| I-69E | |||
| Get started | Robstown | ||
| End | Brownsville | ||
| Length | 149 mi | ||
| Length | 240 km | ||
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According to foodezine, Interstate 69 East or I -69E is an Interstate Highway in the United States, located in the state of Texas. The highway branches off Interstate 69 in South Texas and currently consists of two sections, from Brownsville to Harlingen and from Kingsville to I-37 at Robstown, not far from Corpus Christi. The planned length is 240 kilometers.
Travel directions
I-69E / US 77 / US 83 in Harlingen.
I-37 / I-69E at Robstown.
I-69E begins the city of Brownsville, the southernmost city in Texas, located on the border with Mexico. The highway begins at the first intersection north of the border crossing and heads north through the town of Brownsville on 2×3 lanes and frontage roads. North of Brownsville, the SH 550 toll road joins. The highway runs northwards and runs only a short distance through undeveloped areas, soon the southern suburbs of Harlingen loom up. The entire route to Harlingen has 2×3 lanes. In Harlingen, a stack follows with Interstate 2, which runs west to McAllen. I-69E continues north in 2×2 lanes and turns into the after SebastianUS 77.
The second section is the Robstown bypass, west of Corpus Christi. This section has 2×2 lanes and ends at an interchange with Interstate 37, the highway from Corpus Christi to San Antonio.
History
According to bittranslators, I-69E was originally constructed as a US Highway. The freeway from Brownsville to Harlingen was numbered US 77 and US 83, north of Harlingen only US 77. The route at Robstown was US 77 for a long time, but was renumbered I-69 on December 5, 2011, and as of July 2013 as I-69E. On July 15, 2013, the first signs with I-69E were installed in Harlingen.
Brownsville – Harlingen
US 77 already had 2×2 lanes with partial frontage roads between the north side of Brownsville and San Benito in the early 1960s. This was later upgraded to freeway, when exactly is unknown. As early as 1962 there was a stretch of freeway between San Benito and the west side of Harlingen. The Harlingen bypass opened in about 1963. The part of the highway further north of Harlingen opened in the 1980s. In Brownsville, the highway was partly built over a former river, so little new right-of-way was needed in the city. Exactly when this part opened is unknown, but sometime between 1965-1995. For a long time, the southern starting point of the highway was SH 4near the center. The Veterans International Bridge on the border with Mexico opened in 1999, but it took until about 2005 for the freeway to connect directly to it.
Harlingen – Kingsville
In the 1980s, the highway from Harlingen to the south side of Sebastian was built. After that, US 77 had a wide space reservation in the median strip to the north of Raymondville. This was later used to build the highway’s main carriageways, after which the original carriageways of US 77 became part of the frontage road. Circa 2003, the highway opened along Sebastian, as well as a section along Lyford. The intermediate part was put into use in 2013-2014.
The first grade separations at Raymondville opened to traffic in the early 1990s, with SH 186. The section between Lyford and Raymondville is believed to have opened in the early 2000s. Circa 2005, the junction with old US 77 opened to traffic just north of Raymondville. Circa 2007, the highway opened to traffic from Raymondville to that point.
Presumably in late 2013, the connection at Sarita in Kenedy County opened to traffic. This was the first section of the highway in Kenedy County. The rest had been a 2×2 divided highway for some time.
Kingsville
In 1962, the eastern bypass of Kingsville in South Texas was opened, eliminating through traffic through this town. Originally it had only one grade separated intersection with SH 141, but space was reserved for more connections. The second connection was with FM 425, followed by a connection with General Cavazos Boulevard in the early 2000s. In 2005, a connection opened with Santa Gertrudis Street and nearby FM 1898.
Kingsville – Robstown
Between April 2014 and October 2016, an eight-mile section of US 77 between Kingsville and Driscoll was converted to I-69E. Its construction cost $79 million. On August 26, 2016, the main lanes of I-69E near Bishop opened to traffic.
On July 26, 2018, a $118 million contract was awarded to construct I-69E around Driscoll. This stretch is 15 kilometers long and lies between the existing sections of I-69E between Bishop and Robstown. This section was completed in August 2022, leaving more than 50 kilometers of I-69E to drive from I-37 to the south side of Kingsville.
Robstown – Interstate 37
At Robstown, a partial bypass was presumably built in the 1970s, which had 2×2 lanes and a wide median strip, but was not a highway. In addition, there was a railway crossing. In the late 1980s, a viaduct was built over this level crossing and SH 44, as well as a grade separated connection with FM 624 in Callalen. Around 1990, the half- stack with Interstate 37 opened to traffic nearby. In 1998, a second phase of the Robstown bypass, north of FM 44, opened directly as a freeway. The intermediate section up to Callalen was a narrow four-lane road, which was converted into a freeway in 2006. In 2011, a connection with FM 892 opened in the south of Robstown. Since then, free-flow has been possible along Robstown.
Interstate 37 – Victoria
A western bypass with grade-separated connections has been constructed around Sinton. This has already been opened before 1995, except for the connection with the rerouted SH 89, which opened on January 5, 2009. In 2014, another grade-separated junction with old US 77 opened on the north side of Sinton.
Before 1995, a split-level connection with SH 239 to the northeast of Refugio opened for traffic. The grade separations on the south side of Victoria also opened to traffic before 1995, but were expanded only later in the 1990s with the conversion of US 59 as a 2×2 divided highway along the southwest side of Victoria.
Future
US 77 in Texas is to be converted into a freeway between Sebastian and Robstown so that it can receive Interstate Highway status. This route largely runs through a very sparsely populated area, but due to the length of the project, the construction costs are quite high. The conversion of US 77 to Interstate will therefore probably take years.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 68,000 to 103,000 vehicles pass through Brownsville, dropping to 42,000 vehicles between Brownsville and Harlingen, then increasing to a maximum of 96,000 vehicles in Harlingen. North of I-2, 46,000 vehicles passed Sebastian, dropping to 17,000.
Between Robstown and I-37 there were 16,000 to 41,000 vehicles.
