Texas State Highway 44

State Highway 44
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	128.9 mi (207.4 km)
Existed:	by 1938 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 83
	I-35 US 59 US 281 I-69 / US 77
East end:	SH 358
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate • US • TX (Loops – Spurs – Rec – FM) ← I-44 I-45 → ← FM 862 FM 863 FM 864 →

State Highway 44 is a Texas state highway that runs from west of Encinal to Corpus Christi, Texas. This highway is also known as the Cesar Chavez Memorial Highway outside the city limits of Robstown, Banquete, Agua Dulce, Alice and Corpus Christi in Nueces and Jim Hogg Counties.

History

SH 44 was originally proposed in 1919 as a connector route between Waco and Giddings. By 1933, construction was continuing on the highway, with the southern terminus extended south to LaGrange, and was cosigned with U.S. Highway 77. By 1938, this route had been fully converted to US 77, with a new designation from Sinton to Alice via Robstown over former SH 128. In 1939, the section from Sinton to Robstown was reassigned, again taking on the US 77 designation. The western terminus was then extended to Freer in 1940. The section west of Freer approximately 56.4 miles (90.8 km) was Farm to Market Road 863 which traveled west to United States Route 83 in Webb County, today's State Highway 44 terminus.

From 1948 to 1953, FM 863 went from Beaver Creek to the town of Hilda which became RM 648 and is now RM 783. FM 863 was designated over a new route and part of FM 133 from Encinal to Freer in 1953. Before 1955, FM 863 ended at the Webb/Lasalle County Line. In 1990 FM 863 mileage was transferred to State Highway 44.

Junction List

County	Location	Junction	Notes
Webb		US 83 – Laredo, Asherton	West end of SH 44
La Salle	Encinal	I-35 Bus. south	West end of BL 35 overlap
		I-35 – San Antonio, Laredo	East end of BL 35 overlap
Duval		US 59 south – Laredo	West end of US 59 overlap
	Freer	SH 16 – Tilden, Hebbronville
		US 59 north – George West	East end of US 59 overlap
		FM 3196 south – Benavides
	San Diego	SH 359 south – Benavides	West end of SH 359 overlap
Jim Wells	Alice	US 281 – George West, Falfurrias
		US 281 Bus.
		SH 359 north – Mathis	East end of SH 359 overlap
Nueces	Agua Dulce	FM 70 – Sandia, Bishop
	Banquete	FM 666 – San Patricio
	Robstown	FM 1889 north / US 77 Bus. south	West end of US 77 Bus overlap
		US 77 Bus. north	East end of US 77 Bus overlap
		I-69 north / US 77 north – Corpus Christi	West end of I-69/US 77 overlap
		US 77 south – Kingsville	East end of I-69/US 77 overlap; south end of I-69
		FM 1694
		FM 61 south
		McKenzie Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; west end of freeway
	Clarkwood	Clarkwood Road – Clarkwood
		Frontage Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		International Drive – Corpus Christi Int'l
	Corpus Christi	Hopkins Road	Westbound exit only
		Talbert Road	Eastbound exit and entrance
		Bus. SH 44-D east – Corpus Christi	Eastbound exit only
		Heinsohn Road	Westbound exit for SH-Bus 44
		SH 358 north to I-37 – Port of Corpus Christi	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		SH 358 south to SH 286 – Corpus Christi NAS, Padre Island	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; east end of SH 44