U.S. Route 54 in Texas

US Highway 54
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	111.583 mi[1] (179.575 km)
Existed:	1927 – present
El Paso section
South end:	Loop 375 in El Paso
Major junctions:	I-110 in El Paso US 62 in El Paso I-10 / US 180 in El Paso
North end:	US 54 at Chaparral, N.M.
Panhandle section
South end:	US 54 near Nara Visa, N.M.
Major junctions:	US 87 / US 385 in Dalhart US 287 in Stratford
North end:	US-54 at Texhoma, Okla.
Location
Counties:	El Paso, Hartley, Dallam, Sherman
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs Park Rec FM ← SH 53 SH 54 →

U.S. Route 54 in Texas is a U.S. Highway that travels through two portions of Texas: one in the far western point, and the other in the far northwest Panhandle.

Route description

US 54 begins in El Paso, Texas, as a controlled access highway at an intersection with Loop 375. The route then travels northward, joining up with I-110 within the first mile. A mile later, these highways intersect Interstate 10 at a complex, three level high expressway interchange which the locals call the "Spaghetti Bowl." I-110 ends here, while US 54 continues north through El Paso. The route turns northeast, becoming a rare example of a collector-express freeway in Texas (until the Pershing Drive exit) before entering New Mexico. The route re-enters Texas in the northwest Panhandle, traveling northeast through sparsely populated country. The route intersects US Route 87 and US Route 385 in Dalhart and US Route 287 in Stratford, before exiting into the Oklahoma Panhandle at Texhoma.

History

The southwestern portion was originally part of the Ozark Trails, paralleling the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad, and was originally given the numbering of State Highway 33. SH 33 continued into Texas farther south in the Panhandle, following the former Ozark Trail. The northern Panhandle portion was originally assigned to State Highway 56, paralleling the Chicago, Rock Island, and Gulf Railroad.

When the U.S. Highway System was unveiled in 1926, the northern section was assigned to U.S. Highway 54, while the southwestern portion was assigned to U.S. Highway 366. The US 366 designation was canceled in 1932 when other sections of the highway were added to an adjusted US Route 70. This section was added to US 54 in 1934, and has retained its numbering since. By 1939, the corresponding state highway designations had been canceled.

The highway continues on its original routing except for realignment in 1990 in El Paso, with the old route becoming US Business Route 54 and Texas Loop 478. Most of the current US 54 in El Paso is a limited-access highway known as the Patriot Freeway which in 2010 was only partially completed.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[2][3]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
El Paso	El Paso	0.00	0.00		Loop 375 east	National western terminus of US 54; Loop 375 exit 58
				20	Loop 375 west	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				20A	US 62 (Paisano Drive)	Signed as exit 20 eastbound
				20B	I-110 south – Juárez, México (Autos only)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				21	I-10 / US 180 – Las Cruces, Van Horn	Signed as exits 21A (east) and 21B (west); no exit 21A eastbound (I-10 east is signed at exit 20); no access from I-10 to US 54 west; I-10 exit 22B
				21C	Montana Avenue	signed as part of exit 21B eastbound
				22B	Pershing Drive	signed as exit 22 westbound
				23	Cassidy Road - Fort Bliss	signed as part of exit 22 westbound
				24A	Fred Wilson Avenue / Broaddus Avenue / Railroad Drive
				24B	Spur 601 east – Airport
				25	Ellerthorpe Avenue / Broaddus Avenue
				26	Bus. US 54 east (Dyer Street / Loop 478) / Hercules Avenue
				27	Hondo Pass Drive
				28	Diana Drive
				29	Loop 375 (Woodrow Bean Trans Mountain Drive)	Loop 375 exit 21
				30	Sun Valley Drive	No direct westbound exit (signed at exit 31)
				31	FM 3255 (MLK Jr. Boulevard) / Kenworthy Street
				32	Sean Haggerty Drive	At-grade intersection; east end of freeway
		13.6	21.9		FM 2529 (McCombs Street) – Chaparral
					Bus. US 54 west (Dyer Street) – Chaparral
		20.0	32.2		US 54 east – Alamogordo	New Mexico state line
US 54 crosses through New Mexico
Hartley		0.0	0.0		US 54 west – Nara Visa, Tucumcari	New Mexico state line
		8.5	13.7		RM 3296 west
		9.3	15.0		FM 767 east – Channing
		35.2	56.6		FM 694	Counterclockwise terminus of FM 694
		37.5	60.4		FM 998 south – Hartley, TDCJ Dalhart Unit
		38.0	61.2		FM 694	Clockwise terminus of FM 694
		39.0	62.8		FM 3139 south – Airport
Dallam	Dalhart	40.8	65.7		Bus. US 87 south (7th Street) – Amarillo	west end of US 87 Bus. overlap
		41.3	66.5		US 87 / US 385 / FM 297 east (First Street) – Boise City, Clayton, Amarillo	east end of US 87 Bus. overlap
		46.4	74.7		FM 695 east – Airport
	Chamberlin	51.5	82.9		FM 3212 east
		59.8	96.2		FM 3213 west
	Conlen	60.7	97.7		FM 807 south – Hartley	west end of FM 807 overlap
		61.0	98.2		FM 807 north – Kerrick	east end of FM 807 overlap
Sherman		69.3	111.5		FM 2014 south
	Stratford	72.3	116.4		US 287 (Poplar Street) – Boise City, Dumas
		72.5	116.7		SH 15 east (Main Street) – Gruver
		73.0	117.5		FM 2677 north
		89.5	144.0		FM 119 south – Sunray
	Texhoma	91.9	147.9		US-54 east – Texhoma	Oklahoma state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

