Texas State Highway 288

State highway in Texas

State Highway 288

SH 288; mainline in red, business route in blue

Route information
Length| 60.01 mi[1][a] (96.58 km)
Existed| 1939–present
Major junctions
South end|  SH 36 / FM 1495 in Freeport
Major intersections|  Beltway 8 / Sam Houston Tollway
I-610 in Houston
I-69 / US 59 in Houston
North end|  I-45 in Houston
Location
Country| United States
State| Texas
Counties| Brazoria, Harris
Highway system

* Highways in Texas

* Interstate
* US
* State
* Toll
* Loops
* Spurs
* FM/RM
* Park
* Rec

| ←  SH 287| | →  SH 289

|
|

State Highway 288 (SH 288) is a north-south highway in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Texas, between I-45 in downtown Houston and Freeport, where it terminates on FM 1495. The route was originally designated by 1939, replacing the southern portion of SH 19.

## Route description[edit]

SH 288 begins in Freeport at the intersection with Farm to Market Road 1495, running concurrent with SH 36. It runs northwesterly along the Nolan Ryan Expressway up to an interchange south of Freeport where it separates from SH 36. It runs north along Brazosport Boulevard and becomes a freeway approaching the west end of SH 332 and SH 288 Business. It runs through Lake Jackson and up to the west side of Angleton, near the Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport. It then continues north, intersecting SH 6 near Iowa Colony and then enters Harris County, interchanging with the Sam Houston Tollway and then I-610. It enters Houston running next to Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59 before it reaches its northern terminus at Interstate 45. From Freeport to the Harris–Brazoria county line, it is referred to as the Nolan Ryan Expressway, in recognition of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan who grew up in Alvin, Texas, which is not directly on this road. Brazoria County will be calling the tolled portion of the highway, located within the county, the Brazoria County Expressway.[2]

## Toll lanes[edit]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2020)

|

To help alleviate congestion on SH 288, TxDOT (originally HCTRA) and BCTRA constructed toll lanes (also known as the Brazoria County Expressway) in the median of the existing freeway. The toll lanes currently begin at County Road 58 in Manvel and terminate at I-69/US 59 in Houston for a total length of 15 miles (24.1 km). A nine-mile southern extension to the proposed Grand Parkway (SH 99) is planned. The entire length of the SH 288 toll lanes will have two lanes in each direction. TxDOT has jurisdiction on the portion located in Harris County, beginning at I-69/US 59 and terminate at the Harris–Brazoria county line at Clear Creek located just north of FM 2234 for a total of 10.3 miles (16.6 km).[3] BCTRA will construct the portion located in Brazoria County in two phases. Phase 1 will be from the Harris–Brazoria county line, southward to just south of County Road 58 (Croix Road) for a total of 5 miles (8.0 km)[4] while phase 2, to be built by TxDot's Toll Operations Division, will continue southward to the Grand Parkway (SH 99) for the remaining 10.7 miles (17.2 km). Design work for the entire project began in the summer of 2015.[5] Construction on the toll lanes in Harris County began in November 2016[6] and construction of phase 1 in Brazoria County begun in June 2017.[4][2] The SH 288 toll lanes opened on November 16, 2020 and were free to use until November 30. All tolls on the facility will be collected electronically and an EZ Tag, TxTag, or TollTag is required for passage.[7][8]

## History[edit]

State Highway 288 was designated on September 26, 1939 as the renumbering of the portion of State Highway 19 south of downtown Houston. On August 1, 1962, SH 288 was extended to FM 1495. On June 25, 1981, SH 288 was rerouted from I-45 to MacGregor Way in Houston on the new freeway. The original routing ran southward along Almeda Road in Houston. The route traveled southward through Fresno, past the Houston Southwest Airport, before reaching Bonney. This entire portion of the route from US 90 Alt. southward was transferred to Farm to Market Road 521 and Spur 300 on December 14, 1981, as SH 288 was rerouted onto the new freeway from US 90 Alt. to Spur 300.[9] The route then traveled east through downtown Angleton, continuing southeast before reaching Freeport. This original section is now part of County Road 543 and Farm to Market Road 523. SH 288 was redirected southward from Angleton when the city of Clute became more populated, then continued southward to a new intersection with State Highway 36 west of Freeport. On November 18, 1983, SH 288 was rerouted on the new freeway from MacGregor Way to US 90 Alt. The entire remaining section from FM 521 north of Angleton to Clute was transferred first to Texas State Highway 227 on September 26, 1986, and later Business Highway 288 on October 25, 1990 when the bypass around the western side of Lake Jackson opened. The section from Clute south to Freeport was transferred to SH 227, and the section concurrent with SH 36 became SH 36 on February 23, 1989. On August 15, 1989, SH 288 was extended south over part of SH 227 and concurrent with SH 36, restoring the lost section from Clute to Freeport.

