U.S. Route 80
Route information
Length:	1,032 mi[1] (1,661 km)
Existed:	1926[1] – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-30 / US 67 near Dallas, TX
	I-20 / I-59 at Meridian, MS I-65 at Montgomery, AL I-85 at Montgomery, AL I-185 at Columbus, GA I-75 at Macon, GA I-95 at Savannah, GA
East end:	SR 26 / 19th Street in Tybee Island, GA near Atlantic Ocean
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced

U.S. Route 80 is an east–west United States highway, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the route number indicates, it was originally a cross-country route, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. However, the entire segment west of Dallas, Texas, has been decommissioned in favor of various Interstate highways and state highways. Currently, the highway's eastern terminus is in Tybee Island, Georgia, at the Atlantic Ocean. Its western terminus is at the border of Dallas and Mesquite, Texas, at an intersection with Interstate 30.^[2]

Route description[link]

Texas[link]

Modern US 80 begins as a significant component of the urban freeway system of Dallas, Texas. With Spur 557, it serves as the shortest freeway route from the central and northern portions of Dallas to Interstate 20, heading east towards Shreveport, Louisiana.

US 80 is the main thoroughfare of Terrell in Kaufman County some thirty miles east of Dallas.

From its origin at Interstate 30 in eastern Dallas, through its interchange with the Interstate 635 "LBJ" Loop, to its junction with Interstate 20 southwest of Terrell, US 80/Texas Spur 557 is a full interstate-grade limited-access freeway. (This freeway was originally built as Interstate 20 but was rerouted south of Dallas in 1971 and 1991.) In western Terrell, US 80 leaves the freeway, which continues southeast as (unsigned) Spur 557 to Interstate Highway 20, while US 80 runs north of Interstate 20 through a number of small towns and cities, including Terrell, Mineola, Longview, and Marshall. It rejoins Interstate Highway 20 for about five miles, before splitting from Interstate Highway 20 to pass through downtown Waskom before crossing into Louisiana.

Louisiana[link]

US 80 route name imprinted onto a bridge over the Tensas River, between Delhi and Tallulah

US 80 closely parallels Interstate 20 for the entirety of its length in Louisiana.

The highway crosses the state line from Texas into Caddo Parish as a two-lane road and crosses over to the south of I-20 without interchanging with the freeway. It passes through the town of Greenwood where it meets US 79 coming north from Texas, and these two routes run concurrently eastward from there to Minden. US 79/80 crosses over I-20 again, this time at an interchange, and enters the city of Shreveport as Greenwood Road. The highway passes over I-220 without an interchange and continues east to an intersection with Jefferson Paige Road where it expands to four undivided lanes and enters the main part of the urbanized area. US 171 ends at US 79/80 at the intersection with Hearne Avenue. At this intersection, the road narrows to two through lanes. US 80 intersects I-20 again just east of here. At Mansfield Road (old US 171), the highway name changes to Texas Avenue and angles northeast through an industrial area. The road skirts the I-20/49 interchange and expands to four lanes for its final approach to downtown. At the west edge of downtown, eastbound jogs one block east on Crockett Street and two blocks north on Common Street north to Texas Street; westbound jogs one block south from Texas Street down Common to Texas Avenue. US 79/80 passes through downtown Shreveport on Texas Street before crossing the Red River on the 1930s vintage Long-Allen Bridge and entering Bossier City and Bossier Parish.

Through Bossier Parish, US 79/80 comprises a major urban and suburban arterial (East Texas Street) carrying a minimum of four lanes. In the eastern reaches of the parish, and continuing into Webster Parish, it is a divided highway. The road intersects the east end of I-220 at an interchange. US 79/80 stays to the north of I-20, except for a stretch east of Haughton where it strays to the south for a period, skirting the north edge of the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant. At Dixie Inn, the highway intersects US 371. In Minden, US 79 separates from US 80 and continues its northeasterly trajectory toward Arkansas.

