Interstate 69E

Interstate 69E (I-69E) is a north–south Interstate Highway running through South Texas. Once complete, the freeway will begin in Brownsville and head northward before terminating near Victoria as both I-69W and I-69E merge into I-69 toward Houston. For its entire length, I-69E runs concurrently with U.S. Highway 77 (US 77). The route currently exists in two segments: a 56.894 mi segment from its southern terminus in Brownsville to the Willacy–Kenedy county line and a shorter 7.672 mi segment south of Corpus Christi. The route has one auxiliary Interstate route, I-169 in Brownsville.

Route description
I-69E begins at an at-grade intersection just north of the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates in Brownsville. I-69E has a concurrency with US 77. I-69E intersects the eastern terminus of I-2 in Harlingen. After leaving Brownsville–Matamoros, I-69E temporarily ends and becomes US 77, a four-lane expressway. Another piece of I-69E picks up just north of Driscoll. I-69E passes through Robstown before terminating at a freeway-to-freeway style interchange with I-37 east of Corpus Christi.

History
A stated goal of the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) I-69 initiative is that "existing suitable freeway sections of the proposed system be designated as I-69 as soon as possible". A bill was introduced and passed by the House of Representatives that allows Interstate quality sections of US 59, US 77, and US 281 to be signed as I-69 regardless of whether or not they connected to other Interstate Highways.

TxDOT submitted an application to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to designate 75 mi of US 59 in Greater Houston and 8 mi of US 77 near Corpus Christi as I-69, as these sections are already built to Interstate Highway standards and connect to other Interstate Highways. In August 2011, TxDOT received approval from the FHWA for a 6 mi segment of US 77 between I-37 and State Highway 44 (SH 44) near Corpus Christi and was approved by AASHTO in October 2011. Officials held a ceremony on December 5, 2011, to unveil I-69 signs on the Robstown–Corpus Christi section.

The FHWA approved the designation for the eastern Lower Rio Grande Valley segment on May 24, 2013, and the Texas Transportation Commission followed suit on May 30, 2013. This action finalized the designations of not only I-69E but also of the sections of I-69C from Pharr north to the end of the US 281 freeway facility near Edinburg, and also I-2, which is a 46.8 mi freeway that runs from Peñitas to Harlingen and connects with I-69C and I-69E. These approvals added over 100 mi to the Interstate Highway System in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The signage was installed in mid-2013.

Currently, the cluster consisting of the recently designated portions of I-69E, I-69C, and I-2 in the Lower Rio Grande Valley is not connected to the national Interstate network. This situation is slated to be remedied by scheduled projects to complete I-69E along US 77 between Raymondville and Robstown the southern end of the previously signed portion of the I-69 corridor connecting with I-37 west of Corpus Christi. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval for the upgrade of the US 77 alignment to Interstate standards, including bypasses of the towns along the 91 mi routing, was obtained through a finding of no significant impact statement issued on July 13, 2012.

During its 2019 Annual Meeting in October 2019, AASHTO approved an extension of the I-69E designation along US 77 from Farm to Market Road 892 (FM 892) to FM 2826 in Nueces County. The 3.3 mi extension completes I-69E from I-37 in Calallen to the north end of the Driscoll Bypass. The northbound lanes of the Driscoll Bypass opened in 2021 while the southbound lanes opened on August 16, 2023. The entire project is set to be completed in December 2023. An additional bypass is also expected to be constructed around Rivera as well. This project received $177.7 million in funding in August 2023 and construction will begin 2027. Most of the projects between Raymondville and Rivera are not funded but still planned.

The section of I-69E north of Corpus Christi to Victoria is still in the early stages of development. Currently, plans have been released for I-69E to be built through Odem and then bypass Sinton; further north, it will be built through Woodsboro and then bypass Refugio. The Odem project has received partial funding while the others have received full funding. No other upgrade plans have been released. TxDOT held open houses in Refugio in late October 2023 in order to receive public feedback on the project.