## Major intersections[edit]

All exits are unnumbered.

County| Location| mi[10]| km| Destinations| Notes

|
|
|
|
|

Brazoria| Freeport| 0.0| 0.0|  FM 1495 – Port Freeport, Brazos Harbor| Southern termini of SH 288/SH 36; south end of SH 36 overlap
1.3| 2.1|
SH 36 north – Jones Creek, West Columbia| Interchange; north end of SH 36 overlap
3.5| 5.6|
FM 523 north / Gulf Boulevard – Surfside|
​| 5.5| 8.9| Frontage Road| South end of freeway; northbound exit and southbound entrance
Lake Jackson| 5.7| 9.2|

Bus. SH 288-B north / SH 332 east – Clute Business District, Angleton, Surfside| South end of SH 332 overlap
Lake Jackson–Clute line| 6.9| 11.1| Main Street / Contractor Road / Copper Road|
7.7| 12.4| Dixie Drive|
Lake Jackson| 9.0| 14.5| Plantation Drive|
10.3| 16.6|  Oak Drive / Veterans Memorial Parkway / This Way / West Way| Access to Brazosport Memorial Hospital
11.2| 18.0|
SH 332 west (Oyster Creek Drive) / Abner Jackson Parkway / This Way| North end of SH 332 overlap
12.2| 19.6|  FM 2004 – Richwood|
Angleton| 16.7| 26.9|  County Road 220 – Brazoria Airport|
18.5| 29.8| County Road 290| Southbound exit and northbound entrance
19.3| 31.1|  SH 35 – Angleton, West Columbia, Bay City|
20.8| 33.5| County Road 44| Southbound access via FM 523 exit and Frontage Road
21.5| 34.6|  FM 523 – Alvin, Angleton| North end of freeway
​| 26.0| 41.8|

Bus. SH 288 to FM 521 – Rosharon, Angleton| Interchange
​| 32.6| 52.5|  FM 1462 – Rosharon, Alvin| Interchange
​| | |  SH 99 Toll (Grand Parkway)| Proposed interchange
​| 38.7| 62.3| County Road 56 (Meridiana Parkway)| Interchange
​| 41.1| 66.1| County Road 48 – Iowa Colony| Right-in/right-out; no access to or from SH 288 southbound (CR 48 cut off from SH 288)
Manvel| 41.0| 66.0|  SH 6 – Alvin, Sugar Land| Interchange
43.5| 70.0| Del Bello Boulevard| Interchange; northbound exit and entrance only
44.4| 71.5| County Road 58| South end of freeway; no northbound exit (closed until February 2024)
45.0| 72.4|
SH 288 Toll begins (Brazoria County Expressway)| South end of SH 288 Toll Lanes
​| 45.6| 73.4| County Road 101 (Bailey Road / Pomona Parkway)|
Pearland| 46.5| 74.8| Magnolia Parkway| Formerly Southfork Drive
47.1| 75.8|  FM 518 (Broadway Street)| Former FM 3344
| | Hughes Ranch Road / Discovery Bay Drive| Access from Toll Lanes only; southbound exit and northbound entrance
Brazoria–Harris
county line| 48.4| 77.9|  FM 2234 (Shadow Creek Parkway) / McHard Road|
Harris| 50.2| 80.8|  Sam Houston Tollway| Northbound left exit and southbound left entrance
Pearland–Houston line| 50.4| 81.1|  Beltway 8 (Frontage Road)|
| |  Sam Houston Tollway| Access from Toll Lanes only; southbound right exit and northbound right entrance
Houston| 51.6| 83.0| Almeda-Genoa Road|
52.6| 84.7| Orem Drive| No northbound entrance (closed until November 2023)
53.6| 86.3| Airport Boulevard|
54.5| 87.7| Reed Road|
55.4| 89.2| Bellfort Avenue / Holmes Road| Northbound exit and southbound entrance
55.7| 89.6|  I-610| I-610 exit 38A westbound, 38A-C eastbound; no access to IH 610 eastbound (ramps closed until February 2024)
57.0| 91.7| Holly Hall Street| Southbound exit and northbound entrance
57.6| 92.7|
US 90 Alt. (Old Spanish Trail) / Yellowstone Boulevard / Holcombe Boulevard|
| |  Holcombe Boulevard west – Texas Medical Center| Access from Toll Lanes only; northbound right exit and southbound right entrance
58.5| 94.1|  South MacGregor Way / North MacGregor Way – Texas Medical Center, Houston Zoo|
58.9| 94.8| Binz Street / Calumet Street| Southbound access via Southmore Boulevard exit
| |
SH 288 Toll south| Southbound exit only
59.3| 95.4| Southmore Boulevard / Blodgett Street|
60.1| 96.7|

