U.S. Route 259

U.S. Route 259 marker

U.S. Route 259
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 59
Length: 250 mi (400 km)
Existed: 1963[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:

I-69 / US 59 / Bus. US 59 near Nacogdoches, Tex.
 

I-20 near Kilgore, Tex.

I-30 near Omaha, Tex.
North end: US-59 / US-270 near Heavener, Okla.
Location
States: Texas, Oklahoma
Highway system

U.S. Route 259 (US 259, US-259) is a northsouth spur of U.S. Route 59 that runs for 250 miles (400 km) through rural areas of northeast Texas and southeast Oklahoma.

The highway's southern terminus is near Nacogdoches, Texas at an interchange with its parent route, US 59. Its northern terminus is in the Ouachita Mountains, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Heavener, Oklahoma where it reunites with U.S. 59. For most of its length, US 259 lies 30–50 miles (48–80 km) to the west of its parent route.

Route description

First reassurance marker heading north from the southern terminus in Nacogdoches, TX

Texas

US 259 begins at an intersection with its parent, US 59 (Future Interstate 69), on the north side of Nacogdoches, Texas. The highway continues due north, passing through Mount Enterprise, and around the eastern side of Henderson and Kilgore. In Kilgore, Texas, US 259 is known as the Charles K. Devall Memorial Highway, as named by the Texas legislature.[2] It then has a concurrency with Interstate 20 of about 6 miles (9.7 km), then continues north around the eastern edge of Longview along Eastman Rd. The highway continues due north, crossing Interstate 30 in northern Morris County, and crossing into Oklahoma in northwest Bowie County.

Oklahoma

Northern terminus of US 259 in the Ouachita Mountains

After crossing into McCurtain County, Oklahoma, US-259 immediately meets up with State Highway 87, and continues north through Harris. Maps indicate that US-259 and SH-87 overlap to Idabel, but officially, this is not the case,[3] and ODOT signage does not reflect a concurrency.

US-259 bypasses Idabel to the south and east, concurring with U.S. Highway 70 Bypass. East of Idabel, the bypass route ends, and US-259 begins a concurrency with mainline US-70 and SH-3. The three highways continue north to Broken Bow, where US-70 splits to the east toward DeQueen, Arkansas and SH-3 splits to the west, bound for Antlers. US-259 continues north alone, taking a winding path through the Ouachita Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma. The route passes Broken Bow Lake on its west side, with State Highway 259A serving as an access loop to the lake and Beavers Bend State Resort. Near the lake, US-259 crosses through the Ouachita National Forest for the first time. Near Smithville, the highway serves as the western terminus of State Highway 4.

North of the SH-4 junction, US-259 crosses into Le Flore County. The U.S. route then serves as the eastern terminus of SH-144 near Octavia. US-259 reenters the National Forest north of this junction, and intersects SH-63 at Big Cedar. It then has a junction with SH-1, the Talimena Drive. The highway reunites with US-59 about 10 miles (16 km) south of Heavener, reaching its northern terminus.

History

In Texas, the highway was designated in 1962 and assumed the entire route of the State Highway 26, which was then cancelled.[4]

Prior to 1985, US 259 between Kilgore and Longview followed the current route of Texas State Highway 31. It entered Longview from the SW at the intersection of South St. and Spur 63. It then followed Spur 63 to US 80. US 259 then ran concurrently with US 80 to Eastman Rd. At the US 80/Eastman Rd. intersection, it reunited with the current route of US 259. In 1985, US 259 was rerouted to its current route along Interstate 20 to Eastman Rd, along the eastern edge of Longview, bypassing the central business district.

Major intersections

StateCountyLocationmi[5]kmDestinationsNotes
TexasNacogdoches 
US 59 / Bus. US 59 south Nacogdoches, Garrison, Lufkin, SFASU
interchange
Central Heights FM 698 west
  SH 204 west Cushing
  FM 2664 east
  FM 1087 east
RuskMount Enterprise US 84 (Rusk Street) Rusk, Timpson
SH 315 east Carthage
  FM 2496 west
  FM 1798 Laneville, Mindeninterchange
  FM 3310 north
Henderson US 79 south Jacksonville, Palestinesouth end of US 79 overlap

Bus. US 79 south / FM 840 south – Downtown Henderson
US 79 north / SH 43 north / SH 64 west Tyler, Tatum, Carthagenorth end of US 79 overlap
FM 782 east – Oak Hill
SH 322 north Airport
  Loop 571 south (Landon Alford Loop)
  FM 2276 southsouth end of FM 2276 overlap
  FM 2276 northnorth end of FM 2276 overlap
Jacobs FM 850 Overton
Pitner Junction FM 918 west Overton
 
Bus. US 259 north Kilgore
interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance
  FM 1249interchange
Gregg  FM 2204interchange
Kilgore FM 349

