U.S. Route 287 in Texas



U.S. Highway 287 (US 287) in the U.S. state of Texas is a major U.S. Highway that begins on the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur and heads north through Fort Worth, northwest to Childress, Clarendon, Wichita Falls, and Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle and into Oklahoma near Kerrick.

Route description
US 287 begins at the intersection of Woodworth Boulevard and SH 87 in Port Arthur and runs northwest, running concurrent with US 69 and US 96. At the cloverleaf interchange with SH 73, the route becomes a freeway and remains so heading towards I-10 in Beaumont. It runs concurrent with I-10 heading through Beaumont until separating from the interstate north of the city. In Lumberton, US 287 separates from US 96, remaining concurrent with US 69 until reaching Woodville, where it splits after intersecting US 190.

The highway continues northwest, running through Chester and intersecting US 59 in Corrigan. In Crockett, US 287 becomes concurrent with SH 19 and remains so until reaching Palestine, where it splits from the state highway northwest of town. The route continues west, passing by the Richland-Chambers Reservoir until reaching I-45 in Corsicana. It remains concurrent with I-45 until reaching exit 247 southeast of Ennis and heading west. In Waxahachie, the highway interchanges US 77 and I-35E.

In Midlothian, it interchanges with US 67 before continuing northwest as a freeway towards the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, heading through Mansfield. The route then reaches I-20 northeast of Kennedale and runs concurrent with I-20 until reaching I-820, where it runs concurrent with the beltway for about 1.5 mi. The highway then runs northwest toward Fort Worth, also known as the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway. Near downtown Fort Worth, the highway interchanges with I-30 and runs concurrent with Spur 280 until reaching I-35W, where it runs concurrent with it until exit 60 north of I-820.

The route continues northwest, running concurrent with US 81 and remains as a freeway. It loops around Rhome and is concurrent with SH 114 for about 1.3 mi. It then runs through Decatur and interchanges US 380. It continues northwest until separating from US 81 in Bowie. In Henrietta, US 287 becomes concurrent with US 82. In Wichita Falls, the route interchanges and becomes concurrent with US 281 and becomes concurrent as well as US 277 heading through the city. US 82 splits from US 287 at the US 277 interchange. I-44 begins at Bellevue Park and the route remains concurrent with it until reaching Spur 325, where it becomes independent while US 277 and US 281 remains concurrent with I-44. The highway then passes through Iowa Park, Electra, and Harrold. In Oklaunion, the route becomes concurrent with US 183 and US 70. US 183 separates at the US 283 interchange and US 70 separates from US 287 west of Vernon. The highway continues northwest, heading toward Amarillo. In Childress, the highway intersects US 62 and US 83.

Between Childress and Amarillo, US 287 passes through Estelline. The reduction of the speed limit from 70 mph to 50 mph at the city limits has given the city the reputation of being a speed trap.

In Amarillo, the highway runs concurrent with I-40 until reaching I-27, becoming concurrent with US 60 and US 87 heading through downtown. US 60 becomes concurrent with I-40 Business while US 87 and US 287 continues north. US 287 splits from US 87 in Dumas. The highway continues north through Cactus and intersects US 54 in Stratford. The route continues northwest and crosses into Oklahoma from Kerrick.

History
When US 287 was first commissioned in 1935, none of its route was in Texas. The route was extended southward from Colorado to the Gulf Coast at Port Arthur, Texas in 1939. Before this extension, the portion from the Oklahoma state line to Amarillo was SH 9, from Amarillo to Henrietta was SH 5, Henrietta to Bowie was SH 50, Bowie to Fort Worth was SH 2 and US 81, Fort Worth to Ennis SH 34, Ennis to Corsicana was SH 14/US 75, Corsicana to Palestine was SH 22, Palestine to Crockett was SH 19, Crockett and Woodville was Texas State Highway 106, Woodville to Port Arthur was SH 8.

From 1926 to 1939, the aforementioned state routes between US 66 in Claude and US 81 in Bowie were co-designated with U.S. Route 370, which was commissioned in 1926. US 370 was extended westward to Amarillo by 1935 with the northward relocation of US 66. This route also traveled concurrently with US 70 between Vernon and Wichita Falls, Texas. With the 1939 general re-description of the Texas State Highway system all of the state highway designations were removed and US 370 was decommissioned from Oklahoma state line to Port Arthur. SH 106 was decommissioned entirely.

Future
Currently in Beaumont, a construction project is widening the highway from four lanes to six lanes for a future Interstate Corridor for US 96 to connect to future I-14. Between Ennis and Waxahachie, the highway is getting grade separated interchanges and service roads.

On 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. 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. 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.