U.S. Route 79 in Texas
U.S. Route 79 (US 79) is a U.S. highway that begins in the state of Texas at Interstate 35 in Round Rock. The highway travels northeast–southwest through the state, crossing into Louisiana approximately 23 miles northeast of Carthage. US 79 is entwined with two tragedies of country music: Johnny Horton was killed by a drunk driver on the highway near Milano in 1960 and Jim Reeves, killed in a plane crash in 1964, is buried and memorialized on US 79 in his hometown of Carthage.
Route information | ||||
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Maintained by TxDOT | ||||
Length | 271.788 mi[1] (437.400 km) | |||
Existed | 1935–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | ||||
North end | ||||
Location | ||||
Counties | Williamson, Milam, Robertson, Leon, Freestone, Anderson, Cherokee, Rusk, Panola | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Route description
US 79 begins at an interchange with Interstate 35 in the Austin suburb of Round Rock. The highway travels through the town as Palm Valley Boulevard, entering into the town of Hutto just before an interchange with State Highway 130. Leaving Hutto, US 79 takes a more rural route, bypassing the town of Taylor and enters Milam County right before entering the small community of Thorndale. US 79 runs through the town of Rockdale before entering Milano, where it begins an overlap with U.S. Route 190 and a brief concurrency with State Highway 36. The overlap with US 190 ends in Hearne, where an overlap with State Highway 6 begins. US 79 leaves State Highway 6, resuming its northeast–southwest run. The highway runs through several smaller towns, including Franklin and Buffalo, and begins an overlap with US 84 approximately 9 miles southwest of Palestine. Running through the city, the highway intersects US Route 287 and shares a brief overlap with State Highway 19. Leaving Palestine, US 79 travels through a heavily forested area of east Texas serving the towns of Jacksonville and Henderson. Leaving Henderson, the highway runs in an east–west direction before arriving at Carthage, turning back into a more northeast–southwest direction. About 23 miles northeast of Carthage US 79 leaves Texas and enters into Louisiana, running towards Shreveport.
Junction list
County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
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Williamson | Round Rock | I-35 exit 253; continuation past I-35 via Sam Bass Road | |||
Hutto | Interchange; SH 130 exit 423 | ||||
South end of FM 1660 overlap | |||||
North end of FM 1660 overlap | |||||
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Taylor | Interchange | ||||
Interchange | |||||
Interchange | |||||
Thrall | |||||
Milam | Thorndale | ||||
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Rockdale | South end of FM 487 overlap | ||||
North end of FM 487 overlap | |||||
Interchange | |||||
Milano | South end of US 190/SH 36 overlap | ||||
North end of SH 36 overlap | |||||
Gause | |||||
Robertson | | ||||
Hearne | |||||
Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; north end of US 190 overlap; south end of SH 6 overlap | |||||
| Interchange; north end of SH 6 overlap | ||||
Elliott | |||||
Franklin | |||||
New Baden | |||||
Easterly | |||||
Leon | | ||||
Marquez | |||||
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Jewett | Interchange | ||||
Buffalo | I-45 exit 178 | ||||
Former US 75 | |||||
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Oakwood | |||||
Freestone | | Interchange; no northbound exit; south end of US 84 overlap | |||
Anderson | | ||||
Tucker | |||||
Palestine | |||||
North end of US 84 overlap; south end of SH 19 overlap | |||||
North end of SH 19 overlap | |||||
Neches | |||||
Cherokee | | ||||
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Jacksonville | |||||
New Summerfield | |||||
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Rusk | | ||||
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Henderson | |||||
South end of US 259 overlap | |||||
North end of US 259 overlap | |||||
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| at the Rusk/Panola County Line | ||||
Panola | | ||||
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Carthage | Interchange; south end of Loop 436 overlap | ||||
Interchange | |||||
Interchange; north end of future I-369/US 59 overlap | |||||
Interchange; north end of future I-369/US 59/Loop 436 overlap | |||||
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DeBerry | |||||
Panola | |||||
Bethany, Louisiana | Continuation into Louisiana | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "U.S. Highway No. 79". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 10, 2016.