Bus. US 259 south (SH 31 west) Kilgore
interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance; south end of SH 31 overlap
Kinsloe I-20 west / SH 31 east Dallasnorth end of SH 31 overlap; south end of I-20 overlap; US 259 south follows exit 589
  FM 2087 / FM 2011I-20 exit 591
Longview SH 322 south (Estes Parkway) / Loop 281 north Longview, AirportI-20 exit 595
I-20 east / SH 149 south Shreveport, Carthagenorth end of I-20 overlap; south end of SH 149 overlap; US 259 north follows exit 596
US 80 Downtown Longview, Hallsville, Marshall, Kilgore Collegenorth end of SH 149 overlap
FM 2208 (Alpine Street) Harleton
Loop 281interchange
  FM 1844 west
  FM 2751
  Spur 502 south Downtown Longview
  FM 449 east
  FM 1650 west Gilmer
UpshurDiana FM 3245 east
SH 154 Gilmer, Marshall
Old Diana FM 726 Lake O' The Pines, Jefferson
Ore City FM 450 south / FM 1649 west Harleton, Lake O' The Pines
  SH 155 Linden, Gilmerinterchange
  FM 557 west Pittsburg
Camp
No major junctions
MorrisLone Star FM 729 east (Lone Star Boulevard) Jefferson, Lake O' The Pines North Shore
FM 250 north (Industrial Boulevard) Hughes Springs
  FM 3421 east
Jenkins FM 144 north / FM 997 south Cason
Daingerfield SH 11 east / SH 49 east (W.M. Watson Boulevard) Hughes Springs, Linden, Jefferson, Daingerfield State Parksouth end of SH 11 / SH 49 overlap
SH 11 west (W.M. Watson Boulevard) Pittsburgnorth end of SH 11 overlap
FM 130 east
  SH 49 west Mount Pleasantnorth end of SH 49 overlap
Rocky Branch SH 338 north Naples
  Spur 284 west
Omaha US 67 Mount Pleasant, Texarkana, Omaha Business District
  FM 144 south
  SH 77 east
  I-30 Dallas, TexarkanaI-30 exit 178
  FM 71 west Talco
Bowie  FM 561 east Dalby Springs
  FM 44 east / FM 992 eastsouth end of FM 44 overlap
  FM 44 west to FM 992north end of FM 44 overlap
  FM 1701 west
De Kalb US 82 De Kalb, Clarksvilleinterchange
Spring Hill FM 114 west / FM 2735 south Clarksville
Red River0.00.0Bridge
OklahomaMcCurtain 1.93.1 SH-87 east Foreman, ARWestern terminus of SH-87
Idabel19.631.5
US-70 Byp. west to SH-37 / Central Street Idabel, truck route to US-70 west, Airport
Southern terminus of US-70 Byp. concurrency
22.636.4 SH-3 east (Washington Street) Idabel, HaworthSouthern terminus of SH-3 concurrency
24.539.4 US-70 west Hugo, Airportnorth end of US 70 Byp. overlap; southern terminus of US-70 concurrency
Broken Bow32.352.0 US-70 east / SH-3 west (Veterans Way / Martin Luther King Drive) Antlers, DeQueen, ARNorthern terminus of US-70 / SH-3 concurrency
38.662.1 SH-259A east Beavers BendSouthern terminus of SH-259A
40.665.3 SH-259A east Beavers Bend, Broken Bow DamNorthern terminus of SH-259A
 Bethel, Battiestformer SH-144 west
Smithville70.7113.8 SH-4 east SmithvilleWestern terminus of SH-4
Le Flore 75.4121.3 SH-144 west OctaviaEastern terminus of SH-144
Big Cedar89.6144.2 SH-63 Talihina, Mena
 94.6152.2 SH-1 (Talimena Drive)interchange
 98.9159.2 US-59 / US-270Northern terminus of US-259
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Bannered routes

Kilgore business route


Business US Highway 259
Location: Kilgore, Texas
Existed: 2006–present

US-259 has one Business route in Texas. In 2006, a new bypass was completed around the eastern side of Kilgore. The bypass had been proposed as early as 1965, but funding did not become available until the late 1990s. The new bypass was designated as US-259, while the previous route through the Kilgore business district was designated as a business route. The new business route was approved by the AASHO in September 2006.

Idabel bypass


U.S. Route 259 Bypass
Location: Idabel, Oklahoma
Existed: ?–2000

Formerly, US-259 continued into downtown Idabel, and the southeast portion of the Idabel bypass was double-designated as US-70 Bypass and US-259 Bypass. On 6 March 2000, the bypass route was decommissioned, and mainline US-259 was moved onto the bypass.[6] However, as of 2008, some bypass signage is still in place, including signage indicating the former terminus of Bypass US-259 at US-70/SH-3.

SH-259A

SH-259A is a 10-mile (16 km) loop to Broken Bow Lake and Beavers Bend Resort Park north of Broken Bow, Oklahoma. It lies partially in the Ouachita National Forest and is occasionally signed as a U.S. highway.

See also

Related routes

References

  1. Droz, Robert V. U.S. Highways : From US 1 to (US 830). URL accessed 30 April 2006
  2. Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1193, § 1, eff. June 15, 2001
  3. 2008 Control Section Maps (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. p. McCurtain 45. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  4. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "U.S. Highway No. 259". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  5. Google (June 26, 2014). "US-259 in Oklahoma" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  6. Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Planning & Research Division. "Memorial Dedication & Revision History - US-259". Retrieved 2008-06-09.

External links

Media related to U.S. Route 259 at Wikimedia Commons


Browse numbered routes
SH-251AOKUS-266
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