U.S. Route 290

US Highway 290
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	261 mi[1] (420 km)
Existed:	1927[1] – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-10 southeast of Junction, TX
	US 87 at Fredericksburg, TX US 281 at Johnson City, TX I-35 at Austin, TX US 183 at Austin, TX US 77 at Giddings, TX
East end:	I-610 at Houston, TX
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs Park Rec FM ← SH 290 SH 294 →

U.S. Highway 290 intersection with Interstate 610 in Houston

U.S. Highway 290 (or U.S. 290) is an east–west U.S. Highway located entirely within the State of Texas. Its current western terminus is at Interstate 10 near Harper, and its eastern terminus is at Interstate 610 on the northwest side of Houston.^[1]

Route description

Fredericksburg–Johnson City

West of Austin, U.S. 290 is a rather scenic route through the Texas Hill Country, passing through the towns of Fredericksburg and Johnson City, and hence close to the historical sites connected with Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, a top commander during the War in the Pacific (1941–45) and the deceased President from Texas, Lyndon Baines Johnson. East of Austin, U.S. 290 is a divided highway that passes through or near the towns of Giddings and Brenham.

Austin

In Austin, U.S. 290 runs concurrently with Interstate 35 for approximately 8 miles (13 km), including the Downtown Austin area, as well as the entirety of W. Ben White Boulevard. At various intervals, U.S. 290 intersects with SH 71, RM 1826, Mopac Expressway, Capital of Texas Highway, S Lamar Boulevard, S Congress Avenue, and along the concurrent I-35 strip, Sixth Street, Loop 111, and RM 2222, and U.S. 183, among other roads.

Houston

In Houston, U.S. 290 is sometimes called the Northwest Freeway. The Texas Legislature officially designated this highway within Harris County as the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway in 2005.^[2] U.S. 290 is also part of a hurricane evacuation route. That route starts at SH 6 in Galveston. SH 6 is taken to U.S. 290. Then U.S. 290 is taken to where the two highways break apart. Then SH 6 is taken to Waco.

In Harris County outside of Houston, State Highway 6 (SH 6) joins with U.S. 290 and the two highways run concurrently until splitting just north of Hempstead.

The large remnant of U.S. 290 continues to be an important highway, one that connects Austin with Interstate 10, and from there eastward to Houston. Parts of U.S. 290 in Austin and near Houston are multilane freeways.

History

U.S. 290 originally had an eastern terminus in San Antonio before 1935 when it was re-routed further north and extended eastward. The old highway into San Antonio was redesignated US 87.^[1][3]

Prior to the Interstate era, it extended nearly 300 miles (483 km) farther west to an intersection with US 80 (now Interstate 20) before Interstate 10 supplanted it. Much of the old route near Sheffield became SH 290. Other former alignments that are part of the state highway system include the Fort Stockton and Balmorhea business routes of Interstate 10 and RM 1312 between Ozona and Sonora.^[4][5][6][7]

Prior to construction of the Northwest Freeway, U.S. 290 through Houston followed Hempstead Highway, which runs parallel to the freeway approximately one-half mile to the southwest. The eastern terminus of U.S. 290 was also approximately one mile to the southeast at the intersection of Hempstead Highway, Washington Avenue and Old Katy Road. There is a small directional T interchange at this intersection.

Because of truncations in its length, U.S. 290 no longer intersects with its "parent" route, U.S. 90.

Toll roads are planned along segments of U.S. 290 in Houston and Austin.

In 2011 two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, John Culberson and Michael T. McCaul, asked TxDOT to advocate for the relabeling of U.S. 290 as an interstate highway.^[8]

Austin

290 Toll Road
Location:	Austin, Texas

In Austin, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Manor Expressway along U.S. 290 from Austin to Manor, opened on May 17, 2014. The Manor Expressway is signed as the 290 Toll Road.^[9]

Houston

Prior to construction of the Northwest Freeway, U.S. 290 through Houston followed Hempstead Highway, which runs parallel to the freeway approximately one-half mile to the southwest. The eastern terminus of U.S. 290 was also approximately one mile to the southeast at the intersection of Hempstead Highway, Washington Avenue and Old Katy Road. There is a small directional T interchange at this intersection.

