Current and historic US highways in Brownsville, Texas

Highway

In Brownsville from

US 96 [I]

1926-1934

US 83

1931-present

US 281

1934-present

US 77

1945-present

(Note: since I don't have access to a comprehensive collection of historical road atlases, this page relies heavily on the research of both Robert Droz and Stephen Taylor. Additionally, all of the photos are courtesy of Steven.)

I need to begin with the disclaimer that researching US highways in Brownsville has turned out to be a nightmare - both for myself and for Steven, who has been there on two different occasions to take photos (because the signage there is so confusing)! I praise the Texas DoT's quality signage on many of my other pages, but it appears that the Rio Grande Valley is an exception to their normally meticulous standards. Steven agrees: he's done a lot of travelling through the state, and says he has "never seen such messy signage". Not only are there inconsistencies among the posted signs; there are also discrepancies between the signs, Texas DoT maps, and DoT route descriptions. With this much disagreement among "official" sources, it's impossible to determine the "facts". Consequently, some of what I've written below are guesses and interpretations on my part. If you have info that sheds light on any of this, please let me know!

In 1926, there was only one US route serving Brownsville, and it no longer exists. US 96 [I] was originally signed along what is now US 281 from Alice to Pharr, and from there along today's Business US 83 through Harlingen to Brownsville. (The direct road between Kingsville and Harlingen - today's US 77 - did not exist at the time.)

Map 1: 1926 to 1931

Concerning the exact routing of US 96 through Brownsville: the original bridge to Matamoras Mexico was built in 1909; it's known today as the "B&M Bridge". Obviously it was there when US 96 was commissioned, so it's possible that the US 96 designation could've been routed to this bridge. However, it's also possible that the B&M Bridge never served as a US route, because the second bridge (known as the Gateway International Bridge) was built sometime in the 1920's. The earliest Brownsville highway map I've seen (1936) does show the Gateway Bridge as the southern terminus of US routes serving the city, and I'll hazard a guess that highways in Brownsville have always been routed onto Gateway rather than B&M. But I haven't come across anything that confirms this, so if you have any more info, please let me know! Until then, I'll assume US 96 probably used Central Boulevard, Elizabeth Street (which ran both ways then), and a short segment of 14th Street, ending at the Gateway Bridge.

In 1931, the US 83 designation was extended into Texas, essentially along its modern route. US 83 came into Pharr from McAllen (as it does today), and at the time was co-signed with US 96 from there to Brownsville. The two highways continued to follow the same route through town.

Map 2: 1931 to 1934

In 1934, the US 96 designation was changed - such that, from Alice, it went to Laredo instead of Pharr. So US 96 was already done serving Brownsville by 1934 (it was completely decommissioned by 1939). The original route of US 96 between Alice and Pharr became part of a newly-commissioned southern segment of US 281. However -- instead of being co-signed with US 83 west from Pharr to Harlingen and Brownsville, as US 96 had been -- US 281 went south from Pharr (as it does today) to the Rio Grande. Where the highway began to follow the river eastward, "North/South" signage ended and "East/West" signage began (more info on my US 281 page). In Brownsville, US 281 was routed down the Military Highway (a different alignment than modern 281), which curved to become Elizabeth. It met US 83 at Central Blvd, and the two routes were likely co-signed down Elizabeth to a common terminus on 14th at the Gateway Bridge. (Although I should mention: Steven sent a 1936 TX DoT map which appears to indicate that the US 83 designation ended at Central and Elizabeth, and that it was only US 281 that continued to Gateway. However, I find that unlikely, and I prefer to attribute it to sloppy cartography.)

Map 3: 1934 to 1945

In 1945 the direct highway between Kingsville and Harlingen was built, and US 77 was routed onto it. As it does today, US 77 met US 83 in Harlingen, and was co-signed with it down to Brownsville. In the city, the routes continued to use Central, Elizabeth, and 14th.

Map 4: 1945 to 1950's

Note also a few other changes that probably took place somewhere around this time period: 18th Street was used as a segment of the new International Boulevard, which was built to serve as something of a bypass for 14th. The Gateway Bridge approach was modified to connect with International, and 14th no longer provided direct access to the bridge.

