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Texas State Highway 302

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State Highway 302 marker
State Highway 302
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length83.17 mi[1] (133.85 km)
Existed1939–present
Major junctions
West end US 285 southwest of Mentone
Major intersections SH 115 near Kermit

SH 18 in Kermit

SH 158
East end I-20 at Odessa
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountiesReeves, Loving, Winkler, Ector
Highway system
← SH 301→ SH 303

State Highway 302 or SH 302 is a Texas state highway maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The 83.2-mile (133.9 km) route runs from U.S. Route 285 northwest of Pecos to Interstate 20 near Odessa. The route passes through Reeves, Loving, Winkler, and Ector counties. SH 302 has intersections with SH 115 and SH 18 in the Kermit area, and SH 158 east of Notrees. The route intersects Loop 338 and Spur 450 in West Odessa and then follows Loop 338 along the west side of Odessa until SH 302 terminates at I-20. SH 302 also intersects several Farm to Market Roads and an Interstate business route.

SH 302 was originally designated in 1939 as a route between Kermit and Odessa, but has since incorporated the former SH 276 and a defunct Farm to Market Road to achieve its present length. Loving County, where the route passes through Mentone, is the nation's least populous county in stark contrast to the urbanized eastern end of the route in the Odessa area.

History

SH 302 was originally created between Kermit and Odessa during the 1939 general redescription of the Texas highway system, but with the route's designation being contingent upon completion of work then being done in Winkler County. Soon after, the state assumed maintenance of the Ector County portion, and the following year in 1940 the state assumed maintenance of the Winkler County part of the route.[1] Also during the 1939 redescription of the highway system, SH 276 was designated over the current western terminus at US 285 to Mentone,[2] although a portion of that route existed as early as 1936 as an earth road from US 285 to the former town of Arno.[3]

In 1946, SH 276 was designated over a second, discontinuous portion of the present route between SH 115 west of Kermit to SH 82 in Kermit.[2] Later that year, that designation was dropped and that segment was added as an extension of SH 302 westward to SH 115.[1][2] In 1949, Farm to Market Road 1211 was designated over a 2.0-mile (3.2 km) section of the present route from Mentone to the northeast. In 1952, FM 1211 was extended incrementally to the Winkler County line and then to SH 115.[4] The following year the designation of SH 276 was dropped and that road between US 285 and Mentone was assigned as a discontinuous segment of SH 302.[1][2] In 1958 SH 82, the intersecting route Kermit, was renamed SH 18.[5][6]

In 1967, SH 302 was rerouted over Loop 338 in Ector County to I-20.[1] Its former route between Loop 338 and US 385 in Odessa was then designated as Spur 450.[1][7] The discontinuous nature of SH 302 remained until 1990 when FM 1211 between Mentone and SH 115 near Kermit was canceled and combined with SH 302 unifying the current route.[1][4]

Route description

State Highway 302 about 3 km west of Notrees, Texas

SH 302 begins at US 285 between Pecos and Orla in Reeves County as a two-lane road. The route proceeds to the northeast crossing the Pecos River before passing through Mentone in Loving County. The route continues eastward crossing into Winkler County and intersecting SH 115 just outside of Kermit. In Kermit, the route is known as Jim Sharp Blvd. and widens to four lanes with a left turn lane in the middle. After crossing SH 18, the route continues eastward losing the left turn lane as it leaves town. The route continues as a four-lane, undivided highway into Ector County where the route is known as Kermit Hwy. Just east of Notrees, the route becomes a divided highway and passes along the northern edge of West Odessa before joining along Loop 338, Odessa's beltway. The passage of SH 302 along Loop 338 begins as a freeway, but later has limited crossings at grade. SH 302 terminates at the intersection of Loop 338 and I-20.[8]

The route passes through largely level terrain requiring only gentle grades. The route traverses many oil fields along its length, and encounters fields of sand dunes east of Kermit.[9][10] The western portion of the highway west of Kermit is especially isolated as the route passes through Loving County, the only county in the nation with fewer than 100 residents.[11]

Major intersections

County Location Mile[8] Roads Intersected Notes
Reeves 0 US 285 – Pecos, Carlsbad, NM Western terminus
Loving 3.6 FM 867
Mentone 5.4
FM 1933 north (Pecos St.)
5.4
FM 1933 south (Dallas St.)
Winkler 30.3 FM 1232 – Wink
33.5 FM 874
35.4
SH 115 south – Wink 		Begin brief overlay of SH 115
35.5
SH 115 north – Andrews 		End overlay of SH 115
Kermit 37.5 SH 18 (S. Poplar St.) – Monahans, Jal, NM
Ector 59.0 FM 2019
63.0 SH 158 / FM 181 – Goldsmith, Seminole
West Odessa 68.5 FM 866 – Goldsmith
76.2 FM 1936
78.4 Loop 338 / Spur 450 (Kermit Highway) Begin overlay of Loop 338
Odessa 79.5 FM 2020 (University Blvd.)
80.5 FM 3472 (W. 16th St.)
82.2 I-20 BL (W. 2nd St.) – Midland
83.2 I-20 / Loop 338 – El Paso, Abilene End overlay of Loop 338; eastern terminus

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 302". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 276". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  3. ^ Official Map of the Highway System of Texas (Map) (Centennial ed.). 1"=29 mi. Cartography by R. M. Stene. Texas State Highway Commission. Corrected to March 1, 1936. {{cite map}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |Url= (help); Unknown parameter |Url= ignored (|url= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Farm to Market Road No. 1211". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  5. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 82". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  6. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 18". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  7. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway Spur No. 450". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Route of SH 302" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  9. ^ Kermit, Texas (Map). 1:100,000. 30x60 minute series (topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1986. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  10. ^ Odessa, Texas (Map). 1:100,000. 30x60 minute series (topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1986. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  11. ^ "Table 2: Counties Ranked by Population: 2000" (PDF), Ranking Tables for Counties: Population in 2000 and Population Change from 1990 to 2000 (PHC-T-4), United States Census Bureau, p. 57, April 2, 2001 {{citation}}: External link in |work= (help)

Template:Reeves County, Texas Highways Template:Loving County, Texas Highways Template:Winkler County, Texas Highways Template:Ector County, Texas Highways

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