The interchange with I-610 and first part of frontage roads opened in 1963. The first freeway section opened in 1975. In 1982, freeway main lanes completed to just inside Beltway 8. In 1990, the stack interchange with Beltway 8 were completed. From 1985 to 2005, the main lanes outside Beltway 8 were completed.^[10]

The freeway was constructed to only 3 lanes in each direction, but a major investment study in 2002 requested expansion to 5 lanes in each direction inside Beltway 8 and 4 lanes in each direction from Beltway 8 to the proposed Grand Parkway. It also recommended to build a new tollway along Hempstead Highway.^[10]

In Houston, the Harris County Toll Road Authority is planning to construct toll managed lanes along and adjacent to the U.S. 290 right-of-way, to be called the Hempstead Tollway.^[11]

Business routes

US 290 has three business routes.

Brenham

Business US Highway 290
Location:	Brenham, Texas
Length:	4.59 mi[12] (7.39 km)

Business U.S. Route 290-F is the original routing of US 290 through the town of Brenham. The route is 4.59 miles (7.39 km) in length. It was established in 1990 when the mainline of US 290 was rerouted along with SH 36 around the western and southern sides of Brenham.^[12] The routing begins to the west of town at an intersection with SH 36. The business route continues east into downtown on Main Street. Before reaching downtown, the route splits into two parallel one-way streets: Main Street carrying westbound traffic and Alamo Street carrying eastbound traffic. It passes through downtown, meeting the business routing of State Highway 36 and the western terminus of SH 105. At this intersection, the business route turns south on Market Street, and continues out of Brenham, rejoining the mainline US 290 near an intersection with FM 577.^[13][14]

Hempstead–Hockley

Business US Highway 290
Location:	Hempstead–Hockley, Texas

Business U.S. Route 290-H is the original routing of US 290 through the towns of Hempstead, Waller, and Hockley.^[15] This route was designated between 1995 and 1998 in stages as a limited-access bypass route was constructed to the north of these towns.^[16]