Also, at some point Boca Chica Boulevard was extended west (across Military Hwy and the railroad) and it became the new alignment for US 281. When this happened, the US 281 designation was apparently truncated to the intersection with Central. Actually, I should clarify that: while TXDoT may have officially truncated the route on paper, it appears the district DoT office never got around to taking down the signs. I believe many of the US 281 signs that are still posted today were supposed to have been removed fifty years ago. Part of the reason for this theory is that many of the 281 signs on the historic part of the route use an apparently older, slightly odd-shaped shield (see photos B, I, and L) -- but there are other, apparently newer, 281 signs that use more standard shields (see photos E, F, H, and K).

This is the time period where making these maps became difficult for me: do I go by the route descriptions? or by the posted signs? The map above is sort of a hybrid: it shows US 281 on its Boca Chica alignment, but it also indicates that US 281 signs probably remained along Elizabeth. Not really a problem yet at this point, anyway - it would've made just as much sense to co-sign 281 with 77 and 83 to Gateway.

Sometime during the 1950's the modern US 77/83 freeway was built between Harlingen and Brownsville. At the time, the southern terminus of this freeway was at International Blvd. The US 77/83 designations were routed onto this freeway, and then down International to the same old end at the Gateway Bridge. A new Business Loop designation began where the freeway veers away from Central Blvd (off the north edge of this map), running from there along the original route (Central/Elizabeth), reconnecting with mainline 77/83 at International.

Map 5: 1950's to 1990's

From what I can tell, according to TXDoT literature, the business loop is officially "Business US Highway 77". That's it. Apparently there is no "Business US 83" here officially (refer to David Stanek's page). But here's where I'm guessing there was a pretty radical departure from what the central DoT office decided and what the district DoT office actually did. For one thing, it appears that - instead of adding auxiliary "BUSINESS" signs above US 77 shields - in many cases the district DoT made a non-standard decision to simply add the word "BUSINESS" directly onto the existing US 77 shields (some examples in the photo section, below). And worse: instead of taking down the US 83 and US 281 shields along Central and Elizabeth, they added the word "BUSINESS" to those signs as well! So the map above reflects signage posted in the field, not the TXDoT official route designations.

The notion of "Business 83" doesn't bother me; it works fine, even if it's not official. But the "Business 281" signs were (and continue to be) a problem. It's uncommon for a mainline US route to end at a business route. And it's extremely unconventional for a mainline route to end at the same place where its own business route begins! At this point in time, the US 281 designation should've either been a.) extended east along Boca Chica to the new US 77/83, or b.) extended down Central and Elizabeth. But apparently TXDoT did neither - nor did they check to see that the district office re-signed the routes correctly.

Before we move on, please note one other change I've shown on this map (although I don't know exactly when it happened): Elizabeth became one-way southeast from Palm Boulevard; Washington Street (one block to the north) became the northwestbound counterpart.

In the late 1990's, the US 77/83 freeway was extended through International Blvd, to its modern border crossing: Veterans Memorial Bridge at Los Tomates. I have yet to see a decent map that shows the alignment of the new segment, so I've drawn in my best guess.

Map 6: 1990's to present

Again, this map reflects current signage - not official route descriptions. The routing problems are compounded now, partly because Business US 77 has become a "Spur" instead of a "Loop". Normally that would be acceptable - but it doesn't work well in this particular case, because the quickest way to get from Gateway to the US 77/83 freeway is not via Business 77, but rather via International (which is no longer a US route). This results in double-take signage such as that shown in Photo K. Also see:

Photo A (2000)

This is looking southwest on today's International Boulevard at the Gateway Bridge to Mexico. The light in the foreground is Adams Street; Washington is next (one-way right today); and Elizabeth is the block beyond that. Although the configuration has changed quite a bit since the 1920's, this is roughly the same view one would've seen looking southwest on 14th, back when that was the south end of US 96 (see maps 1 and 2). In later years this was also the south end of US 83 (maps 2, 3, 4, and 5), US 281 (map 3), and US 77 (maps 4 and 5).

Photo B (2000)

This is looking southeast on Elizabeth; today these are the last shields posted along the route. This was once US 96, and later US 83, 281, and 77. Now it's officially just Business US 77 (signage notwithstanding). Note the odd-shaped shield on the 281 sign: I believe that hails from a time long ago when US 281 really was routed through here (pre-1940). Apparently when the route was truncated, the local DoT just left the signs up. Anyway, a few blocks ahead is International; just to the right of that intersection is the Gateway Bridge.