East of Minden, US 80 crosses to the south of I-20 and serves the Bienville Parish towns of Gibsland and Arcadia. Entering Lincoln Parish, the highway serves Simsboro and Grambling before entering Ruston (via West California Avenue) and multiplexing with US 167 on a north/south couplet of streets (Vienna Street/Trenton Street) through the business district. US 80 resumes its eastward path on the north side of Ruston and exits the city on East Georgia Avenue.

Between Ruston and Monroe the highway serves the small communities of Choudrant and Calhoun. Now on the north side of the interstate, it enters Ouachita Parish and approaches the Monroe area as a two-lane road. US 80 crosses LA 143 and enters West Monroe on Cypress Street, where it continues south into the business district and widens to a four-lane urban arterial. At junction LA 34 (Bridge Street), US 80 makes a left turn, angling northeast, and crosses the Ouachita River, entering the city of Monroe. As Louisville Avenue it passes north of downtown, but the downtown area can be accessed via Business US 165 which intersects US 80 at North 5th/North 6th Street and becomes concurrent from there to the east. Louisville Avenue rapidly becomes a heavily commercialized urban arterial and remains so as it passes through the city, eventually curving southwestward and meeting the intersection with Desiard Street.

As Desiard Street, US 80 immediately meets mainline U.S. Route 165, on its expressway bypass alignment, at a diamond interchange. Eastward from there, US 80 passes through suburban areas until it meets LA 139, where it is forced to turn off its four-lane alignment at an intersection which favors LA 139 traffic. Now a two-lane road, US 80 continues east through northeast Louisiana, passing through Richland and Madison parishes and serving the communities and towns of Start, Rayville (intersection with US 425), Delhi (intersection with LA 17), Tallulah (intersection with U.S. Route 65), Mound, and Delta.

Just west of Delta, US 80 turns off its original route and runs a short distance south to an interchange with I-20. The original alignment of US 80 into Delta is now designated as LA 3218. The original US 80 Mississippi River Bridge remains active as a rail bridge but the roadway portion is closed to traffic. Today, US 80 runs concurrent with the interstate around Delta to the state line, bypassing the town and crossing the Mississippi River bridge into Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Mississippi[link]

In Mississippi, "Route 80" is called "Highway 80". The highway is mostly a two-lane road in Mississippi.

Highway 80 out of Louisiana runs concurrently with I-20 across the Mississippi River to Vicksburg. At Vicksburg, US 80 runs along Clay Street as a four-lane highway to its intersection with Interstate 20. It stays a two-lane road to Vicksburg. Heading out of Vicksburg, US 80 passes through the towns of Bolton and Edwards. After the town of Edwards on Norrell Road, US 80 merges with I-20 until it reaches the western edge of Clinton. After Clinton, it passes through Jackson, Flowood, a four-lane through Pearl, and a four-lane through Brandon. After Brandon, US 80 runs parallel to I-20 for the next 100 miles through the towns of Pelahatchie, Morton, Forest, Lake, Newton, Hickory, and Chunky. After Chunky, US 80 merges with I-20 to Meridian where it becomes a two-lane highway heading to the town of Toombsuba and finally ending at the Alabama state line. US 80 is also merged with Highway 7 and 11 from Meridian to the Alabama state line.

Alabama[link]

In Alabama, US 80 enters the state near and parallel with Interstate 20 in Cuba. It is co-signed with US 11 until it splits at Cuba and runs east across the center of the state. It is a major highway through Alabama's Black Belt, going through Demopolis and Selma. It continues to Montgomery, where it continues east through Shorter and Tuskegee and leaves the state in Phenix City.

The routing from Meridian, Mississippi to Cuba, Alabama originally ran along its current route but for some 30 years it traveled along Interstate 20 and Interstate 59. However, the routing reverted to the original road early in the 2000 decade. It is internally designated by the Alabama Department of Transportation as State Route 8 (SR-8).

