Texas State Highway 34

State Highway 34
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length	129.0 mi[1] (207.6 km)
Existed	1919–present
Major junctions
South end	I-35E in Italy
Major intersections	I-45 in Ennis I-20 in Terrell I-30/US 67 in Greenville
North end	US 82 near Honey Grove
Location
Counties	Ellis, Kaufman, Hunt, Fannin
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← SH 33 → I-35

State Highway 34 (SH 34) is a route that runs from Honey Grove to Italy just east of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

History[]

SH 34 was originally proposed on November 19, 1917, starting in Ft. Worth travelling southeast to Ennis.^[2] On October 15, 1923, SH 34 was extended to Kaufman. On December 17, 1923, SH 34 was extended to Greenville, replacing SH 38.^[3] On May 25, 1925, the eastern end had been extended north to Honey Grove.^[4] On December 21, 1926, it extended north to the Oklahoma border via the current FM 100.^[5] On October 10, 1927, the western end had been extended to near Jacksboro.^[6] On July 15, 1935, the section north of Honey Grove was cancelled.^[7]

On September 26, 1939, the section from Jacksboro to Ennis was removed from SH 34, becoming parts of U.S. Highway 287 and SH 319 (which became part of SH 199 one month later). It was instead routed farther southwest into Italy, replacing SH 306. SH 34 was to retain its pre-1939 route in earlier renumbering plans.

In or around 1945, the section from Kaufman to Ennis was re-routed through Scurry, south of Rosser, and on a new bridge over the Trinity River. The former route from Scurry to Peeltown (Kaufman County) was assigned to an extension of Farm to Market Road 148, and about a mile of the old route is now Farm to Market Road 1181 in Telico (Ellis County). The old bridge over the Trinity River no longer exists [1]; in addition, the replacement bridge (a narrow, two-lane truss bridge) was replaced with a wider, traditional span. On August 18, 1987, SH 34 was extended north from US 77 to IH 35E, replacing FM 1134. On April 24, 2003, SH 34 was extended east and north concurrent with SH 56 and FM 100 to US 82.

A bypass around the city of Terrell was designated on February 28, 2013, but completed in early 2014.^[8] Construction began in October 2014 on a bypass around the city of Kaufman, with construction lasting approximately 22 months.^[9] The section south of US 175 opened in May 2016. The section north of US 175 opened around August 2016, and the old route north of US 175 was given to the city. The old route south of US 175 was given to the city on September 24, 2020.^[10]

Route description[]

State Highway 34 in Quinlan

SH 34 begins at I-35E in the community of Italy. The highway runs southeast through the town to US 77 before turning in a more east direction. Near Avalon, the highway turns to the northeast and runs through the community of Bardwell before crossing Lake Bardwell. After crossing the lake, SH 34 enters Ennis and intersects US 287. The highway shares overlaps with the business routes of I-45 and US 287 in the city and leaves the city after intersecting I-45.

After crossing the Trinity River, SH 34 enters Kaufman County and runs near the communities of Scurry and Rosser before entering Kaufman. The highway intersects US 175 and shares an overlap with SH 243 in the city. Leaving the city, SH 34 runs in a sharp northeast direction for a few miles, turning north in Oak Ridge. In southern Terrell, the highway intersects I-20, which is the sight of a Tanger Outlet Center. Near Terrell Municipal Airport, SH 34 runs along a new alignment, bypassing the downtown area of the city and crosses over US 80. Leaving Terrell, the highway runs by many farms before turning more north and running near the western shore of Lake Tawakoni. In Quinlan, the highway shares a short overlap with SH 276 and crosses near an inlet of Tawakoni north of the town.

Entering Hunt County, SH 34 runs in a straight north direction. The highway enters Greenville and intersects I-30/US 67, which used to be a cloverleaf interchange. Shortly after intersecting US 69/US 380, SH 34 overlaps with a business route of US 69 through the city's downtown area. Leaving the city, the highway serves as the western terminus for SH 224. North of Wolfe City, the highway makes a sharp turn and runs east for a few miles before turning back north in Ladonia. SH 34 intersects SH 56 in Honey Grove before terminating at US 82 just north of the town.

Business routes[]

There are two business routes for State Highway 34.

