U.S. Numbered Highway in Texas and Oklahoma in the United States
U.S. Route 259
(
US 259
,
US-259
) is a north–south
spur
of
U.S. Route 59
that runs for 250 miles (400 km) through rural areas of northeastern
Texas
and southeastern
Oklahoma
. The highway's southern terminus is near
Nacogdoches, Texas
, at an interchange with its parent route, US 59. Its northern terminus is in the
Ouachita Mountains
, approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of
Heavener, Oklahoma
, where it reunites with US 59. For most of its length, US 259 lies 30?50 miles (48?80 km) to the west of its parent route.
Route description
[
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]
First reassurance marker heading north from the southern terminus in Nacogdoches, Texas
Texas
[
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US 259 begins at an intersection with its parent, US 59 (future
Interstate 69
), on the north side of Nacogdoches, Texas. The highway continues due north, passing through
Mount Enterprise
, and around the eastern side of
Henderson
and Kilgore. In
Kilgore, Texas
, US 259 is known as the Charles K. Devall Memorial Highway, as named by the
Texas Legislature
.
[2]
It then has a concurrency with
Interstate 20
of about 6 miles (9.7 km), then continues north around the eastern edge of
Longview
along Eastman Rd. The highway continues due north, crossing
Interstate 30
in northern
Morris County
, and crossing into Oklahoma in northwest
Bowie County
.
Oklahoma
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Northern terminus of US 259 in the Ouachita Mountains
After crossing into
McCurtain County, Oklahoma
, US-259 immediately meets
State Highway 87
, and continues north through
Harris
. Maps indicate that US-259 and SH-87 overlap to
Idabel
, but officially, this is not the case,
[3]
and ODOT signage does not reflect a concurrency.
US-259 bypasses Idabel to the south and east, concurring with
U.S. Highway 70
Bypass. East of Idabel, the bypass route ends, and US-259 begins a concurrency with mainline US-70 and
SH-3
. The three highways continue north to
Broken Bow
, where US-70 splits to the east toward
DeQueen, Arkansas
, and SH-3 splits to the west, bound for
Antlers
. US-259 continues north alone, taking a winding path through the Ouachita Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma. The route passes
Broken Bow Lake
on its west side, with State Highway 259A serving as an access loop to the lake and Beavers Bend State Resort. Near the lake, US-259 crosses through the
Ouachita National Forest
for the first time. Near
Smithville
, the highway serves as the western terminus of
State Highway 4
.
North of the SH-4 junction, US-259 crosses into
Le Flore County
. The U.S. route then serves as the eastern terminus of
SH-144
near
Octavia
. US-259 reenters the national forest north of this junction, and intersects
SH-63
at
Big Cedar
. It then has a junction with
SH-1
, the
Talimena Drive
. The highway reunites with US-59 about 10 miles (16 km) south of
Heavener
, reaching its northern terminus.
History
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]
In Texas, the highway was designated in 1962 and assumed the entire route of a previous iteration and alignment of
State Highway 26
, which was then cancelled.
[4]
(The SH 26 designation has since returned, on another roadway elsewhere in the state.)
Prior to 1985, US 259 between Kilgore and Longview followed the current route of
Texas State Highway 31
. It entered Longview from the southwest at the intersection of South Street and Spur 63. It then followed Spur 63 to
US 80
. US 259 then ran concurrently with US 80 to Eastman Road. At the US 80/Eastman Rd. intersection, the previous alignment of US 259 turned left to go north on Eastman. In 1985, US 259 was rerouted to its current route along Interstate 20 to Eastman Road, then left to go north, along the eastern edge of Longview, bypassing the central business district.
Major intersections
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| This section is
missing mileposts for junctions
.
Please help by
adding them
.
|
Special routes
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Kilgore business route
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![Business plate.svg](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Business_plate.svg/40px-Business_plate.svg.png)
![Business U.S. Highway 259 marker](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/US_259.svg/50px-US_259.svg.png)
Business U.S. Highway 259
|
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|
Location
| Kilgore, Texas
|
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Existed
| 2006?present
|
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US-259 has one Business route in Texas. In 2006, a new bypass was completed around the eastern side of Kilgore. The bypass had been proposed as early as 1965, but funding did not become available until the late 1990s. The new bypass was designated as US-259, while the previous route through the Kilgore business district was designated as a business route. The new business route was approved by the AASHO in September 2006.
Idabel bypass
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Formerly, US-259 continued into downtown Idabel, and the southeast portion of the Idabel bypass was double-designated as US-70 Bypass and US-259 Bypass. On 6 March 2000, the bypass route was decommissioned, and mainline US-259 was moved onto the bypass.
[6]
However, as of 2008
[update]
, some bypass signage is still in place, including signage indicating the former terminus of Bypass US-259 at US-70/SH-3.
SH-259A
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]
SH-259A, an Oklahoma state highway, is a 10-mile (16 km) loop to
Broken Bow Lake
and
Beavers Bend Resort Park
north of
Broken Bow, Oklahoma
. It lies partially in the
Ouachita National Forest
and is occasionally signed as a U.S. highway.
See also
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Related routes
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]
References
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]
- ^
"Highway Re-Numbered"
.
The Daily Oklahoman
.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
. February 9, 1963. p. 34
. Retrieved
December 18,
2021
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1193, § 1, eff. June 15, 2001
- ^
2008 Control Section Maps
(PDF)
(Map). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. p. McCurtain 45
. Retrieved
2008-06-06
.
- ^
Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.).
"U.S. Highway No. 259"
.
Highway Designation Files
.
Texas Department of Transportation
. Retrieved
June 17,
2015
.
- ^
Google
(June 26, 2014).
"US-259 in Oklahoma"
(Map).
Google Maps
. Google
. Retrieved
June 26,
2014
.
- ^
Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Planning & Research Division.
"Memorial Dedication & Revision History - US-259"
. Retrieved
2008-06-09
.
External links
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]
KML is from Wikidata