Georgia[link]

The end of US 80 on Tybee Island

US 80 crosses the Chattahoochee River from Alabama into Columbus, where it proceeds along J. R. Allen Parkway through the northern section of the city. Past Columbus, the road meanders through rural Georgia for roughly 50 miles (80 km) en route to Macon, where it crosses Interstate 75 and Interstate 16. US 80 passes through downtown Macon via Eisenhower Parkway and parallels the northern boundary of Ocmulgee National Monument just east of the city.

Beyond Macon, US 80 turns southeastward, passing through the cities of Dublin, Swainsboro and Statesboro and running roughly parallel to I-16. On the outskirts of Savannah, US-80 crosses Interstate 95 and follows Louisville Road into the city's downtown area. After briefly merging with Interstate 516, US-80 continues eastward along Victory Drive, just south of Savannah's historic district. At the community of Thunderbolt, US 80 crosses the Wilmington River and proceeds across the islands and marshes along the Atlantic Coast east of Savannah. There it crosses the Lazaretto Creek onto Tybee Island. The final stretch of US-80 follows Butler Avenue across Tybee Island. The highway terminates at 19th Street, a few hundred feet from the ocean. A small monument at the intersection of Butler and Tybrisa Street marks the end of the highway.

History[link]

As a member of the inaugural class of US highways commissioned in 1926, US 80 was the first all-weather coast-to-coast route available to auto travelers. For a time known as the "Broadway of America", its history is second only to U.S. Route 66 in American highway folklore, as several significant historical events have occurred on or near Highway 80. Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed approximately four miles south of US 80 in Gibsland, Louisiana. Lee Harvey Oswald was captured at the Texas Theatre on Jefferson Street in Oak Cliff, which at the time was a business spur of Highway 80.^{[citation needed]}

California[link]

Historic Route sign seen on California US 80.

A section of old US 80 now closed to vehicular traffic west of Descanso Junction, California.

US 80 originally had its western terminus in San Diego, California. It was decommissioned in 1964 when Interstate 8 through San Diego and Imperial Counties was completed. US 80 crossed into California after passing over the 1914 Ocean to Ocean Highway Bridge in Yuma, Arizona. After passing through Winterhaven, US 80 traveled through the Colorado Desert and the Algodones Dunes until it reached the former shoreline of prehistoric Lake Cahuilla. The path through the dunes replaced the Old Plank Road originally built in 1915. US 80 then passed into the farmland of the Imperial Valley at Holtville. US 80 traveled parallel to the Holton Interurban Railway into El Centro. From this point to Ocotillo, the road has now been designated Imperial County Route S80, and carries the name Evan Hewes Highway. In El Centro, the original alignment went right through the middle of town on Main Street, but this was later bypassed in favor of a route along 4th Street and Adams Avenue. The old road then passed through Seeley, the gypsum plant at Plaster City, and into Coyote Wells near present day Ocotillo. From Coyote Wells, US 80 ascended the In-Ko-Pah Gorge to Jacumba near the Mexican border. Old 1917 period concrete sections of highway can be seen in and around Jacumba. US 80 became a mountain highway as it entered the Jacumba and Laguna Mountains, and passed through the towns of Bankhead Springs, Boulevard, Live Oak Springs, La Posta, Pine Valley, Guatay, and Descanso Junction. More old sections of roadway are found east of Boulevard, west of Guatay, and on the long Wildwood Glen section west of Descanso Junction. Old US 80 is cut by the Interstate 8 here but resumes soon afterwards and passes through the Viejas Indian Reservation. The highway traveled through Alpine on more than one path, passed through Flinn Springs and along the main streets of El Cajon, La Mesa, and the former town of East San Diego. Once in San Diego, US 80 had multiple alignments into the downtown area. These included: University Ave to Hillcrest and down 4th/5th Ave to Horton Plaza; a later alignment down Park Blvd to Broadway (US 101); then El Cajon Blvd to Park Blvd and a terminus at Market Street (US 101); an extension to the new routing of US 101 on Harbor Blvd; a new connection from El Cajon Blvd along Washington Street to the Cabrillo Freeway (current State Route 163) and into downtown; and finally a routing down the Alvarado Freeway (current Interstate 8) to end at the US 101 freeway that is now Interstate 5.