Business State Highway 34-A is a bypass of Terrell, designated on February 28, 2013 and completed in early 2014.^[11]

A second business route serves the downtown area of Kaufman, along Washington Street and Mulberry Street. The route runs along a previous routing of SH 34. It became a business route after a bypass was completed in October 2016 around the south and east sides of Kaufman for SH 34.^[12][13][14]

Junction list[]

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Ellis	Italy			I-35E – Waxahachie, Hillsboro	I-35E exit 386
				US 77 (Mosley Street) – Waxahachie, Milford
				FM 667 south – Frost
	Avalon			FM 55 north – Waxahachie	South end of FM 55 overlap
				FM 55 south – Blooming Grove	North end of FM 55 overlap
	​			FM 877 north – Waxahachie
	Bardwell			FM 984 south (Waxahachie Avenue)	South end of FM 984 overlap
				FM 984 north (Front Street)	North end of FM 984 overlap
	​			FM 985 south – Lake Bardwell
	Ennis			US 287 – Waxahachie, Corsicana
				north (Clay Street)
				FM 1183 (Oak Grove Road) – Alma
				I-45 BL south (Kaufman Street) / FM 1181 north (Creechville Road)	South end of BL I-45 overlap
				I-45 BL north (Kaufman Street) / west (Ennis Avenue)	North end of BL I-45 overlap
				I-45 – Dallas, Corsicana	I-45 exit 251B
	Crisp			FM 660 north – Crisp
	​			FM 1181 south
Kaufman	Rosser			FM 2451 west (Kaufman Street) – Rosser	South end of FM 2451 overlap
				FM 2451 east – Cottonwood	North end of FM 2451 overlap
	​			FM 1390 north
	Scurry			FM 148 south – Cedar Creek Reservoir	South end of FM 148 overlap
				FM 148 north – Crandall	North end of FM 148 overlap
	Kaufman			north – Kaufman
				FM 1388 (Houston Street) – Oak Grove
				US 175 – Dallas, Athens	Interchange
				FM 1836 (Temple Street)
				SH 243 / south (Mulberry Street) – Kaufman, Canton
	​			FM 2728 north – Elmo
	Terrell			I-20 – Dallas, Canton	I-20 exit 501
				north (Virginia Street) to US 80 – Forney, Wills Point
				Spur 87 east (High Street) – Terrell State Hospital
	​			south – Terrell
Hunt	​			Spur 264 north – Quinlan
	Quinlan			SH 276 east – Lake Tawakoni	South end of SH 276 overlap
				SH 276 west (Main Street) – Rockwall	North end of SH 276 overlap
	​			FM 2101 north – Lake Tawakoni - Caddo Inlet
	​			FM 1564 west	South end of FM 1564 overlap
	​			FM 1564 east	North end of FM 1564 overlap
	​			FM 1903 west – Caddo Mills
	Greenville			FM 1570 (Jack Finney Boulevard) – L3Harris Technologies, Airport
				I-30 / US 67 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Expressway) – Rockwall, Sulphur Springs	I-30 exit 93
				US 69 / US 380 (Joe Ramsey Boulevard) – Leonard, Emory, Farmersville
				south (Oneal Street)	South end of Bus. US 69 overlap
				Spur 302 (Lee Street)
				north (Sockwell Boulevard)	North end of Bus. US 69 overlap
				SH 224 east – Commerce, Texas A&M University-Commerce
	​			FM 3427 west – Kingston
	​			FM 1566 east	South end of FM 1566
	​			FM 1566 west	North end of FM 1566 overlap
	Wolfe City			FM 512 south – Campbell
				FM 816 west – Bailey
				SH 11 – Whitewright, Sulphur Springs
Fannin	​			FM 68 west
	Ladonia			FM 2990 north
				SH 50 south – Commerce
				FM 64 east – Pecan Gap
	​			FM 1550
	Honey Grove			SH 56 west – Dodd City	West end of SH56 overlap
				SH 56 east / FM 100 north – Paris	East end of SH56 overlap, south end of FM100 overlap
				US 82 – Sherman, Paris	continues northward as FM100
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References[]

External links[]

Media related to Texas State Highway 34 at Wikimedia Commons