I-69 south / US 59 south – Victoria| I-69 exits 128/129A northbound
60.2| 96.9|

I-69 north / US 59 north / Elgin Avenue / Tuam Avenue – Cleveland| Northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-69 exit 128B
| |
SH 288 Toll ends (Brazoria County Expressway)| North end of SH 288 Toll Lanes; northbound entrance only
60.3| 97.0| Chenevert Street – Downtown Houston| Northbound exit and southbound entrance
61.1| 98.3|  I-45 – Dallas, Galveston, IAH, Hobby Airport| Northern terminus; I-45 exits 46A-B
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

* Concurrency terminus
* Electronic toll collection
* Incomplete access
* Unopened

## Business route[edit]

Business State Highway 288-B

Location| Lake Jackson-Bonney
Length| 20.271 mi[11] (32.623 km)
Existed| 1990–present

SH 288 has one business route.

Business State Highway 288-B (Bus. SH 288) is a bypass of SH 288 through Angleton, Richwood and Clute. The route was created in 1987 as SH 227, which was redesignated as Business SH 288-B on October 25, 1990.[12][11]

### Major junctions[edit]

The entire route is in Brazoria County.

Location| mi[13]| km| Destinations| Notes

|
|
|
|

Lake Jackson| 0.00| 0.00|
SH 288 south| Southern terminus
Clute|
SH 322 east – Surfside| Interchange

SH 322 west / SH 288 north – Lake Jackson| Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
1.5| 2.4| Whitten Street| Partial interchange via northbound exit ramp and connector road southbound; no northbound entrance
1.6| 2.6| Wilson Road / Leder Street / Mockingbird Street| Partial interchange via northbound entrance ramp and connector road southbound; no northbound exit
Richwood| 5.5| 8.9|  FM 2004 – Santa Fe|
Angleton| 11.2–
11.4| 18.0–
18.3|
Loop 274 north| Interchange; southern terminus of Loop 274; northbound left exit and southbound left entrance; serves as a bypass of downtown Angleton
11.8| 19.0|  SH 35 – Bay City, Alvin|
12.6| 20.3| Loop 274 south| Northern terminus of Loop 274
14.4| 23.2|  FM 523 / SH 35 Byp.|
​| 18.6| 29.9|  SH 288 – Houston, Lake Jackson| Interchange
​| 20.3| 32.7|  FM 521 – Houston, Brazoria| Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

* Incomplete access

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ The certified mileage given is shorter than the actual mileage as TxDOT considers SH 288 to be discontinuous at rather than concurrent with SH 36.

## References[edit]

1. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 288". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
2. ^ a b "Brazoria County Expressway".
3. ^ "Drive288 Project Details". Retrieved May 24, 2017.
4. ^ a b "Brazoria County awards bid for Expressway construction". City of Pearland. May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
5. ^ "Design work to begin on Texas 288 toll lanes". Brazoria County. January 29, 2014.
6. ^ "Construction begins on Highway 288 expansion". Harris County. November 15, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
7. ^ Fresh drive: This is what the new 288 toll road looks like for one of the first drivers Click2Houston.com (KPRC-TV) Published on November 12, 2020, and updated on November 16, 2020 (Retrieved 22 November 2020)
8. ^ "Drive288 FAQ". Retrieved May 28, 2017.
9. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Farm to Market Road No. 521". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation.
10. ^ Google (December 30, 2021). "Overview Map of SH 288" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
11. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business State Highway No. 288-B". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
12. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 227". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
13. ^ "Overview of Bus. SH 288". Google Maps. Google, Inc. Retrieved June 16, 2021.

## External links[edit]

1. TxDOT - Toll Operations Division

*[mi]: Miles
*[km]: Kilometers