Texas State Highway 78

State Highway 78 (SH 78) is a state highway that follows surface roads in a predominantly southwest-to-northeast direction in the Dallas area before traveling 90 miles (145 km) north-northeast to the Oklahoma State border.

State Highway 78 marker
State Highway 78
Map
SH 78, mainline in red, business routes in blue
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length90.83 mi[1] (146.18 km)
Existed1923–present
Major junctions
South end I-30 in Dallas
Major intersections
North end SH-78 at TexasOklahoma state line
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
Highway system
SH 77 US 79

Route description

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The highway's southern terminus is at I-30 in Dallas near Fair Park. From there, it follows Grand Avenue along White Rock Lake and then Garland Road into Garland as it passes I-635. In Downtown Garland, Highway 78 follows the central streets of Avenues B and D before joining Lavon Drive and moving northeastward.

It continues to the northeast through Sachse and Wylie, crossing between Lake Ray Hubbard and Lake Lavon. It passes through Lavon before turning north through Farmersville and Blue Ridge. At SH 160, just before SH 121, SH 78 turns east, continuing to Leonard before turning northeast again to Bailey. At Bailey, SH 78 turns north and cuts through Bonham (as Center Street) to reach Sowell's Bluff Bridge (a 1938 truss bridge) over the Red River.[2]

The route continues as Oklahoma State Highway 78 through Durant to its terminus at Tishomingo.

History

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The highway was originally designated on August 21, 1923, from Dallas to Bonham, replacing SH 5C.[3] On May 19, 1924, the section from Desert to Bonham was cancelled. SH 78 was instead rerouted on its current route north of Desert to Bonham.[4] On March 30, 1933, SH 78 was extended to Oklahoma.[5] On October 6, 1943, SH 78 was extended south to Loop 12. On June 21, 1951, the section from US 67 to Loop 12 was renumbered to Spur 244. US 67 was rerouted over current I-30, and the old route was transferred to rerouted SH 78 and the rest northeast of SH 78 was renumbered to FM 7, which was cancelled and transferred to SH 66 on November 30, 1961.

SH 78A was a spur designated on May 9, 1927 from Desert to Bells. This spur was renumbered as SH 160 on March 19, 1930.

Flooding

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In 1990, SH 78 was flooded, as engineers at the Lake Lavon Dam decided to release the water from the lake into the East Fork of the Trinity River. For a month and a half, the traffic going between Wylie and the eastern portion of Collin County was diverted to go through the city of Rockwall, a nearly 20-mile (32 km) detour. The railroad that ran adjacent to the highway was completely washed out, and significant shoulder damage was done to the highway.

Junctions

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CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
DallasDallas0.00.0  I-30Southern terminus; Exits 48B-49A (I-30)
4.26.8  Loop 12 (Buckner Boulevard)
7.011.3 
 
Spur 244 west (Northwest Highway)
 
 
 
To I-635 east / Northwest Highway
Garland7.311.7 
 
I-635 west
Exit 12 (I-635)
11.418.3 
 
SH 66 east (Avenue D)
14.323.0  Pres. George Bush TurnpikeInterchange
CollinWylie20.332.7 
 
FM 544 west
Kirby Street
20.933.6 
 
FM 2514 west (Ballard Avenue)
21.434.4 
 
FM 3412 west (Brown Street)
Lavon26.041.8 
 
SH 205 south – Rockwall
26.642.8 
 
 
Bus. SH 78-G north – Lavon
No southbound access
27.544.3 
 
 
Bus. SH 78-G south – Lavon
28.646.0 
 
FM 6 east – Caddo Mills
30.248.6 
 
 
Bus. SH 78-F north – Copeville
32.452.1 
 
 
Bus. SH 78-F south – Copeville
Farmersville37.460.2  US 380 – McKinney, GreenvilleInterchange
38.061.2 
 
 
Bus. SH 78-E north
39.463.4 
 
 
Bus. SH 78-E south – Farmersville
41.566.8 
 
FM 2756 west
46.875.3 
 
 
Bus. SH 78-D north – Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge48.277.6  FM 981 – Blue Ridge, Celeste
49.179.0 
 
 
Bus. SH 78-D south – Blue Ridge
53.185.5 
 
 
 
SH 160 north to SH 121 – Whitewright
Fannin56.290.4 
 
FM 815 north – Trenton
59.095.0 
 
FM 981 north
South end of the overlap with FM 981
59.295.3 
 
FM 981 south
North end of the overlap with FM 981
Leonard62.2100.1 
 
FM 896 north
62.7100.9 
 
US 69 south – Greenville
South end of the overlap with US 69
63.3101.9 
 
US 69 north – Trenton
North end of the overlap with US 69
63.5102.2 
 
FM 1553 north
Bailey68.5110.2 
 
FM 816 south
68.6110.4  SH 11 – Whitewright, Wolfe City
69.5111.8 
 
FM 1552 east
70.4113.3 
 
FM 1553 south
71.1114.4 
 
FM 68 east
76.8123.6 
 
FM 1629 south
77.6124.9 
 
FM 271 south – Bonham State Park
Bonham79.1127.3  SH 56 – Ector, Dodd City
79.4127.8  Loop 205 (10th Street)
81.0130.4  US 82 – Sherman, ParisExit 671 (US 82)
81.9131.8 
 
FM 898 north
82.8133.3 
 
SH 121 south – Melissa, McKinney
85.9138.2 
 
FM 1753 west
87.6141.0 
 
FM 1396 east
90.0144.8 
 
FM 274 west
91.4147.1 
 
SH-78 north
Continuation into Oklahoma
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Business routes

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SH 78 has four business routes.

Blue Ridge business route

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Business State Highway 78-D
LocationBlue Ridge
Length2.618 mi[6] (4.213 km)
Existed1990–present

Business State Highway 78-D (Bus. SH 78-D) is a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) long business route that runs through Blue Ridge in northern Texas.[6]

Farmersville business route

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Business State Highway 78-E
LocationFarmersville
Length2.435 mi[7] (3.919 km)
Existed1990–present

Business State Highway 78-E (Bus. SH 78-E) is a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) long business route that runs through Farmersville in northern Texas.[7]

Copeville business route

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Business State Highway 78-F
LocationCopeville
Length2.409 mi[8] (3.877 km)
Existed1990–present

Business State Highway 78-F (Bus. SH 78-F) is a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) long business route that runs through Copeville in northern Texas.[8]

Lavon business route

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Business State Highway 78-G
LocationLavon
Length1.101 mi[9] (1.772 km)
Existed1990–present

Business State Highway 78-G (Bus. SH 78-G) is a 1.1-mile (1.8 km) long business route that runs through Lavon in northern Texas.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 78". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation.
  2. ^ "Sowell's Bluff Bridge". HistoricBridges.org. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. August 21, 1923. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. May 19, 1924. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. March 28, 1933. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  6. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business State Highway No. 78-D". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation.
  7. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business State Highway No. 78-E". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation.
  8. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business State Highway No. 78-F". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation.
  9. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Business State Highway No. 78-G". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation.