U.S. Route 259

U.S. Route 259
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 59
Length:	250 mi (400 km)
Existed:	1963 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 59 / US 59 Bus. near Nacogdoches, Tex.
	I-20 near Kilgore, Tex. I-30 near Omaha, Tex.
North end:	US-59 / US-270 near Heavener, Okla.
Location
States:	Texas, Oklahoma
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced

U.S. Route 259 is a north–south spur of U.S. Route 59 that runs for 250 miles (402 km) through rural areas of southeast Oklahoma and northeast Texas.

The highway's northern terminus is in the Ouachita Mountains, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Heavener, Oklahoma, where it branches off of its parent route, U.S. 59. The southern terminus is near Nacogdoches, Texas, where it reunites with U.S. 59. For most of its length, US 259 lies 30–50 miles to the west of its parent route.

Route description

First reassurance marker heading north from the southern terminus in Nacogdoches, TX

Texas

US 259 begins at an intersection with its parent, US 59, on the north side of Nacogdoches, Texas. The highway continues due north, passing through Mount Enterprise, and around the eastern side of Henderson and Kilgore. In Kilgore, Texas, US 259 is known as the Charles K. Devall Memorial Highway, as named by the Texas legislature. It then has a concurrency with Interstate 20 of about 6 miles (9.7 km), then continues north around the eastern edge of Longview along Eastman Rd. The highway continues due north, crossing Interstate 30 in northern Morris County, and crossing into Oklahoma in northwest Bowie County.

Oklahoma

Northern terminus of US 259 in the Ouachita Mountains

After crossing into McCurtain County, Oklahoma, US-259 immediately meets up with State Highway 87, and continues north through Harris. Maps indicate that US-259 and SH-87 overlap to Idabel, but officially, this is not the case, and ODOT signage does not reflect a concurrency.

US-259 bypasses Idabel to the south and east, concurring with U.S. Highway 70 Bypass. East of Idabel, the bypass route ends, and US-259 begins a concurrency with mainline US-70 and SH-3. The three highways continue north to Broken Bow, where US-70 splits to the east toward DeQueen, Arkansas and SH-3 splits to the west, bound for Antlers. US-259 continues north alone, taking a winding path through the Ouachita Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma. The route passes Broken Bow Lake on its west side, with State Highway 259A serving as an access loop to the lake and Beavers Bend State Resort. Near the lake, US-259 crosses through the Ouachita National Forest for the first time. Near Smithville, the highway serves as the western terminus of State Highway 4.

North of the SH-4 junction, US-259 crosses into Le Flore County. The U.S. route then serves as the eastern terminus of SH-144 near Octavia. US-259 reenters the National Forest north of this junction, and intersects SH-63 at Big Cedar. It then has a junction with SH-1, the Talimena Drive. The highway reunites with US-59 about 10 miles (16 km) south of Heavener, reaching its northern terminus.

History

In Texas, the highway was designated in 1962 and assumed the entire route of the State Highway 26, which was then cancelled.

Prior to 1985, US 259 between Kilgore and Longview followed the current route of Texas State Highway 31. It entered Longview from the SW at the intersection of South St. and Spur 63. It then followed Spur 63 to US 80. US 259 then ran concurrently with US 80 to Eastman Rd. At the US 80/Eastman Rd. intersection, it reunited with the current route of US 259. In 1985, US 259 was rerouted to its current route along Interstate 20 to Eastman Rd, along the eastern edge of Longview, bypassing the central business district.

Major intersections

• Interstate 30 north of Omaha, Texas
• Interstate 20 near Kilgore, Texas. From Texas State Highway 31 to Texas State Highway 149 US 259 is co-signed with Interstate 20.

Bannered routes

Kilgore business route

Business US Highway 259
Location:	Kilgore, Texas
Existed:	2006–present

US-259 has one Business route in Texas. In 2006, a new bypass was completed around the eastern side of Kilgore. The bypass had been proposed as early as 1965, but funding did not become available until the late 1990s. The new bypass was designated as US-259, while the previous route through the Kilgore business district was designated as a business route. The new business route was approved by the AASHO in September 2006.

Idabel bypass

U.S. Route 259 Bypass
Location:	Idabel, Oklahoma
Existed:	?–2000

Formerly, US-259 continued into downtown Idabel, and the southeast portion of the Idabel bypass was double-designated as US-70 Bypass and US-259 Bypass. On 6 March 2000, the bypass route was decommissioned, and mainline US-259 was moved onto the bypass. However, as of 2008, some bypass signage is still in place, including signage indicating the former terminus of Bypass US-259 at US-70/SH-3.

