ...

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...

. US 83/62 continues as a co-signed route until approximately south of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, where US 62 makes a sharp turn eastward, leaving US 83 to continue northward, where it crosses into Oklahoma approximately north of Perryton.

Major intersections

Gallery

File:U.S. Route 83 in Texas Hill Country IMG_4315.JPG, Scenic section of the Texas Hill Country north of Leakey File:Abandoned hotel and restaurant on U.S. Highway 83 IMG_1749.JPG, An abandoned hotel and restaurant (built 1926) at Catarina on US 83 near Carrizo Springs File:US Highway 83 in McAllen, Texas.jpg, U.S. Highway 83, co-signed with I-2, in a major retail district of

Notes

References