Texas State Highway Loop 7

Loop 7 is a beltway in the U.S. state of Texas around the town of Athens. The highway additionally serves as a bypass for U.S. Highway 175 (US 175), State Highway 19 (SH 19), and SH 31 around the town.

State Highway Loop 7
Jed Robinson Loop Dewitt C. Greer Loop
Route information
Length	16.60 mi[1] (26.72 km)
Existed	2005[1]–present
Major junctions
Beltway around Athens
	SH 31 / Bus. SH 31 US 175 / Bus. US 175 SH 19 / Bus. SH 19
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← SH 7 PR 7 →

Route description

Loop 7 officially begins at an interchange with SH 31 (West Corsicana Street) west of downtown Athens. SH 31 overlaps with Loop 7 and the two highways turn northeast before having an interchange with US 175; that highway then joins the overlap as well. The beltway turns towards the east and has an interchange with SH 19; SH 19 joins the beltway. Loop 7 continues to run east with SH 31 leaving at an interchange with Business SH 31 (Bus. SH 31, East Tyler Street). Loop 7 turns south at the interchange and has an interchange with Farm to Market Road 2495 (FM 2495). Loop 7 starts turning southeast with US 175 leaving at an interchange with Bus. US 175 (E. Corsicana Street). After US 175 leaves the beltway, Loop 7 turns west with SH 19 leaving at an interchange with Bus. SH 19 (South Palestine Street). After SH 19 leaves the beltway, Loop 7 travels without any concurrences and has an interchange with FM 59 and FM 2494. After the FM 2494 interchange, Loop 7 turns north before arriving back at its start point with SH 31 (West Corsicana Street).

History

The section of Loop 7 from SH 31 (West Corsicana Street) to FM 317 was originally the westernmost section of FM 317. This portion of FM 317 was redesignated as Loop 7 on January 28, 2005.[2] On May 30, 2013, SH 31 was rerouted around Athens, bypassing the town and overlapping with Loop 7.[3] An earlier Loop 7 in Jasper from a point on U. S. 59 (U. S. 96 after the 1939 general redescription) to the south end of Main Street in Jasper and from the north end of Main Street in Jasper to U. S. 59 (U. S. 96 after the 1939 general redescription) existed from September 26, 1939 (a renumbering of two routes called SH 8 Spur) to June 12, 1945, when it became part of US 96. Loop 7 was reassigned to old US 96 in Jasper.[4] Loop 7 was cancelled on January 26, 1965.[5]

Junction list

The entire route is in Henderson County.

Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Athens			SH 31 west / Bus. SH 31 east – Corsicana, Athens	Interchange; counter-clockwise end of SH 31 concurrency
			US 175 west / Bus. US 175 east – Mabank, Athens	Interchange; counter-clockwise end of US 175 concurrency
			SH 19 north / Bus. SH 19 south – Canton, Athens	Interchange; counter-clockwise end of SH 19 concurrency
			FM 1616 north – Murchison
			SH 31 east / Bus. SH 31 west – Tyler, Athens	Interchange; clockwise end of SH 31 concurrency
			FM 2495 – Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center	Interchange
			US 175 west / Bus. US 175 east – Jacksonville, Athens	Interchange; clockwise end of US 175 concurrency
			SH 19 south / Bus. SH 19 north – Palestine, Athens	Interchange; clockwise end of SH 19 concurrency
​			FM 59 – Cayuga, Athens	Interchange
​			FM 2494	Interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also

•  U.S. Roads portal
•  Texas portal

References

1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway Loop No. 7". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
2. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Farm to Market Road No. 317". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
3. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 31". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
4. (PDF) https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676348.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. (PDF) https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676608.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)