End of US highway 380

Note: since I don't have access to a comprehensive collection of historical road atlases, much of the info below is based on the research of Robert Droz; click here to view his site. Photo credits: James Allen; Justin Cozart; Steven Nelson; Stephen Taylor

Ever since US 380 was commissioned in 1932, its west end has been in San Antonio NM. However, for about the first 30 years of its existence, there was no such thing as I-25. So the west end was at US 85, which is now NM hwy. 1. You can view photos from there on my page for US 566 (as US 380 between San Antonio and Hondo was originally known).

After the interstates were built through New Mexico, the US 380 designation was extended about a mile to the west, to its current terminus at I-25's interchange 139:

Nelson, Oct. 2006

The photo below shows the first US 380 sign heading eastbound; it was lying on the ground (!) so James is holding it up:

Allen, 2000

From what I've seen, that's par for the course in New Mexico: not much attention given to road signs. About a half-mile ahead is the community of San Antonio; old US 85 (now NM hwy. 1) runs through there. Below we're looking the other direction: west on US 380 at I-25.

Allen, 2000

No "End" sign here; just your options at the junction with I-25. Bobby Magill wrote in 2004 to say this signage has been replaced.

When US 380 was commissioned in 1932, it ran eastward from San Antonio to Albany TX. The highway pretty much followed its current route to Old Glory TX (between Aspermont and Haskell), but then angled southeast along today's TX hwy. 6 and east along modern US 180, to end at US 283 in Albany. Here's an historic map:

TX DoT c. 1940; scan by Taylor

This first shot is looking north on Main Street at South 2nd Street:

Taylor, June 2004

US 380 ended there; northbound US 283 was straight ahead, while southbound was to the right. Below we're looking the opposite direction:

Taylor, June 2004

Southbound US 283 used to continue to the left here, and straight ahead was the east beginning of US 380.

In 1953 the east end of US 380 was extended southeast from Albany (along modern TX 6) to Cisco, ending at its junction with US 80 and US 183. The photo below is looking north on Avenue "D", which is US 183:

Allen, May 2001

The next intersection is 8th Street, which used to be US 80. The US 380 designation began at that point. Two blocks further north, US 183 splits off to the right on 6th Street. That's where today's TX 6 (and historic US 380) continue on their own up Av "D" towards Albany.

In 1971, US 380 was truncated back to Old Glory, removing most of modern TX 6 between there and Cisco from the US highway system. The US 380 designation was instead extended essentially due east from Old Glory, to end in Greenville TX. Robert Brooks did some research and found that already by then the US 69 bypass had been built around Greenville (though it was signed as "Loop 315" at the time), so likely the US 380 designation has followed it down to the I-30 interchange ever since then. Here's a photo from eastbound I-30...

Nelson, Apr. 2006

...and here's a photo from the opposite direction:

Nelson, Apr. 2006

If you take that exit, you're directed to the east beginning of US 380 thus:

Cozart, Apr. 2003

In the photo below, the assembly at left is for traffic exiting eastbound I-30 (which is co-signed with US 67 through these parts); note how US 380 is only to the left with northbound US 69:

Cozart, Apr. 2003

The first westbound US 380 sign is shown below:

Cozart, Apr. 2003

That was actually on the south side of I-30, just before the overpass. Justin reports that the last US 380 sign on its mainline is at the junction with TX 34:

Cozart, Apr. 2003

That's heading east, about a half-mile west of the I-30 interchange.