Texas State Highway 6

State Highway 6
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	476.4 mi[1] (766.7 km)
Existed:	1939[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-45 / SH 146 in La Marque
	I-69 / US 59 in Sugar Land I-10 / US 90 in Houston I-35 in Waco I-20 in Eastland
North end:	SH-6 north of Quanah
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← SH 5 SH 7 → ← SH 156 SH 157 SH 158 →

State Highway 6 (SH 6) runs from the Red River, the Texas–Oklahoma boundary, to northwest of Galveston, where it is known as the Old Galveston Highway. In Sugar Land and Missouri City, it is known as Alvin-Sugarland Road and runs perpendicular to I-69/US 59. In the Houston area, it runs north to FM 1960, then northwest along US Highway 290 to Hempstead, and south to Westheimer Road and Addicks, and is known as Addicks Satsuma Road. In the Bryan–College Station area, it is known as the Earl Rudder Freeway. In Hearne, it is known as Market Street. In Calvert, it is known as Main Street. For most of its length, SH 6 is not a limited-access road.

In 1997, the Texas Legislature designated SH 6 as the Texas Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.^[2]

History

Historic routes

State Highway 6 was one of the original 26 state highways proposed in 1917, overlying the King of Trails Highway. From 1919, the routing mostly followed present-day U.S. Highway 75 from Oklahoma to Dallas, then U.S. Highway 77 to Waco.

Current routes

In 1926, SH 6 was extended along the eastern Gulf Division branch of State Highway 2 to keep SH 2 from having two separate highways with the same number. US 75 and US 77 were overlaid on northern SH 6 from Waco northward through the Dallas area to Denison. While the routes were marked concurrently, the concurrent SH 6 kept its numbering until 1939, when SH 6 was truncated to the Gulf Division routing ending at Waco. It was rerouted south from Hempstead to Galveston, replacing SH 38 from Sugar Land to Galveston. In 1945, the roadway was extended northwest to Breckenridge over SH 67, continuing northwest to near Throckmorton along SH 157, which was decommissioned. Also in 1945, the section in southeast Texas between Hempstead and Sugar Land was cancelled for unknown reasons, and transferred to Farm to Market Road 359. In 1952, the route was truncated on the north side, ending at Breckenridge. This section was transferred to U.S. Highway 183. In 1968, the section between Hempstead and Sugar Land was re-established, as it was routed along U.S. Highway 290 until it reached Farm to Market Road (FM) 1960, then replacing FM 1960 southward to where the southern branch of SH 6 intersected to what is now Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 in Sugar Land. That portion of FM 1960 from 290 to then Highway 90 at Addicks was built in the 1950s, replacing and rerouting some of what was known as Jackrabbit Road. In the early 1970s, the northern section underwent a massive rerouting due to realignments of numerous U.S. and state routes. In 1971, the section from Breckenridge south to Eastland was redesignated as State Highway 69. It was instead rerouted west along U.S. Highway 80 to Cisco, then replaced U.S. Highway 380 northwest to near Old Glory. The route was again extended in 1975, replacing State Highway 283 between Old Glory and Stamford northward to the Texas/Oklahoma border, completing the current routing of SH 6.^[3]

A spur, SH 6A went from SH 6 to Texas City. By 1931, this route was renumbered as State Highway 146.

In June 2016, a section of the highway in Eastland County between Cisco and Albany was destroyed due to major flooding.^[4]

Business routes

SH 6 has three business routes.

Business State Highway 6-N (formerly Loop 23) is a business loop that runs from SH 6 near Marlin in central Texas. The road was bypassed in 1978 by SH 6 and designated Loop 23. The road was redesignated as Business SH 6-N in 1991.^[5][6]

Business State Highway 6-R (formerly Loop 507) is a business loop that runs through Bryan and College Station. The route runs on Texas Avenue in both cities. The route, created in 1972 when SH 6 was routed further north and east, is 12.5 miles (20.1 km) long.^[7] It serves as the eastern boundary of Texas A&M University.