Cypress

Business US Highway 290
Location:	Cypress, Texas

Business U.S. Route 290-L is the original routing of US 290 through the town of Cypress.^[17] The route was designated in 1993 as a limited-access bypass was built to the northeast of the original routing.^[18]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Texas. All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Kimble	​			I-10 – San Antonio, Junction	Western terminus; I-10 exit 477
	​			RM 479 to I-10 / FM 2169
	​			RM 385 north to US 377
Gillespie	Harper			RM 783 south – Kerrville	West end of RM 783 overlap
				RM 783 north / FM 2093 east – Doss	East end of RM 783 overlap
	Fredericksburg			US 87 north – Mason	West end of US 87 overlap
				RM 965 north (Milam Street) – Enchanted Rock, Cross Mountain
				SH 16 south (Adams Street) – Kerrville	West end of SH 16 overlap
				SH 16 north (Llano Street) – Llano	East end of SH 16 overlap
				US 87 south – San Antonio	East end of US 87 overlap
				RM 1631 east (Olive Street) – Cave Creek
	​			RM 1376 south – Boerne
	Stonewall			RM 1 east
				RM 1623 north	West end of RM 1623 overlap
				RM 1623 south – Albert, Blanco	East end of RM 1623 overlap
	​			PR 52 north – Lyndon B. Johnson State & National Historic Park
Blanco	​			RM 1 west
	​			RM 1320 north – Sandy
	Johnson City			Spur 356 north (Nugent Avenue)
				US 281 north – Marble Falls, Burnet	West end of US 281 overlap
				RM 2766 east – Pedernales Falls State Park
	​			US 281 south – San Antonio	East end of US 281 overlap
	​			RM 3232 north – Pedernales Falls State Park
Hays	Henly			RM 165 west – Blanco
	Dripping Springs			RM 12 – Wimberley, San Marcos
Travis	Austin			RM 1826 south – Driftwood
				SH 71 west – Lake Travis, Llano	West end of SH 71 overlap
				Old Fredericksburg Road	Interchange; west end of freeway; no direct westbound exit
				Monterey Oaks Boulevard / Industrial Oaks Boulevard
				Loop 1 / Brodie Lane / Southwest Parkway
				West Gate Boulevard	No direct westbound exit (signed at Loop 343)
				Loop 343 (Lamar Boulevard) / Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway)
				Manchaca Road / Pack Saddle Pass / Victory Drive	No direct eastbound exit (signed at Loop 343)
				South First Street / Banister Lane	Access to South Austin Medical Center
				Loop 275 (South Congress Avenue)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				I-35 south / SH 71 east – Bastrop, San Antonio, Airport	East end of SH 71 overlap; west end of I-35 overlap; US 290 west follows exit 230
				Woodward Street / Ben White Boulevard	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-35 exit 231
		see I-35
				51st Street / Cameron Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; I-35 exit 237B
				I-35 north / RM 2222 west (via Spur 69) – Waco	East end of I-35 overlap; US 290 east follows exit 238B
				Berkman Drive / Cameron Road
				US 183 – Lampasas, Lockhart, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
				290 Toll Road east / Tuscany Way / Springdale Road – Houston	East end of freeway; west end of 290 Toll Rd.
				290 Toll Road / Arterial A	Access point
				290 Toll Road / Giles Lane / Johnny Morris Road	Access point
				290 Toll Road / Harris Branch Parkway	Access point
				SH 45 Toll / SH 130 Toll / 290 Toll Road – Waco, San Antonio	SH 130 exit 437
				FM 734 west (Parmer Lane) / Old Highway 20
	Manor			290 Toll Road west – Austin	East end of 290 Toll Rd.
				Loop 212 (West Murray Avenue)
				FM 973 / Loop 212 – Taylor, Manor
	​			FM 1100 east – Kimbro
Bastrop	Elgin			SH 95 north – Coupland, Taylor	West end of SH 95 overlap
				Loop 109 north to FM 1704 – Historical District
				SH 95 south – Bastrop	East end of SH 95 overlap
	​			FM 696 east – Lexington
	McDade			Loop 223 (Waco Street) – McDade
				Loop 223 south (Columbus Street) / FM 2336 – McDade, Swiftex
	​			SH 21 – Bryan, Bastrop	Interchange
	Paige			Spur 186 (Gonzales Street)
	​			FM 2104 south – Serbin, Smithville
Lee	Giddings			US 77
				FM 141 north (Orange Street) – Dime Box
	​			FM 180 north – Nails Creek State Park
Fayette	Ledbetter			FM 1291 south – Fayetteville
	Carmine			Spur 458 south – Round Top
Washington	​			SH 237 south – Roundtop, La Grange	Interchange
	​			FM 2502 south – Greenvine
	Burton			FM 390 east – Burton
	​			Spur 125 west – Burton, Cotton Gin Museum
	​			FM 1948 north
	​			FM 2679 north – Zionsville
	Brenham			Bus. US 290 east / SH 36 north – Brenham, Somerville	interchange; west end of SH 36 overlap; west end of freeway
				Old Mill Creek Road
				FM 389 – Blinn College, Industrial Park
				Lubbock Street / Industrial Boulevard	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				SH 36 south / Bus. SH 36 north – Bellville	East end of SH 36 overlap
				Bus. US 290 west / FM 577	interchange; east end of freeway
	​			FM 2447 east
	​			FM 1371 south
	​			FM 1155 – Washington
	​			FM 1371 south
Waller	​			FM 1736 east
	Hempstead			SH 6 north (US 290 Bus. east) – College Station, Bryan, Hempstead	interchange; west end of SH 6 overlap; west end of freeway
				FM 1488 – Hempstead, Magnolia
	​			FM 359 – Brookshire	no direct eastbound exit (signed at FM 1488)
	Prairie View			Liendo Parkway
				FM 1098 – Prairie View
	​			James Muse Parkway
	​			FM 362
Harris	Waller			Fields Store Road
				FM 2920 – Waller, Tomball
				Binford Road
	Hockley			Kickapoo Road
				Kermier Road
				Hegar Road (US 290 Bus. west)
	​			Badtke Road
	​			Roberts Road / Katy Hockley Road
	​			Becker Road
	​			Bauer Road
	​			SH 99 Toll (Grand Parkway)
	Cypress			Fairfield Place Drive	Westbound access only
				Mason Road
				Mueschke Road
				Cypress-Rosehill Road / Fry Road / Spring-Cypress Road	No direct eastbound exit (signed at Mueschke Road)
	​			Skinner Road / Spring-Cypress Road	No entrance ramps (closed until June 2016)
	​			Barker-Cypress Road
	​			Telge Road
	​			Hempstead Road / Huffmeister Road	Access to North Cypress Medical Center; Hempstead Rd. not signed westbound
	Jersey Village			SH 6 south / FM 1960 east	East end of SH 6 overlap, access to Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center
				Eldridge Road / West Road
				290 Express Lane	West end of reversible HOV/toll lane; only access point between US 290 and the Express Lane
				NW Station Park & Ride	Westbound right exit and eastbound entrance for 290 Express Lane
				Jones Road
				FM 529 / Senate Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				Sam Houston Tollway
	Houston			Beltway 8 (Frontage Road) / West Little York Road / North Gessner Road	No westbound entrance (closed until mid-2016)
				West Little York Park & Ride	Interchange for 290 Express Lane
				Fairbanks-North Houston Road	No westbound entrance (closed until June 2016)
				West Tidwell Road / Hollister Road
				Pinemont Drive / Bingle Road / West 43rd Street
				Antoine Drive / West 34th Street	No eastbound entrance
				I-10 – San Antonio, Downtown	I-10 exit 763; I-610 exit 11; eastbound exit only.
				Mangum Road / Dacoma Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				I-10 east / Hempstead Road / Katy Road – NW Transit Center, Downtown	Eastbound exit for 290 Express Lane; east end of HOV/toll lanes at I-10, exit 763.
				I-610	Eastern terminus; I-610 west exit 13A, north exit 13B
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus       ETC       HOV only       Incomplete access