Photo C (2000)

This is looking the opposite direction on Elizabeth: northwest from International Blvd. The road is one-way southeastbound now, but it used to run both ways.

Photo D (2001)

The Cadillac is heading south on Central Blvd; that was originally US 96, and later US 83 and US 77. Today it's officially Business US 77. The cross street is Boca Chica. In the 1940's or 50's, when US 281 was realigned onto Boca Chica, it's "east" terminus was truncated such that it began to the right (see maps 4, 5, and 6).

The photo below is a closeup of the signage - which is one of the few sign assemblies in town that actually match the official TX DoT highway designations.

Photo E

Note the word "BUSINESS" on the US 77 shield. Ahead on Business 77 there are many signs for US 83, Business 83, US 281, and Business 281.

Photo F (2001)

Here we're looking west from the Central Blvd intersection on Boca Chica. Since the 1940's or 50's, this has been the official east beginning of US 281, according to TXDoT info (see maps 4, 5, and 6). However, as you'll see below, much of the signage in town belies that.

Photo G (2001)

This is looking the same direction (west on Boca Chica), but we're on the other side of Central (the sign in Photo F is in the distance, above the bed of the pickup). From this perspective, TX hwy. 48 ends; US 281 begins straight ahead; and Central is "Business US 77" both right and left. But check out the signage (shown close-up below):

Photo H (2001)

Hmmm... the top 281 sign is ok. So is the left US 77 sign, assuming it used to say "Business" (I can't tell whether it's missing or just faded). "Business 83" is questionable, and "Business 281" is a complete fabrication. To the right is certainly not mainline US 77/83; it should either say "TO US 77/83" or else those shields should say "Business" as well.

Photo I (2001)

This is the opposite direction (east) on Boca Chica, approaching Central. This is the actual east end of US 281 since about 1948. But instead of an "End US 281" assembly, we're told the route continues to the right on Central! Looks like they recycled an older 281 shield.

In the shadows behind this sign, you can just make out a couple more signs. They're shown close-up in the photo below.

Photo J (2001)

This is a mystery to me. That could've been a US 281 shield under the "East" sign, perhaps with a right turn arrow below that (similar to the assembly in Photo I). But then, why would there have been two of the same assemblies? Seems more likely that would've been a TX 48 marker (which was on this segment of Boca Chica before US 281). But then, why didn't they either leave it up - or else take all the signs down? And why they used three separate posts is beyond me. On the back of this print, Stephen wrote "Signage is haphazard in south Texas". I had to laugh at the understatement...

Photo K (2000)

This is looking northeast on International, just after entering the country from the Gateway Bridge. It would be a little less confusing if they'd put a "Business" modifier on the left assembly (which directs traffic up Washington), even though it's technically only Business 77 that direction. I'm guessing the right assembly was from a time when International actually was mainline US 77/83 (see map 5), and that the "TO" was added after the freeway was extended (see map 6). But now the "North" auxiliary is unnecessary... and a bit misleading: if you wanted to go south on US 77/83, you'd still go the same way.

Photo L (2000)

This shows the first signage on northwestbound Washington. It's at 4th Street, which is a half-mile from International. The building in the distance is on Palm Blvd, which is the city's "zero" street. Washington is discontinuous at that point, so traffic is routed over to Elizabeth (one block to the left), where that street begins to serve both directions.

Photo M (2000)

These next two shots are from the modern south terminus of US 77/83 at Veterans Bridge (see map 6). There was no "End" sign, but this photo shows the last southbound US 77/83 sign. The entrance for Brownsville's newest border crossing is visible in the background.

Photo N (2000)

The shot above shows the view at the south beginning of US 77/83, as one enters Texas from Mexico. As I've said, I haven't seen a map that shows the extension of the US 77/83 freeway south and east of International Boulevard. But a call to the visitor center confirmed that is the case now; that's why the green sign in the distance indicates that International is the first exit on this road.

For more info on US routes in Brownsville (and where they end up), please click on the links below:

Highway

In Brownsville from

US 96 [I]

1926-1934

US 83

1931-present

US 281

1934-present

US 77

1945-present





Page created 19 November 2001; last updated 19 December 2001.
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