El Paso business loop

Business U.S. Highway 54-A
Location:	El Paso
Length:	12.466 mi[4] (20.062 km)
Existed:	1990–present[4]

Business U.S. Highway 54-A or Bus. US 54-A is a business route of US 54 at El Paso commissioned in 1990. The 12.5-mile (20.1 km) route begins at US 54 and State Highway Loop 478 at the Patriot Freeway. The route runs along Dyer St. through northeast El Paso near Fort Bliss to its northern terminus at the New Mexico state line. The roadway continues forward into New Mexico for 0.3 miles (0.5 km) over a local road not recognized by New Mexico as a state highway that becomes a one-way entrance ramp merging with US 54. Highway signs in New Mexico direct southbound traffic to turn on State Line Drive just within Texas to access Bus. US 54-A.^[5]

Bus. US 54-A and Loop 478 are the former route of US 54 prior to construction of the Patriot Freeway. Bus. US 54-A was created when Loop 478, which originally followed the route to New Mexico, was shortened to its current terminus at the beginning of the business loop.^[4][6] Loop 478 was first intended in 1969 to be the replacement for US 54 over the route and was planned to be signed as Business US 54 once the current US 54 was completed.^[6] Bus. US 54-A was concurrent with US 54 until 1991.^[4]

Major intersections

The entire route is in El Paso, El Paso County.

mi[5]	km	Destinations	Notes
0	0	US 54 (Patriot Frwy.) / Loop 478 (Dyer St.)	Southern terminus
3.8	6.1	Loop 375 (Purple Heart Memorial Frwy.) – Canutillo
4.0	6.4	FM 2529 (McCombs St.) – Chaparral, NM
12.5	20.1	To US 54 in New Mexico via local road	Northern terminus at Newman in Doña Ana County, New Mexico
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Texas portal

References

1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "U.S. Highway No. 54". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
2. Google (July 28, 2010). "Route of US 54 in El Paso" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
3. Google (July 28, 2010). "Route of US 54 in the Texas Panhandle" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
4. Texas Department of Transportation. "Highway Designation File – Business U.S. Highway No. 54-A". Retrieved May 30, 2010
5. Google (2010-11-18). "Route of Bus. US 54-A"" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
6. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway Loop No. 478". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 30, 2010.