State Highway 349 (SH 349) is a 194.43-mile-long (312.90 km) state highway in the western part of Texas, United States.
 State Highway 349 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SH 349, highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by TxDOT | ||||
| Length | 194.427 mi[1] (312.900 km) | |||
| Existed | 1943–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 90 at Dryden | |||
 I-10 near Sheffield US 190 at Iraan US 67 at Rankin I-20 at Midland | ||||
| North end |   US 87 / US 180 near Lamesa | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Texas | |||
| Counties | Terrell, Pecos, Crockett, Upton, Midland, Martin, Dawson | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
History
editThe original formation of the highway on August 3, 1943, included only the section from Rankin to Midland, replacing FM 9.[2] On April 30, 1947, FM 306 and FM 177 were redesignated to form the segment of SH 349 from Midland to near Lamesa. The section from Sheffield to Rankin was added on October 24, 1956, by redesignating part of SH 51.
The part of SH 349 south of Sheffield was Farm to Market Road 1217, which was designated on July 14, 1949, from Dryden northward 5 miles (8 km).[3] FM 1217 was extended to the northeast 3.2 miles (5.1 km) on May 23, 1951, 7.0 miles (11.3 km) on December 18, 1951, 14.0 miles (22.5 km) on December 17, 1952, and 2.3 miles (3.7 km) on April 24, 1954. The designation was extended 10.0 miles (16.1 km) on September 29, 1954, to the end of FM 1749, which was cancelled and combined with FM 1217, adding 17.8 miles (28.6 km) and bringing its southern terminus to Sheffield. On December 13, 1956, FM 1217 was signed, but not designated, as part of SH 349. On August 29, 1990, FM 1217 was officially renumbered as SH 349. On July 31, 2003, SH 349 was rerouted around Midland.
In December 2014, the Texas Transportation Commission approved an extension of the SH 349 designation south of Lamesa, from the current northern terminus at SH 137 eastward to US 87.[4] Construction of the extension started in May 2017 and was completed just over two years later in mid-2019.[5]
Route description
edit
SH 349 runs generally northward from its originating junction with U.S. Highway 90 at the community of Dryden (population 13) near the Rio Grande, the southern border of the state. The road passes west of Fort Lancaster to Sheffield and a junction with Interstate 10. SH 349 then runs along the Pecos River to Iraan, where it is co-routed for a few miles with U.S. Highway 190. The road then proceeds northward to a junction and brief co-routing with U.S. Highway 67 at Rankin. SH 349 continues northward to the relatively heavily populated area of Midland.
SH 349 formerly bisected Midland directly through the city center. However, the highway has been redesignated to loop around Midland to the west, by co-routing it with portions of Interstate 20 (and State Highway 158) and Farm to Market Road 1788. A new section of highway, a so-called "reliever route", was opened on December 10, 2009, and was named the Nadine and Tom Craddick Highway after State Rep. Tom Craddick and his wife, who played a large role in creating the highway.[6] (This new section of SH 349 is part of the "La Entrada al Pacifico Corridor" trade route from west Texas to Mexico). The portion of SH 349 that ran directly through Midland was redesignated as Business State Highway 349-C (BS 349-C) in 2003.[7] North of Midland, SH 349 proceeds generally northward to its final junction with State Highway 137, just south of Lamesa. Counties traversed by the highway include Terrell, Pecos, Crockett, Upton, Midland, Martin and Dawson. With the exception of the metropolitan area of Midland, most of the terrain covered by the highway is sparsely populated ranch country.[8]
Future
editOn March 15, 2022, a bill was signed by President Joe Biden that added the extension of I-27 north to Raton, New Mexico, and south to Laredo to the Interstate Highway System utilizing the US 87, US 277 and US 83 corridors.[9] A bill introduced in 2023 would explicitly designate the extension as I-27 with two auxiliary routes numbered I-227 and I-327. I-227 is proposed to be routed via SH 158 from Sterling City to Midland and SH 349 from Midland to Lamesa; I-327 would utilize US 287 from Dumas to the Oklahoma state line.[10][11] On August 1, 2023, the legislation passed through the U.S. Senate with some slight modifications; I-227 was redesignated as I-27W with I-27 between Sterling City and Lamesa redesignated as I-27E and I-327 was redesignated as I-27N.[12][13]
Junction list
edit| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrell | Dryden | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 90 – Sanderson, Del Rio | Southern terminus | |||
| | 29.5 | 47.5 |   RM 3166 east | |||||
| | 47.9 | 77.1 |   RM 2400 west | |||||
| Pecos | Sheffield | 58.9 | 94.8 |  SH 290 east (Main Street) – Ozona | South end of SH 290 overlap | |||
| | 63.6 | 102.4 | I-10 – Fort Stockton, Ozona | North end of SH 290 overlap; I-10 exit 325 | ||||
