Texas State Highway 34 Explained

State:TX
Type:SH
Route:34
Map Custom:yes
Length Mi:130.197
Length Round:3
Established:1919
Direction A:South
Direction B:North
Terminus A: in Italy
Junction:
Terminus B: near Honey Grove
Counties:Ellis, Kaufman, Hunt, Fannin
Previous Type:SH
Previous Route:33
Next Type:I
Next Route:35

State Highway 34 (SH 34) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs from Honey Grove to Italy near the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex.

History

SH 34 was originally proposed on November 19, 1917, starting in Ft. Worth travelling southeast to Ennis.[1] On October 15, 1923, SH 34 was extended to Kaufman. On December 17, 1923, SH 34 was extended to Greenville, replacing SH 38.[2] On May 25, 1925, the eastern end had been extended north to Honey Grove.[3] On December 21, 1926, it was extended north to the Oklahoma state line via the current FM 100.[4] On October 10, 1927, the western end had been extended to near Jacksboro.[5] On July 15, 1935, the section north of Honey Grove was cancelled.[6]

On September 26, 1939, the section from Jacksboro to Ennis was removed from SH 34, becoming parts of U.S. Highway 287 and SH 319 (which was originally planned as SH 287 and became part of SH 199 one month later). It was instead routed farther southwest into Italy, replacing SH 306.In or around 1945, the section from Kaufman to Ennis was re-routed through Scurry, south of Rosser, and on a new bridge over the Trinity River. The former route from Scurry to Peeltown (Kaufman County) was assigned to an extension of Farm to Market Road 148, and about a mile of the old route is now Farm to Market Road 1181 in Telico (Ellis County). The old bridge over the Trinity River no longer exists https://maps.google.com/maps?q=kaufman,+tx&hl=en&ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=32.398226,-96.437731&spn=0.022647,0.045147&t=h&om=1; in addition, the replacement bridge (a narrow, two-lane truss bridge) was replaced with a wider, traditional span. On August 18, 1987, SH 34 was extended north from US 77 to I-35E, replacing FM 1134. On April 24, 2003, SH 34 was extended east and north concurrent with SH 56 and FM 100 to US 82.

A bypass around the city of Terrell was designated on February 28, 2013, but completed in early 2014.[7] Construction began in October 2014 on a bypass around the city of Kaufman, with construction lasting approximately 22 months.[8] The section south of US 175 opened in May 2016 while the section north of US 175 opened later that year in August.

Route description

SH 34 begins at I-35E in the community of Italy. The highway runs southeast through the town to US 77 before turning in a more east direction. Near Avalon, the highway turns to the northeast and runs through the community of Bardwell before crossing Lake Bardwell. After crossing the lake, SH 34 enters Ennis and intersects US 287. The highway shares overlaps with the business routes of I-45 and US 287 in the city and leaves the city after intersecting I-45.

After crossing the Trinity River, SH 34 enters Kaufman County and runs near the communities of Scurry and Rosser before entering Kaufman. The highway intersects US 175 and shares an overlap with SH 243 in the city. Leaving the city, SH 34 runs in a sharp northeast direction for a few miles, turning north in Oak Ridge. In southern Terrell, the highway intersects I-20, which is the sight of a Tanger Outlet Center. Near Terrell Municipal Airport, SH 34 runs along a new alignment, bypassing the downtown area of the city and crosses over US 80. Leaving Terrell, the highway runs by many farms before turning more north and running near the western shore of Lake Tawakoni. In Quinlan, the highway shares a short overlap with SH 276 and crosses near an inlet of Tawakoni north of the town. Since 2023, the short overlap that SH 34 and SH 276 shared was eliminated when SH 276 was rerouted south of Quinlan.[9] [10]

Entering Hunt County, SH 34 runs in a straight north direction. The highway enters Greenville and intersects I-30/US 67, which used to be a cloverleaf interchange. Shortly after intersecting US 69/US 380, SH 34 overlaps with a business route of US 69 through the city's downtown area. Leaving the city, the highway serves as the western terminus for SH 224. North of Wolfe City, the highway makes a sharp turn and runs east for a few miles before turning back north in Ladonia. SH 34 intersects SH 56 in Honey Grove before terminating at US 82 just north of the town.

Business routes

There are currently no business routes for SH 34, though the highway previously had two.

Terrell

State:TX
Type:SH-Bus
Route:34
Location:Terrell
Length Mi:3.3
Established:February 28, 2013
Deleted:July 27, 2017

Business State Highway 34-A (Bus. SH 34-A) was a bypass of Terrell, designated on February 28, 2013 and completed in early 2014. This business route was removed from the state highway system on July 27, 2017; the southern part of Bus. SH 34-A was re-designated as Spur 226 while the northern section was given over to the city of Terrell.

Kaufman

State:TX
Type:SH-Bus
Route:34
Location:Kaufman
Length Mi:3.1
Established:October 19, 2016
Deleted:September 24, 2020

A second business route served the downtown area of Kaufman, along Washington Street and Mulberry Street. The route ran along a previous routing of SH 34. It became a business route after a bypass was completed in October 2016 around the south and east sides of Kaufman for SH 34.[11] [12] [13] The Kaufman business route had been completely cancelled and removed by September 24, 2020, with maintenance being turned over to the city.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: October 23, 2017 . November 19, 1917 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171023063519/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676739.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 1 May 2023 . en-us . live .
  2. Web site: November 7, 2017 . December 17, 1923 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171107020718/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676882.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 1 May 2023 . en-us . live .
  3. Web site: November 7, 2017 . May 25, 1925 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171107013553/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676907.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 1 May 2023 . en-us . live .
  4. Web site: December 22, 2017 . December 20, 1926 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051949/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676961.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 1 May 2023 . en-us . live .
  5. Web site: December 22, 2017 . February 14, 1927 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052116/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676967.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 1 May 2023 . en-us . live .
  6. Web site: October 20, 2017 . July 15, 1935 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171020091156/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003673871.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 1 May 2023 . en-us . live .
  7. Web site: inForney.com. Richards. Mathew. Officials break ground on $13.8 million State Highway 34 bypass project in Kaufman. October 23, 2014. December 6, 2016.
  8. Web site: Terrell Tribune. Elswick. Mike. Groundbreaking held for Kaufman's State Highway 34 bypass. October 19, 2014. December 6, 2016.
  9. Web site: Work on Quinlan Bypass in Hunt County Begins in January . www.txdot.gov . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20201209230343/https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/media-center/local-news/paris/056-2020.html . 2020-12-09.
  10. News: Kellar . Brad . Highway 276 bypass project finally opening to traffic . April 7, 2023 . . Lisa Chappell . February 23, 2023.
  11. News: Mathew . Richards . Lane closures expected next week on U.S. Highway 175 to begin SH 34 bypass construction . InForney.com . January 23, 2015 . August 8, 2018 .
  12. News: Portions of U.S. Highway 175 frontage roads to be closed for SH 34 construction . InForney.com . January 30, 2015 . August 8, 2018 .
  13. News: 34 Kaufman Bypass open . . October 19, 2016 . March 18, 2017 .
  14. Web site: October 7, 2020 . September 24, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201007182156/http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot/commission/2020/0924/11b3.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 1 May 2023 . en-us . live .