Business State Highway 6-S (formerly Loop 508) is a business loop that runs through Navasota on La Salle Avenue. The route was created in 1972 when SH 6 was rerouted further north and east around town; it is 6.3 miles (10.1 km).^[8]

Route description

A view from the Highway 6 bridge crossing Lake Waco

SH 6 begins at an intersection with Interstate 45 and SH 3 in Bayou Vista, and proceeds to the northwest, paralleling the ATSF railroad tracks. The highway makes a mostly straight line through Galveston, Brazoria, and Fort Bend Counties, passing through the city of Alvin. As the highway traverses through Sugar Land, it makes a turn to the north after passing intersections with Interstate 69/US Route 59 and Alternate US Route 90. The highway continues north into western Harris County, reaching the Westpark Tollway and Interstate 10. It then intersects US Route 290 in CyFair, joining it as they travel to the northwest, thus finishing a large routing around the southern and western portions of Houston. The route continues northwest with US 290 as a limited-access highway. At Hockley, the highway veers to the right, forking from an old alignment of the highway, and bypassing the cities of Waller and Hempstead to the north. At Hempstead, it splits from US 290 and turns northward into Grimes County, where it bypasses the city of Navasota, while Business SH 6 passes through town. The highway then turns northwest again, crossing into Brazos County. The highway starts another bypass here, going around the Bryan/College Station area to the northeast, while the business route goes through these cities. On the northeast side of Bryan, the highway meets US Route 190, and they travel together to the northwest out of the region. SH 6 splits with US 190 in the town of Hearne, but joins US Route 79 before that route splits to the northeast about a mile north of town. SH 6 then continues northwest, traveling through lesser populated farmlands, before approaching Waco. Before entering Waco, it turns southeast on State Loop 340, and bypasses Waco to the south. It reaches an intersection with Interstate 35, and then turns to the northwest again, crossing over Lake Waco. The highway continues northwest and west through more farmland regions in Central Texas, before reaching an intersection with Interstate 20 just south of Eastland. The route briefly turns west, traveling along the former route of US Route 80, before turning back to the northwest at Cisco. As it continues, it is briefly concurrent with US Routes 180 and 277 in northcentral Texas. Just northwest of Stamford, the highway makes its final turn to the north at an intersection with SH 283. The highway then travels through sparsely populated areas of Haskell, Knox, Foard, and Hardeman Counties before ending north of Quanah at the Red River, where it meets Oklahoma State Highway 6.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[9]	km	Destinations	Notes
Galveston	La Marque	0.0	0.0	I-45 / SH 146 north – Houston, Galveston, Texas City	I-45 exit 7B
	Hitchcock	4.9	7.9	FM 519 east – La Marque
		5.9	9.5	FM 2004 to I-45 – Lake Jackson, Freeport
	Santa Fe	9.2	14.8	FM 646 south – Lake Jackson, Freeport	southern terminus of FM 646 concurrency
		9.7	15.6	FM 646 north – Dickinson	northern terminus of FM 646 concurrency
		11.2	18.0	FM 1764 east – Texas City, Dog Track
Brazoria	Alvin	18.7	30.1	SH 35 – Angleton, Houston	interchange
				Spur 273 north
		19.8	31.9	Bus. SH 35 – Angleton, Houston
	Manvel	27.0	43.5	FM 1128 north – Pearland
		29.8	48.0	SH 288 – Angleton, Houston	interchange
Fort Bend	Arcola	33.9	54.6	FM 521 (Mc Keever Road) – Houston Southwest Airport	interchange
	Missouri City	37.0	59.5	Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road north	interchange
		41.6	66.9	FM 1092 north – Stafford
	Sugar Land	45.7	73.5	I-69 / US 59 – Victoria, Houston	interchange
				University Boulevard	interchange
		47.8	76.9	Alt. US 90	interchange
Harris	Houston	54.3	87.4	Westpark Tollway / Alief Clodine	interchange