Arizona[link]

Historic bridge over the Gila River

Starts at the Colorado River crossing on the Coast-to-Coast Highway bridge, near Yuma. East of Yuma, the old route splits off Interstate 8 and parallels it to Gila Bend, it then heads to the north, crossing the Gila River near Gillespie Dam, and heads east through towns of Buckeye, Goodyear, and Avondale before reaching the city of Phoenix. The currently historic alignment is present day Buckeye Rd or MC 85. It heads north on 17th Ave to Van Buren St. After passing through downtown Phoenix, it then heads east on Van Buren to Tempe, along Mill Ave to Apache Blvd. After passing through Tempe, Arizona, it continues heading east into Mesa and Apache Junction on Apache Trail. East of Apache Junction it travels on current U.S. Route 60 to Florence Junction. It turns south at the junction to Florence and continues south on State Route 79 to Oracle Jct, north of Tucson. It then intersects Interstate 10, which it coincides from Tucson east to Benson. It cuts south on State Route 80 and travels through Tombstone, Bisbee, and Douglas. At Douglas, which is on the Mexican border, it cuts northeast towards the New Mexico border and becomes New Mexico State Road 80.

In Tucson there are over 85 extant Historic Motels along the original route 80 alignment. A historic inventory is currently underway to determine National Register eligibility for these properties.

New Mexico[link]

East of Douglas, Arizona, old US-80 almost heads due north to Interstate 10, following a path close to the Arizona border and passing through Rodeo, New Mexico. It ultimately intersects Interstate 10 west of Lordsburg, New Mexico, then follows Interstate 10 to Texas.

Texas[link]

From the New Mexico border, Interstate Highway 10 now follows the old US 80 route to the current junction with Interstate Highway 20, where IH 10 breaks off southeast towards San Antonio. IH 20 (which begins there) then follows former US 80 all the way to Fort Worth, bypassing many old sections of US 80 on the way. They are as follows:

• State Highway 20 from New Mexico via El Paso to IH 10 near McNary, bypassed 1969^[3]
• Business Interstate Highway 10-C through Sierra Blanca (originally Loop 416 and Business U.S. Highway 80), bypassed 1965^[4]
• Business Interstate Highway 10-D through Van Horn (originally Loop 51 and Business U.S. Highway 80), bypassed 1975^[5]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-B through Pecos and Barstow, part of US 80 until its 1991 truncation^[6]
• Spur 57 through Pyote and Wickett, part of US 80 until its 1991 truncation^[7]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-D through Monahans, part of US 80 until its 1991 truncation^[8]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-E through Odessa and Midland, part of US 80 until its 1991 truncation^[9]
  • Spur 268 and State Highway 158 through downtown Midland (originally Business U.S. Highway 80), bypassed in 1953^[10]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-F through Stanton (originally Loop 214), part of US 80 until its 1991 truncation^[11]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-G through Big Spring (originally Loop 402 and Business U.S. Highway 80), bypassed 1965^[12]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-H through Westbrook (originally Loop 333), bypassed 1958^[13]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-J through Colorado City (originally Loop 377 and Business U.S. Highway 80), bypassed 1963^[14]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-K through Loraine (originally Loop 316), bypassed 1957^[15]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-L through Roscoe (originally Loop 237), bypassed 1959^[16]
• Loop 170 past Sweetwater Municipal Airport, bypassed 1946^[17]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-M through Sweetwater (originally Loop 432 and Business U.S. Highway 80), bypassed 1966^[18]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-N through Trent (originally Loop 319), bypassed 1957^[19]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-P through Merkel (originally Loop 39), bypassed 1959^[20]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-Q through Tye (originally Loop 320), bypassed 1957^[21]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-R through Abilene (originally Loop 355 and Business U.S. Highway 80), bypassed 1961^[22]
• Farm to Market Road 18 east of Abilene, bypassed 1951^[23]
• Business Interstate Highway 20-T through Baird (originally Loop 425), bypassed 1966^[24]
• Farm to Market Road 2945 west of Cisco, bypassed 1964^[25]
• State Highway 206, State Highway 6 and State Highway 112 through Cisco and Eastland, part of US 80 until its 1991 truncation^[26][27]
• Farm to Market Road 3363 through Olden, bypassed 1976^[28]
• Loop 254 through Ranger, part of US 80 until its 1991 truncation^[29]
• Spur 312 and U.S. Highway 180 through Weatherford, part of US 80 until its 1991 truncation^[30]

In Fort Worth, IH 20 breaks off the old US 80 route at Interstate Highway 30's junction with IH 20, which is also IH 30's western terminus. Just east of the junction, IH 30 leaves the pre-1991^[31] route of US 80, now Spur 580. Old US 80 travels due east on Spur 580 to U.S. Highway 377 (Camp Bowie Boulevard), where it heads northeast to the junction with IH 30. At IH 30, US 377 and former US 80 join the freeway into downtown Fort Worth; the old route — along Camp Bowie Boulevard and Lancaster Avenue — was once Business U.S. Highway 80.^[32]

Just east of downtown Fort Worth, US 80 split from IH 30 onto present State Highway 180 until 1991.^[33] Approaching downtown Dallas, the older route of US 80 used Fort Worth Avenue and Commerce Street, designated Loop 260 and Business U.S. Highway 80 in 1952.^[34] (US 80 had bypassed that route by 1939, but it was State Highway 1 until 1952.^[35]) The later US 80 continued east on Davis Street, turning north at Zang Boulevard (Loop 354 until 1991), shifting to a route via SH 180 to Interstate Highway 35E after 1961.^[36] Through and east of downtown, the route before it was rerouted onto present Interstate Highway 30 used Commerce Street, Parry Avenue, Haskell Avenue, Grand Avenue and Samuell Boulevard.^[37] (This was not assigned a number or a business route designation when it was bypassed.) In eastern Dallas, the old route merges with the present freeway at Town East Boulevard, shortly after present US 80 begins at the split from IH 30.

Farm to Market Road 688 is the old alignment through Forney, bypassed in 1959 by the present freeway. Most of this route was a spur of Farm to Market Road 740 until 1960.^[38]

Alabama[link]

The 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches followed US 80 between the two cities. In 1996, this route was designated by the National Park Service as the Selma to Montgomery National Voting Rights Trail. An interpretive center is located along the route in Lowndes County and the various sites used as campgrounds are marked along the route.

Major intersections[link]

• Interstate 30 / U.S. Route 67 near Dallas, TX
• Interstate 20 / Interstate 59 at Meridian, MS
• Interstate 65 at Montgomery, AL
• Interstate 85 at Montgomery, AL
• Interstate 185 at Columbus, GA
• Interstate 75 at Macon, GA
• Interstate 95 at Savannah, GA

See also[link]

U.S. Roads portal

• Bankhead Highway

Related routes[link]

• U.S. Route 180
• U.S. Route 280
• U.S. Route 380

References[link]

External links[link]

• United States Route 80: The Dixie Overland Highway - Federal Highway Administration
• Highway 80 - The Broadway of America
• Historic California Highway 80 Corporation
• Selma to Montgomery National Voting Rights Trail - a U.S. National Historic Trail

v t e United States Numbered Highways 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 87 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 101 163 400 412 425 All Bannered Divided Bypasses Routes in italics are no longer a part of the system. Highlighted routes are considered main routes of the system.