Texas State Highway 56

State Highway 56
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length	64.468 mi (103.751 km)
Existed	April 7, 1974–present
Major junctions
West end	US 82 near Whitesboro
Major intersections	US 377 in Whitesboro US 75 in Sherman US 69 in Bells
East end	US 82 near Honey Grove
Location
Country	United States
State	Texas
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec
← SH 55 → SH 57

State Highway 56 (SH 56) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs through Grayson and Fannin counties in North Central Texas. This highway was designated in 1974 to replace U.S. Highway 82 (US 82) when it was rerouted north of Whitesboro and Sherman. SH 56 has been extended further since then as the US 82 bypass continued to be extended north of Bonham and Honey Grove.

Through Sherman, SH 56 operates on a pair of one-way streets, Lamar (eastbound) and Houston (westbound).

Route description

SH 56 begins at an intersection with US 82 just outside of Whitesboro. The highway then enters Whitesboro with indirect access to US 377. SH 56 next travels through Southmayd, where it meets SH 289, before entering Sherman. Just east of Farm to Market Road 1417 (FM 1417), the highway splits into a pair of one–way streets, with eastbound traffic traveling on Lamar Street and westbound on Houston Street. SH 56 meets US 75 before entering downtown Sherman. The highway merges back into one street, just before SH 11 before leaving Sherman. SH 56 runs through a generally undeveloped area of Grayson County before entering Bells, where the highway meets US 69. Between Bells and Savoy, SH 56 enters Fannin County. The highway runs through Ector, before entering Bonham where it meets SH 121 and SH 78. SH 56 runs through Dodd City, Windom and Honey Grove before ending at an intersection with US 82.

History

SH 56 was originally designated on August 21, 1923, through the northwestern Panhandle, replacing SH 5D. Construction was completed by September 26, 1939, when the SH 56 designation was dropped in favor of US 54. SH 56 was designated on April 7, 1974, from US 82 southeast to FM 1417. On August 26, 1993, SH 56 extended east to US 82 at the Lamar County line, its current terminus. Parts were concurrent with US 82 until the US 82 bypass opened.

Junction list

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Grayson	​			US 82 – Gainesville, Sherman
	Whitesboro			Bus. US 377 (Union Street)
				Spur 129 west to US 377 – Denton
	​			FM 901 south	West end of FM 901 overlap
	​			FM 901 north – Sadler	East end of FM 901 overlap
	Southmayd			SH 289 – Pottsboro, Dallas	Interchange
	Sherman			FM 1417 (Heritage Parkway) – Pottsboro, North Texas Regional Airport	Interchange
				US 75 – Denison, Dallas	US 75 exit 58
				SH 11 east – Tom Bean
	​			FM 1417 north
	Bells			US 69 – Denison, Greenville
Fannin	Savoy			FM 1752 – Whitewright
	Ector			FM 898 – Caddo National Grassland
	Bonham			SH 121 south – McKinney	West end of SH 121 overlap
				SH 121 north – Durant	East end of SH 121 overlap
				SH 78 – Durant, Leonard
	Dodd City			FM 2077 south
	​			FM 897 north
	Windom			FM 1743
	​			FM 1396 west – Caddo National Grassland
	Honey Grove			SH 34 south – Wolfe City	West end of SH 34 overlap
				SH 34 north – Caddo National Grassland	East end of SH 34 overlap
				FM 824 east
	​			US 82 – Sherman, Paris
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus