| US 287 | |||
| Begin | Port Arthur | ||
| End | Kerrick | ||
| Length | 768 mi | ||
| Length | 1.236 km | ||
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According to bittranslators.com, US 287 is a US Highway in the US state of Texas. The road is one of the longer US Highways, running from Kerrick on the Oklahoma border to Port Arthur on the Gulf of Mexico. En route you will visit the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The route is 1,236 kilometers long, making US 287 the fourth longest US Highway in Texas.
Travel directions
Texas Panhandle
US 287 at the Oklahoma state line in Kerrick.
The road begins in the far north of Texas, near the hamlet of Kerrick, US 287 comes from Oklahoma. From here the road runs straight to the southeast, through the meadows. This part of Texas is sparsely populated. At Stratford one crosses US 54, which runs from Dalhart to Guymon in Oklahoma, and US 287 bends south here, even counting 2×2 lanes. The road is largely deserted and straight. The landscape is very open because no trees grow here. In Dumas one crosses the US 87, which runs from Dalhart to Amarillo, double numbered with the US 287. South of Masterson one crosses the Canadian River. Emergency lanes are also available. Just north of the large city of Amarillobegins the highway section. The highway has 2×2 lanes, and runs through the northern suburbs. Near the center the highway splits into four main streets. One then crosses the US 60, which runs from Amarillo to Canadian. Then US 287 merges into Interstate 27, then through a turbine interchange on Interstate 40 toward Oklahoma City.
After eight miles, US 287 joins I-40 and begins to head southeast as a four-lane highway. The distances are great, and the landscape is monotonous. Emergency lanes are also available here, which is common for non-motorways that perform an important function. You will come across few places along the way. Most are small villages. In Newlin one crosses the Red River, which further forms the border between Oklahoma and Texas. In Childress one crosses the US 62, which runs from Lubbock to Lawton in Oklahoma. This is also where the Texas Panhandle ends.
Northern Texas
There are several modern rest areas along the route. Yet there are hardly any larger towns on the route, and they are far apart. You pass Vernon, where US 287 forms the bypass. It crosses US 283, which runs from Coleman in the south to Altus in Oklahoma. US 287 is not far from the Oklahoma border here. The US 70, which runs from Plainview to Ardmore, also crosses here, two regional towns. From Electra a second highway section starts, and this is a somewhat longer route, one comes here through the large city of Wichita Falls, which has 104,000 inhabitants. Here one crosses Interstate 44, which leads to Oklahoma Cityruns. The highway runs right through downtown Wichita Falls. It also crosses the US 82, which runs from Sherman to Lubbock, the latter is a large city in northwest Texas. It also crosses US 281, which runs to San Antonio in the deep south. The US 287 is called the Central Freeway here.
Just east of Wichita Falls, the highway section ends, and the road returns to a 2×2 main road. One passes over the prairies past a few villages, and in Bowie one crosses US 81, which leads to Duncan in Oklahoma. US 287 is temporarily a freeway around Bowie. At Decatur, one crosses US 380, which runs from Graham to Denton, the northern suburb of Fort Worth. Oil is extracted in this area. The highway to Fort Worth begins at Pecan Acres.
Dallas – Fort Worth
De US 287 freeway in Fort Worth.
The highway also has 2×2 lanes, then merges into Interstate 35W. US 287 is double-numbered with I-35 to downtown Fort Worth, where US 287 exits southeast, and is then called the Martin Luther King Freeway. The road then has 2×3 lanes, and you almost immediately cross Interstate 30, which runs to Dallas. It then crosses the eastern residential areas of Fort Worth. At the end, US 287 briefly merges with Interstate 820, Fort Worth’s ring road. It becomes Interstate 20, and in the giant suburb of Arlington, US 287 joins southeast, with 2×2 lanes and Frontage Roads. One then passes through the fast-growing suburb of Mansfield, which has a population of 59,000. After Mansfield the highway ends, and the road becomes a regular main road. In Midlothian you cross US 67, which runs directly to Dallas. At Waxahachie one crosses Interstate 35E.
Eastern Texas
US 287 in Tyler County, 60 miles north of Beaumont.
After Waxahachie, the road is a four-lane highway until Ennis, where US 287 is briefly double-numbered with Interstate 45, the highway between Dallas and Houston. A little further south, in Corsicana, US 287 rejoins to continue heading southeast. The road crosses the Richland-Chambers Reservoir, one of the many reservoirs in this part of Texas. On the way to Palestine are a few villages that are of little importance. In Palestine you cross the US 79, which runs from Bryan to Jacksonville. One also crosses the US 84, which leads to Rusk. There are many medium-sized towns in this part of Texas. Meanwhile, the landscape has changed greatly from prairies to dense forests. One passes through the Davy Crockett National Forest. Tens of miles away, Corrigan crosses US 59, which runs from Houston to Lufkin.
The woods are getting denser, and have the upper hand in the view. In Woodville one crosses the US 190, which runs from Huntsville to Jasper. The US 69 also joins here, and both roads are double-numbered until the town of Beaumont. Just before Beaumont, the highway section, the Eastex Freeway, begins. One crosses Interstate 10, which runs from Houston to New Orleans. US 287 is the only highway that intersects nearly all of the major routes in Texas, I-27, I-40, I-44, I-35, I-30, I-20, I-45, and I-10, respectively. The only one not crossed is Interstate 37, which runs between San Antonio and Corpus Christi. South of Beaumont, US 287 ends in Port Arthur, on the Gulf of Mexico.
History
The US 69/96/287 in the Netherlands.
US 287 was added to the network in 1935. At the time, the route only ran in Wyoming and Colorado. In 1940, the route was extended across Texas to Port Arthur on the Gulf of Mexico. In later years, much of the route west of Fort Worth has been upgraded to a divided highway with short freeway sections. In 1991, the route between Amarillo and the Oklahoma border was designated as part of the Ports to Plains Corridor.
Rhome – Fort Worth
Northwest of Fort Worth, US 287 is a freeway. The first section of this opened in 1970 as a part four-lane, part two-lane trunk road. In 1976 this section was widened to 2×2 lanes. In 1989, a further section opened between Rhome and Business Route 287. US 287 has no frontage roads on this stretch, and there are a number of dirt roads leading to oil installations that open directly onto the road.
Opening history
| Van | Unpleasant | Length | Datum |
| Business 287 | I-35W | 13,0 km | 00-00-1976 |
| Rhome | Business 287 | 9,4 km | 00-00-1989 |
Fort Worth – Mansfield
The construction of US 287 as a freeway arose out of the dismay of residents in eastern Fort Worth that they had to pay tolls because of the Dallas – Fort Worth Turnpike (I-30) and could travel to and from work elsewhere. Alternatively, US 287 has been constructed, which runs southeast from downtown. The highway was approved in 1955, although construction did not start immediately. Construction became a higher priority in 1957 and TxDOT began acquiring the right-of-way for the construction of US 287. Actual construction started in 1960 and the section was subsequently phased up to I-820 between 1963 and opened in 1970.
Planning began in 1966 for the construction of US 287 as a freeway south of I-20, and land acquisition began in 1968. Most of this section was subsequently opened in 1975. The Mansfield bypass opened to traffic in 1982. The common portion with I-20 opened in April 1974, the common portion with I-820 is older, and opened on September 16, 1963.
Opening history
| Van | Unpleasant | Length | Datum |
| I-35W | Rosedale Street | 3,5 km | 00-00-1963 |
| Rosedale Street | Mitchell Boulevard | 1,8 km | 00-00-1964 |
| Mitchell Boulevard | Miller Avenue | 2,4 km | 00-00-1966 |
| Miller Avenue | I-820 | 2,2 km | 00-00-1970 |
| I-20 | FM 157 | 10,0 km | 00-00-1975 |
| FM 157 | Heritage Parkway | 6,1 km | 00-00-1982 |
Future
Fort Worth: Southeast Connector
Under the heading “Southeast Connector”, it is planned to reconstruct I-20 and the connecting I-820 and US 287 between Fort Worth and Arlington. This includes the large-scale reconstruction of the interchanges and widening of these highways. In particular, the I-20 / I-820 node is problematic because there are left-wing evaders here. The project includes a total of 25 miles of freeway, including 10 miles of I-20 between Forest Hill Drive and Park Springs Boulevard, 9 miles of I-820 between I-30 and I-20, and 7 miles of US 287 between Bishop Street and Sublett Road. These three freeways converge in southeastern Fort Worth.
Ellis County
It is planned to be upgraded 50 miles from US 287 in Ellis County south of Dallas, between SH 360 near Mansfield to the Ennis bypass. The frontage roads of US 287 need to be built or upgraded here, plus possible grade separation or conversion of US 287 to a freeway. Some parts of US 287 have already been developed as freeway on this section, such as the bypasses of Midlothian, Waxahachie and Ennis.
Traffic intensities
Between Oklahoma and Amarillo, the road is very quiet, with between 2,000 and 3,000 vehicles per day, almost all long-distance traffic. 20,000 vehicles drive every 24 hours in Amarillo. The section between Amarillo and Wichita Falls is usually under 10,000 vehicles per day, and the road is well developed for the intensities. There are 62,000 vehicles per day in Wichita Falls. It is busier towards Fort Worth, between Wichita Falls and Fort Worth usually more than 20,000 vehicles per day. 67,000 vehicles drive daily in Fort Worth between I-35 and I-820. There are 68,000 vehicles in Arlington, falling to 21,000 in Waxahachie.
Only 3,200 vehicles drive between Corsicana and Palestine, and south of Palestine this drops to 1,700 vehicles. It only gets busier in Beaumont with 58,000 vehicles per day. At the end in Port Arthur there are 17,400 vehicles per day.
Lane Configuration
| Van | Unpleasant | Lanes | Comments |
| Spur 477 | I-44 | 2×2 | Wichita Falls |
| I-44 | US 281 | 2×3 | Wichita Falls |
| US 281 | BUS US 287 | 2×2 | Wichita Falls |
| SH 114 | I-35W | 2×2 | Fort Worth |
| I-35W | I-820 | 2×3 | double numbering with I-35W |
| I-820 | SH 183 | 2×2 | double numbering with I-35W |
| SH 183 | SH 121 | 2×3 | double numbering with I-35W |
| SH 121 | I-35W | 2×5 | double numbering with I-35W |
| I-35W | I-820 | 2×3 | Fort Worth |
| I-820 | I-20 | 2×4 | double numbering with I-820 |
| I-20 | I-20 | 2×6 | double numbering with I-20 |
| I-20 | SH 496 | 2×2 | Arlington/Mansfield |