SH-259A

SH-259A is a 10-mile (16 km) loop to Broken Bow Lake and Beavers Bend Resort Park north of Broken Bow, Oklahoma. It lies partially in the Ouachita National Forest and is occasionally signed as a U.S. highway.

Junction list

County	Location	Mile	km	Destinations	Notes
Nacogdoches				US 59 / US 59 Bus. – Garrison, Nacogdoches	Interchange
				FM 698 west
				SH 204 west – Cushing
				FM 2664 east
				FM 1087 east (Camp Tonkawa Rd)
Rusk	Mount Enterprise			US 84 (Rusk St) – Reklaw, Timpson
				SH 315 east – Carthage
				FM 2496 west
				FM 1798 – Minden
				FM 3310 north
	Henderson			US 79 west – Jacksonville	South end of US 79 overlap
				US 79 Bus. west (Main St) / FM 840 east
				SH 64 west / SH 43 north / US 79 east	North end of US 79 overlap
				FM 782 north (Millville Dr)
				SH 322 north – Lakeport
				Loop 571 south
				FM 2276 (Old Kilgore Hwy)
				FM 850
				FM 918 west
				US 259 Bus. north	Interchange
				FM 1249 (Dudley Rd)
Gregg				FM 2204 (Stone Rd)
	Kilgore			FM 349
				US 259 Bus. south / SH 31 south	Interchange, south end of SH 31 overlap
				I-20 west / SH 31 north – Liberty City, Longview	Interchange, north end of SH 31 overlap, west end of I-20 overlap and freeway
				FM 2087 (Old Kilgore Hwy) to FM 2011	Interchange
	Longview			Loop 281 north / SH 322 south (Estes Pkwy)	Interchange
				I-20 east / SH 149 south (Eastman Rd) – Marshall, Lakeport	Interchange, east end of I-20 overlap and freeway, south end of SH 149 overlap
				US 80 (Marshall Ave) – Gladewater, Hallsville	North end of SH 149 overlap
				FM 2208 (Alpine St)
				Loop 281 (Tomlinson Pkwy)	Interchange
				FM 1844 west
				FM 2751
				Spur 502 south (Judson Rd)
				FM 449 east
				FM 1650 west
Upshur				FM 3245 east
	Diana			SH 154 – Gilmer, Nesbitt
				FM 726
	Ore City			FM 1649 west / FM 450 east (Main St)
				SH 155 – Gilmer, Avinger	Interchange
				FM 557 west
Camp	No intersections in Camp County, Texas
Morris	Lone Star			FM 729 south (Texas Forest Trl)
				FM 250 east (Bluebonnet Ave)
				FM 3421 east (Hospital Rd)
				FM 144 west / FM 997 south
	Daingerfield			SH 11 east / SH 49 east (Watson Blvd) – Hughes Springs	East end of SH 11 overlap, south end of SH 49 overlap
				SH 11 west (Watson Blvd) – Pittsburg	West end of SH 11 overlap
				FM 130 east (King St)
				SH 49 west – Mount Pleasant	North end of SH 49 overlap
				SH 338 north – Naples
				Spur 284 west (State St)
	Omaha			US 67 (Main St) – Mount Pleasant, Naples
				FM 144 south
				SH 77 east – Naples
				I-30 – Mount Pleasant, New Boston	Interchange
				FM 71 west
Bowie				FM 561 east
				FM 44 south / FM 992 north	South end of FM 44 overlap
				FM 44 west	North end of FM 44 overlap
				FM 1701 west
				US 82 – Avery, De Kalb	Interchange
				FM 114 west / FM 2735 east
Texas-Oklahoma state line
McCurtain				SH-87 east
	Idabel			US 70 Byp. west (Lincoln Rd)	South end of US 70 Byp. overlap
				SH-3 east (Washington St) – Haworth	South end of SH-3 overlap
				US-70 west (Washington St) – Garvin	North end of US 70 Byp. overlap, south end of US 70 overlap
	Broken Bow			SH-3 west / US-70 east (Craig Rd) – Rattan	North end of SH-3 and US 70 overlaps
				SH-259A east – Beavers Bend Resort Park	Southern intersection with the SH-259A loop
				SH-259A east – Beavers Bend Resort Park	Northern intersection with the SH-259A loop
	Smithville			SH-4 east (Choctaw Ave)
Le Flore				SH-144 west
	Ouachita National Forest			SH-63 – Talihina
				SH-1 (Talimena Scenic Drive) – Talihina
				US-59 / US-270 – Heavener
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

Related routes

• U.S. Route 59
• U.S. Route 159

References

Browse numbered routes
← SH 258	TX	SH 261 →
← SH-251A	OK	US-266 →