References

1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "U.S. Highway No. 290". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
2. "Bill: HB 540 Legislative Session: 79(R)." Texas Legislature. Retrieved on February 12, 2009.
3. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "U.S. Highway No. 87". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
4. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 290". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
5. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business Interstate Highway No. 10-F". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
6. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business Interstate Highway No. 10-G". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
7. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Ranch to Market Road No. 1312". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
8. Foster, Robin. "Officials favoring upgrade by TXDOT." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday September 20, 2011. Retrieved on October 1, 2011.
9. "290 East Manor Expressway Toll Road". CTRMA. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
10. Houston Freeways
11. "Hempstead/US 290 Managed Lanes". HCTRA. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
12. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business U.S. Highway No. 290-F". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
13. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2014). Texas County Map Book (PDF) (Map) (2014 ed.). 1:120,000. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 452. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
14. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2014). Texas County Map Book (PDF) (Map) (2014 ed.). 1:120,000. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 453. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
15. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2014). Texas County Map Book (PDF) (Map) (2014 ed.). 1:120,000. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 475. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
16. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business U.S. Highway No. 290-H". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
17. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2014). Texas County Map Book (PDF) (Map) (2014 ed.). 1:120,000. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 496. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
18. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business U.S. Highway No. 290-L". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 10, 2013.