		56.3	90.6	FM 1093 (Westheimer Road) – Fulshear, Houston
		59.7	96.1	I-10 (US 90) / Grisby Road / Park Row Boulevard	I-10 exit 751
		66.3	106.7	FM 529
				Hempstead Highway / Jackrabbit Road	interchange
		69.6	112.0	US 290 east / FM 1960 east – Humble, Houston	interchange; south end of US 290 overlap
see US 290
Waller	Hempstead	101	163	US 290 west / Bus. US 290 east – Brenham, Austin, Hempstead, Bellville	interchange; north end of US 290 overlap
	Howth	105	169	FM 1736
	​	107	172	FM 2979 east to FM 362
Grimes	​	112	180	FM 2 – Camp Allen, Luther Unit
	​	114	183	FM 1227 west – Wallace Pack Unit
	​	115	185	FM 2988 east – Whitehall
	​	117	188	Bus. SH 6 north – Navasota	interchange; no northbound entrance
	Navasota	120	190	SH 105 east / Spur 515 – Conroe	interchange
		121	195	SH 90 / SH 105 west – Anderson, Brenham	interchange
		122	196	FM 3090	interchange
		123	198	Bus. SH 6 south – Navasota, truck route to SH 105 west	interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
Brazos	​	126	203	FM 2154 – Millican	interchange; south end of freeway
	​			Westward Ho
	​	132	212	FM 159 – Millican
	​			Texas World Speedway (To be shut down late 2015)
	College Station			Nantucket Drive	no direct northbound exit
				SH 40 (William D. Fitch Parkway)
				Barron Road
				Rock Prairie Road	Access to College Station Medical Center
				Bus. SH 6 north (Texas Avenue) / Deacon Drive – Texas A&M University
				FM 2818 (Harvey Mitchell Parkway) / Emerald Parkway
				Southwest Parkway / Raintree Drive
				SH 30 – Huntsville
				FM 60 (University Drive) – Texas A&M University
	Bryan			FM 1179 (Briarcrest Drive)	Access to St. Joseph Regional Health Center
				FM 158 (William J. Bryan Parkway / Boonville Road)
				Old Reliance Road / MLK Jr. Street
				US 190 east / SH 21 – Madisonville, Caldwell, Airport	South end of US 190 concurrency
				FM 974 (Tabor Road)
				Woodville Road
				Department of Public Safety	southbound exit only
				Bus. SH 6 south – Bryan	no northbound exit
				FM 2818 (Harvey Mitchell Parkway)	interchange; north end of freeway
Brazos–Robertson county line	Benchley			SH OSR / Spur 231	interchange
Robertson	​			FM 2549 north
	Hearne			US 79 south / US 190 west / FM 391 east – Milano, Wheelock	interchange; north end of US 190 overlap; south end of US 79 overlap
				FM 485 west – Cameron, Hearne Municipal Airport
	​			US 79 north – Franklin, Buffalo, Palestine	interchange; north end of US 79 overlap
	Calvert			FM 1644 south (Texas Street)	south end of FM 1644 overlap
				FM 1644 north (Hanna Street)	north end of FM 1644 overlap
				FM 979 (Browning Street)
	​			FM 2159 north
	​			SH 14 north – Bremond, Mexia
	​			FM 1373 – Bremond
Falls	​			FM 46 south – Bremond
	​			FM 1373 south – Rosebud
	​			FM 413 – Reagan	interchange
	​			Bus. SH 6 north – Marlin	interchange
	Marlin			SH 7	interchange
				FM 147	interchange
	​			Bus. SH 6 south – Marlin	interchange
	​			FM 2307 east – St. Paul
	Perry			FM 1240 east – Otto
McLennan	Riesel			FM 1860 – Lake Creek, Mart
	​			SH 164 – Mart, Groesbeck	interchange
	​			FM 3222 east (Hallsburg Road)
	​			FM 1860 south
	Waco			Loop 340 north / Loop 484 north to Bus. US 77 – Waco, Bellmead	interchange; south end of Loop 340 overlap
	​			Frontage Road	interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Waco			FM 434 (3rd Street) / FM 3400 (University Parks Drive)	interchange
				12th Street	interchange
	Robinson			US 77 – Cameron, Waco	interchange
				I-35 – Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin	south end of freeway; I-35 exit 330, access to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center
	Waco			FM 3476 (Bagby Avenue)	no direct northbound exit (signed at I-35)
				Beverly Drive	no southbound exit
				FM 3223 (Imperial Drive)
				US 84 (Waco Drive) / Spur 298 (Franklin Avenue)	North end of Loop 340 concurrency, access to Providence Medical Center
				Sanger Avenue	Access to Providence Medical Center
				Loop 396 (Bosque Boulevard)
				Lake Waco, Midway Park
				Lake Waco, Speegleville Park
	​			Speegleville Road
