Texas State Highway 79

State highway in Texas

State Highway 79

SH 79 highlighted in red

Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length| 96.203 mi[1] (154.824 km)
Existed| 1923–present
Major junctions
South end|  US 183 / US 283 in Throckmorton
Major intersections|  US 281 in Wichita Falls
US 82 / US 287 in Wichita Falls
North end|  SH-79 at Oklahoma state line
Location
Country| United States
State| Texas
Highway system

* Highways in Texas

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

| ←  US 79| | →  US 80

|
|

State Highway 79 (SH 79) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs 96.203 miles (154.824 km) from Throckmorton to the Oklahoma state line near Byers.

## Route description

[edit]

SH 79 begins at an intersection with US 183/US 283 in Throckmorton. The highway runs in an east–west direction until FM 926, east of Elbert. The highway turns northeast, running to Olney and Archer City. The highway enters Wichita Falls and almost immediately begins an overlap with US 281 on the Henry S. Grace Freeway. At the interchange with US 82/US 287, US 281 travels north to downtown while SH 79 travels to the east. Shortly after joining US 82/287, SH 79 leaves the highways and runs on the eastern edge of the city as the Waurika Freeway. SH 79 runs through Dean, Petrolia and Byers before entering Oklahoma as OK-79.

Beginning in 1939, a multiple-span pony truss bridge carried the highway across the Red River into Oklahoma. This bridge was replaced by a new bridge in 2018.[2]

## History

[edit]

It was originally designated on August 21, 1923, from Wichita Falls to Olney, replacing a portion of SH 22.[3] On October 11, 1927, it was extended southwest to Throckmorton.[4] On April 24, 1928, it was extended northeast to the Oklahoma state line.[5] On April 24, 1933, the section from Olney to Elbert was cancelled,[6] but restored on December 18, 1933.[7] This section was completed by 1938. The section north of Wichita Falls was cancelled on July 15, 1935,[8] but restored on February 11, 1937.[9] The route was previously proposed as the northern sections of SH 22 and SH 23. The intersection of SH 79 and SH 25, in Archer City, was the location for the filming of movie The Last Picture Show in 1971.

## Junction list

[edit]

This section is missing mileposts for junctions. Please help by adding them.

|

County| Location| mi| km| Destinations| Notes

|
|
|
|
|

Throckmorton| Throckmorton| | |  US 183 / US 283 – Seymour, Breckenridge, Albany|
​| | |
FM 2356 north|
​| | |
FM 2459 north|
Elbert| | |
FM 1711 south| South end of FM 1711 overlap
| |
FM 1711 north| North end of FM 1711 overlap
Young| ​| | |
FM 578 south|
​| | |
FM 926 east – Newcastle|
​| | |
FM 2898 north – Megargel|
​| | |
FM 3366 north – Olney Municipal Airport|
​| | |
Loop 132 north|
Olney| | |
SH 251 south – Newcastle|
| |
FM 210 west – Megargel|
| |  SH 114 – Megargel, Loving|
​| | |
FM 1768 east – Markley|
Archer| Archer City| | |  SH 25 – Mankins, Windthorst|
​| | |
FM 2224 north|
​| | |  FM 1954 – Holliday|
Lakeside City| | |
FM 2380 north (Kemp Boulevard)|
Wichita| Wichita Falls| | |
FM 369 west (Southwest Parkway) / Loop 473 (Old Jacksboro Highway)| Interchange
| |
US 281 south (Henry S. Grace Freeway) – Jacksboro| South end of US 281 overlap/freeway
| | Hatton Road - Kickapoo Downtown Airport|
| | Midwestern Parkway|
| |

US 82 west / US 281 north / US 287 north to I-44 – Seymour, Amarillo, Lawton| North end of US 281 overlap; south end of US 82/287 overlap
| | Old Windthorst Road|
| |

US 82 east / US 287 south – Henrietta, Fort Worth| North end of US 82/287 overlap
| | Hammon Road| Southbound exit and northbound entrance
| |
Bus. US 287 (Old Henrietta Highway)| Southbound exit via the Petrolia Road exit
| | Petrolia Road| Southbound exit and northbound entrance; north end of freeway
Clay| ​| | |
FM 3393 west (Old Petrolia Road)| South end of FM 3393 overlap
Dean| | |
FM 3393 east (Tammen Road)| North end of FM 3393 overlap
| |  FM 2393 – Thornberry, Jolly|
Petrolia| | |

SH 148 south / FM 810 north – Henrietta, Charlie|
Byers| | |
FM 171 east| South end of FM 171 overlap
| |
FM 171 west – Charlie| North end of FM 171 overlap
​| | |
SH-79 north – Waurika| Continuation into Oklahoma
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

* Concurrency terminus
* Incomplete access

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 79". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
2. ^ Halsey, Torin. "Highway 79 Bridge Work at Red River". Times Record News. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
3. ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. August 21, 1923. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
4. ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. October 10, 1927. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
5. ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. April 24, 1928. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
6. ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. April 24, 1933. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
7. ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. December 18, 1933. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 5, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
8. ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. July 15, 1935. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
9. ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. February 10, 1937. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2023.

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