End of US highway 290

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; Chris Elbert; Steven Nelson; Alex Nitzman; Jeff Royston; Stephen Taylor

US 290 was an original 1926 route, but it's changed so much since then that it serves a completely different corridor now. It originally followed the same basic route of what is now I-10, running from US 90 in San Antonio to what was then US 80 at "Davis Mountain Junction". That toponym doesn't show up on modern maps - but it's west of Balmorhea, where I-20 ends at I-10, way out west in the Texas panhandle. Here's what it looks like today:

Elbert, Mar. 2007

Gomez Peak (northernmost of the Davis Mountains) is visible in the background. Westbound US 80 used to follow the general path of today's I-20 to this spot, and then along I-10 west from here. US 290 began here and followed (for the most part) modern I-10 to San Antonio (traffic from which you can see at far left). Virtually all traces of the old roadways are gone now, and it appears the actual junction was completely erased when this interchange was built. But Chris found a great postcard on CardCow.com, showing the historic junction:

from a postcard, postmarked 1960

That's looking east on US 80, which continued straight ahead. US 290 began on the road curving off to the right, which led to San Antonio (you can view photos and historic maps from there on this page). The photo below shows roughly the same perspective, post interstate construction:

Royston

After these freeways were complete through here in the 1960s or 1970s, US 290 was co-signed eastward with I-10 until 1992. By the time of Chris' visit in early 2007, the signs pictured above had been replaced with Clearview versions. The photo below was taken from westbound I-10:

Elbert, Mar. 2007

These days, that's about as close as you can come to showing where US 290 originally ended.

In 1934, the US 290 designation was removed from the segment between San Antonio and near Segovia. Instead, it was rerouted more easterly from Segovia, through Fredericksburg and Austin, to a new east terminus in Houston. Today, most of the Northwest Freeway sits on top of US 290's original alignment. But near the interchange with the Sam Houston Tollway, it veers off slightly to the north. West from there, US 290 used to be routed along the Hempstead Highway. Where that intersected Katy Road (near today's Katy Freeway, or I-10), US 90 and 290 were co-signed along Washington Avenue to Shepherd Drive (US 75). The photo below is looking west on Washington:

Nelson, Aug. 2007

That was northbound US 75 (which continued to the right on Shepherd) and westbound US 90 (which continued straight on Washington). Also straight ahead was the east beginning of US 290. Later, this multiplex with US 90 was eliminated, and US 290 didn't begin until the point where it split off from US 90:

Nelson, Aug. 2007

That's looking west on Washington. US 90 continued to the left on Katy Road, while US 290 began to the right on Hempstead. The photo below is looking southeast on Hempstead:

Google Maps Street View, 2008

That's essentially where US 290 ended: the curve to the right leads to Katy Road (historic westbound US 90), while straight ahead curves eastbound to Washington (eastbound old US 90).

Today, long before it reaches Houston, US 290 traffic is routed onto a multi-lane expressway, known locally as the Northwest Freeway. Where that highway ends at its interchange with I-610, the US 290 designation also ends. This first photo shows the last eastbound 290 shield:

Taylor, 2000

The shot below shows the signage at the actual east terminus of US 290:

Taylor, 2000

Note that this freeway marks the spot where signage on the 610 loop changes from east/west to north/south. The photo below shows the beginning of US 290 from northbound I-610...

Taylor, 2000

...and the next one shows the beginning of 290 from westbound I-610:

Taylor, 2000

Alex reports those signs had been replaced by 2005, but the verbiage is identical.

In 1992, the last remaining segment of original US 290 - that between Segovia and Davis Mtn Jct - was decommissioned. Until then, that entire segment had been co-signed with I-10. Now the west end of US 290 is at least 10 miles from anyplace, at I-10's interchange 477. I'll call that spot "near Harper", since that's the westernmost community along US 290's route. The photo below was taken about 17 miles west of there, at the west end of US 290:

Taylor, Dec. 2000

Curving to the right is the on-ramp to westbound I-10. Access to eastbound I-10 is via another underpass, off the left side of this photo. From eastbound I-10, US 290 traffic exits, curves back under I-10 via the underpass visible here, and comes in towards the camera. Below is a close-up shot of the signage visible at far right:

Allen, 2000

No "End" sign; just your options at I-10. The photo below shows the beginning of US 290 as seen from eastbound I-10:

Teresco, May 2004

Hidden behind the RV in that photo is this sign, at the offramp:

Nitzman, Jan. 2006

If you take that exit, the first eastbound reassurance marker looks like this:

Teresco, May 2004