	​			Spur 412 (McLaughlin Road)	interchange; north end of freeway
	​			FM 185 – Crawford, China Spring
Bosque	Valley Mills			SH 317 south (Seventh Street) – Crawford, McGregor
				FM 56 north (Fourth Street) – Laguna Park
	​			FM 217 west – Gatesville
	​			FM 854 south
	​			FM 2602 south
	Clifton			FM 219 (5th Street) – Cranfills Gap, Airport
				FM 3220 south
	​			FM 2136 west
	Meridian			SH 22 (West Morgan Street) – Hamilton, Meridian, Glen Rose, Hillsboro, Cleburne
	Iredell			FM 927 east – Walnut Springs
	​			FM 1238 – Cranfills Gap, Iredell
Hamilton	Hico			SH 220 north – Glen Rose
				US 281 south (Walnut Street) – Hamilton	South end of US 281 concurrency
Erath	​			US 281 north – Stephenville	North end of US 281 concurrency
	Alexander			FM 914 – Carlton, Stephenville
	Dublin			FM 847 east (North Norton) – Stephenville
				FM 219 south (Liberty) – Carlton, Airport	South end of FM 219 concurrency
				US 67 / US 377 / FM 219 north (Patrick Street)	North end of FM 219 concurrency
Comanche	​			FM 1496 south – Comyn, Proctor
	De Leon			SH 16 south (Texas Street) – Comanche, Business District	South end of SH 16 concurrency
				SH 16 north – Desdemona, Strawn	North end of SH 16 concurrency
Eastland	Gorman			FM 2921 east
				FM 8 east – Desdemona	south end of FM 8 overlap
				FM 8 west – Duster	north end of FM 8 overlap
	​			FM 8 east
	​			Loop 389 west
	Carbon			Loop 389 east / FM 2526 – Carbon
	Punkin Center			FM 2563 east
	​			I-20 – Cisco, Ranger	I-20 exit 340
	Eastland			SH 112 to I-20 – Airport
				FM 3101 north
	​			Spur 490 south
	Cisco			US 183 Truck north (Avenue A)	south end of US 183 Truck overlap
				US 183 south / SH 206 south to I-20	north end of US 183 Truck overlap; south end of US 183 overlap
				US 183 north – Breckenridge	North end of US 183 concurrency
	​			FM 2807 west – Lake Cisco, Airport
	​			FM 1853 north
Callahan	​			FM Spur 880 west to FM 880 – Putnam
Shackelford	Moran			FM 2408 east
				FM 576 – Eolian
	Sedwick			FM 2312 south
	​			FM 601 east – Eolian, Ibex
	Albany			US 180 east / US 283 north / FM 1084 north – Breckenridge, Throckmorton	South end of US 180 / US 283 concurrency
				US 283 south – Baird	North end of US 283 concurrency
	​			SH 351 – Abilene	interchange
	​			US 180 west – Anson	North end of US 180 concurrency
	​			FM 142 north
Jones	Lueders			FM 1597 west
	​			FM 600 south – Nugent	South end of FM 600 concurrency
	Avoca			FM 600 north / FM 1636 west	North end of FM 600 concurrency
	​			FM 704 south – Airport
	​			FM 2702 west – Hamlin, truck route to SH 6 north / US 277
	Stamford			FM 142 east
				Bus. US 277 south (McHarg) / FM 1226 south (Swenson) – Anson, Funston	South end of US 277 Bus. concurrency; traffic circle around U.S. Post Office
Haskell				US 277 – Haskell, Anson	interchange; north end of US 277 Bus. overlap; south end of SH 283 overlap
	​			SH 283 north – Aspermont	North end of SH 283 concurrency
	​			FM 1661 south – Sagerton
	​			FM 1225 east
	Rule			US 380 (Fifth Street) – Aspermont, Haskell
	​			FM 2407 west	south end of FM 2407 overlap
	​			FM 2407 east – Haskell	north end of FM 2407 overlap
	Rochester			FM 617 – Weinert
	O'Brien			FM 2229
Knox	Knox City			SH 222 (Main Street)
	​			FM 1292 west
	​			FM 2534 east
	Benjamin			US 82 / SH 114 – Guthrie, Seymour
	​			FM 1756 east – Gilliland	South end of FM 1756 concurrency
	​			FM 1756 west – Truscott, Truscott Brine Lake	North end of FM 1756 concurrency
Foard	​			FM 263 west
	​			FM 1594 east
	​			FM 2003 west
	​			FM 98 east
	Crowell			US 70 – Paducah, Vernon
	​			FM 3103 east – Margaret
Hardeman	​			PR 62 west – Copper Breaks State Park
	​			FM 2568 – Airport
	Quanah			FM 104 west – Paducah
				US 287 (11th Street) – Childress, Vernon
				Spur 133 west (3rd Street)	south end of Spur 133 overlap
				Spur 133 east (Nelson Street)	north end of Spur 133 overlap
				FM 2640 east
	​			FM 2533 east
	​			FM 1166 south
	​			SH-6 north – Altus	Oklahoma state line (Red River bridge)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References