| Iraan | 76.9 | 123.8 | US 190 east – Eldorado | South end of US 190 overlap | ||||
| | 81.4 | 131.0 | US 190 west – Fort Stockton | North end of US 190 overlap | ||||
| Crockett |
No major junctions | |||||||
| Upton | | 99.7 | 160.5 |  US 67 south – Fort Stockton | South end of US 67 overlap | |||
| Rankin | 103.3 | 166.2 |  SH 329 west – Crane | |||||
| 103.8 | 167.0 |  US 67 north – Big Lake | North end of US 67 overlap | |||||
| | 104.7 | 168.5 |  Spur 576 south | |||||
| | 110.7 | 178.2 |  RM 1555 east – Texon | |||||
| | 125.2 | 201.5 |  RM 2401 north – Midkiff | |||||
| Midland | | 137.4 | 221.1 |  FM 1379 north | ||||
| | 138.4 | 222.7 |  FM 1787 west – Pleasant Farms | |||||
| | 151.6 | 244.0 |  FM 1213 north | |||||
| Midland | 156.8 | 252.3 |    I-20 east / Bus. SH 349 north – Stanton, Midland | South end of I-20 overlap; I-20 exit 136 | ||||
| see I-20 | ||||||||
| 166.2 | 267.5 |   I-20 west / FM 1788 south – Odessa | North end of I-20 overlap; South end of FM 1788 overlap; I-20 exit 125 | |||||
| 167.0 | 268.8 |  I-20 BL – Odessa, Midland | Interchange | |||||
| 167.4 | 269.4 |  Loop 40 east – Midland International Airport | ||||||
| 167.7 | 269.9 | Loop 40 east – Midland International Airport | ||||||
| | 170.8 | 274.9 |  SH 191 – Odessa, Midland | Interchange | ||||
| | 173.0 | 278.4 | FM 1788 north | North end of FM 1788 overlap | ||||
| | 174.6 | 281.0 |  SH 158 – Andrews, Midland | Interchange | ||||
| Martin | Midland | 185.5 | 298.5 | Bus. SH 349 south – Midland | ||||
| | 201.5 | 324.3 |  SH 176 – Andrews, Big Spring | Interchange | ||||
| Dawson | Patricia | 220.2 | 354.4 |  FM 828 east – Klondike | ||||
| | 220.5 | 354.9 |  SH 115 west – Andrews | |||||
| | 221.6 | 356.6 |  FM 829 | |||||
| | 226.8 | 365.0 |  FM 2051 west | |||||
| | 230.5 | 371.0 |  FM 2052 west | South end of FM 2052 overlap | ||||
| | 230.6 | 371.1 |   FM 2052 east to SH 137 – Lamesa, Stanton | North end of FM 2052 overlap | ||||
| | 232.6 | 374.3 | US 87 / US 180 – Lubbock, Big Spring, Snyder | Northern terminus | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||||
Business routes
editSH 349 has one business route.
Martin-Midland business loop
edit  Business State Highway 349-C | |
|---|---|
| Location | Martin and Midland counties |
| Length | 8.758 mi[14] (14.095 km) |
| Existed | 2003–present |
Business State Highway 349-C (Bus. SH 349-C) is a business loop that runs on the former routing of SH 349 through Midland. The route was designated in 2003 when SH 349 was re-routed around the city.[14]
- Junction list
The entire route is in Midland.
| County | mi | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midland | 0.0 | 0.0 | I-20 / SH 158 / SH 349 – Odessa, Big Spring | I-20 exit 136 | |
| 1.1 | 1.8 |  SH 140 east (West Florida Avenue) | Former Bus. SH 158 east | ||
| 1.7 | 2.7 | Wall Street | Former Bus. SH 158 west | ||
| 4.9 | 7.9 |  Loop 250 | Interchange | ||
| Martin | 8.8 | 14.2 | SH 349 – Lamesa | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 349". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Farm to Market Road No. 9". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
- ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Farm to Market Road No. 1217". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
- ^ "Minute Order 114180" (PDF). Texas Transportation Commission. December 18, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- ^ "State Highway 349 Extension Project Begins Monday, May 15 in Lamesa". KAMC. May 14, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
- ^ TxDOT Odessa [@TxDOTOdessa] (December 10, 2009). "Entire Nadine & Tom Craddick Highway (SH 349 Reliever Route) from FM 1788 to SH 349 open this afternoon. Phase from FM 1788 to SH 158 opens" (Tweet). Retrieved January 5, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business State Highway No. 349-C". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
- ^ "overview map of SH 349" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ^ Driggars, Alex (March 15, 2022). "Raton to Laredo corridor added to Interstate Highway System, paving way for I-27 expansion". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ Text of the I–27 Numbering Act of 2023 at Congress.gov
- ^ Driggars, Alex (March 28, 2023). "Cruz, Cornyn introduce legislation to name I-27 extension project". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ McEwen, Mella (August 1, 2023). "Senate passes act to create I-27 West through Midland". Midland Reporter Telegram. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- ^ Bordner, Zachery (August 5, 2023). "MOTRAN talks I-27, what it means for Midland/Odessa, Big Spring". Yourbasin. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business State Highway No. 349-C". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation.
External links
edit
Geographic data related to Texas State Highway 349 at OpenStreetMap
- Texas official travel map at the Texas Department of Transportation (enlargement required for legibility)
- Construction notice for new portion of SH 349 to complete loop to the western side of Midland