U.S. Route 59 in Texas

This article is about the current U.S. Highway. For the current state highway, see Texas State Highway 59.
See also: Interstate 69 in Texas, Interstate 69W, Interstate 369 (Texas), and Texas State Highway Loop 20

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 59 in Texas. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 59.
U.S. Highway 59 marker
U.S. Highway 59
Map
US 59 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length622.736 mi[1] (1,002.196 km)
Existed1935–present
Major junctions
South endMexico–US border in Laredo
Major intersections
North end US 59 / US 71 in Texarkana, AR
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountiesWebb, Duval, McMullen, Live Oak, Bee, Goliad, Victoria, Jackson, Wharton, Fort Bend, Harris, Montgomery, Liberty, San Jacinto, Polk, Angelina, Nacogdoches, Rusk, Shelby, Panola, Harrison, Marion, Cass, Bowie
Highway system
← SH 58→ SH 59
US 59, co-signed with I-69, in Houston looking east
US 59, connects Texarkana to Laredo. It is also known as the Lloyd M. Bentsen Highway in honor of the late Democratic U.S. senator from Texas, who served from 1971 to 1992. This sign is located near Freer, the seat of Duval County east of Laredo.

U.S. Highway 59 (US 59) in the U.S. state of Texas is named the Lloyd Bentsen Highway, after Lloyd Bentsen, former U.S. senator from Texas. In northern Houston, US 59, co-signed with Interstate 69 (I-69), is the Eastex Freeway (from Downtown Houston to the Liberty County/Montgomery County line). To the south, which is also co-signed with I-69, it is the Southwest Freeway (from Rosenberg to Downtown Houston). The stretch of the Southwest Freeway just west of The Loop was formerly one of the busiest freeways in North America, with a peak AADT of 371,000 in 1998.[2]

US 59 (overlapped by US 71) actually straddles the border between Texas and Arkansas north of I-30 near Texarkana, with the east side of the highway on the Arkansas side and the west side of the highway on the Texas side. In the past, both highways remained on the border past I-30 as State Line Avenue to downtown Texarkana; today, only US 71 does so. Nearly 90 percent of this route is designated to become part of I-69 in the future. Currently 75-mile-per-hour (121 km/h) speed limits are allowed on US 59 in Duval County and portions of northern Polk County.

The total length of the southernmost segment of US 59 that passes through Texas and terminates at the Mexico–US border is 615 miles (990 km).

  1. ^ Texas Department of Transportation (2021). "Statewide Planning Map LRS Readout (ArcGIS)". Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  2. ^ "TexasFreeway > Houston > Photo Gallery > US 59 > The Southwest Freeway". www.texasfreeway.com. Retrieved September 30, 2016.