 State Highway 23 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byTxDOT | ||||
| Length | 28.704 mi[1] (46.195 km) | |||
| Existed | August 29, 1990 (signed on January 25, 1959)[1]–present | |||
| History |
| |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 83 northwest ofCanadian | |||
| Major intersections |  SH 15 inBooker | |||
| North end |  SH-23 atOklahoma state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Texas | |||
| Counties | Lipscomb | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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State Highway 23 (SH 23) is astate highway inLipscomb County,Texas, United States, in theTexas Panhandle, that connectsU.S. Route 83 (US 83) (northwest ofCanadian) withOklahoma State Highway 23 (OK SH 23) at theOklahoma state line. The highway's route designation is numerically continuous with subsequent routes in Oklahoma andKansas and, together with OK SH 23 andKansas Highway 23, forms part of a single route from US 83 in Texas toUS 83 nearSelden, Kansas.
The route number was one of the original highways proposed by the state highway department on April 4, 1917, and was used over various shifting alignments in central and north central Texas in the 1920s and 1930s. The current highway was originally built as part of Texas' system ofFarm to Market Roads on July 14, 1949. The state began signing the route as SH 23 on January 27, 1959, although the highway officially retained its Farm to Market designation until August 29, 1990. SH 23 intersects one other state highway,SH 15, at Booker.
SH 23 begins at its southern terminus at US 83 in southwestern Lipscomb County northwest of Canadian. The 28.7-mile (46.2 km)[1] highway intersects RM 3260 branching off to the east toward Lipscomb, and then in the northeastern portion of the county FM 377 branches off to the west toward Perryton. In Booker, the only town along the highway, SH 23 intersects SH 15. The highway then proceeds to the north crossing the Oklahoma state line intoBeaver County, Oklahoma south ofElmwood, Oklahoma. The highway becomes OK 23 at the state line.[2]
The highway encounters mostly modest hills for most of its route allowing the highway to generally follow long, straight stretches before emerging onto a flat plain south of Booker to the state line.[3]
SH 23 was one of the original 25 state highways proposed on June 21, 1917, with a route fromLaredo toWichita Falls along theSouthwest Trail. It was concurrent withSH 22 north ofOlney, and withSH 9 andSH 2 south ofBrady.[4][5] The north end was relocated toSeymour on February 19, 1923.[6] On August 21, 1923, the section from Brady to Coleman was cancelled, and the sections concurrent with other highways south of Brady had their SH 23 designation dropped. SH 23 replaced part ofSH 7A toBallinger, and replaced part ofSH 30 toMenard.[7] On November 19, 1923, SH 23 was extended south toJunction.[7] On May 25, 1925, the route was extended northward toVernon. On March 18, 1929, the route was extended northward to the Oklahoma state line.[8][9] The route was shortened on August 6, 1929 (effective September 1, 1929) with its southern terminus moved northward toBallinger, as south of there was transferred toSH 4. The route followedUS 67 between Ballinger andColeman, andUS 283 fromRising Star to its new northern terminus where US 283 crossed theRed River towardAltus, Oklahoma.[10] On July 13, 1934, the route was redirected further south along US 283 toBrownwood and then via Brady to Menard, replacingSH 129 from Rising Star to Brownwood, and part ofSH 10 south of Brownwood. The section from Ballinger to Coleman was transferred to SH 10, while the section from Coleman to Rising Star was renumberedSH 206.[11][12] On July 15, 1935, the section from Brady to Menard was cancelled as it was never built.[13] On September 26, 1939, the route had been decommissioned,[1] being absorbed by US 283 (currentUS 377,US 183,SH 6, and US 283).
SH 23A was an alternate route of SH 23 betweenAlbany andCross Plains created on April 20, 1920[14][15] The alternate route was the eastern path throughCisco while the main route was the western path throughBaird. On August 21, 1923, the western route was cancelled as it was never built, and the eastern route had been reassigned as the main route of SH 23. On February 17, 1925,SH 23A was designated fromCross Plains toMoran.[16][17]SH 23A was removed on July 28, 1926.[18][9]
The current route was originally designatedFarm to Market Road 1265 on July 14, 1949. That road began as a 5.7-mile (9.2 km) route extending southward from the state line through Booker.[19] That route, along with what was thenSH 117 passing through Booker connected two discontinuous portions ofOK 15.[20]FM 377 was extended to FM 1265 connecting the road toPerryton on October 26, 1954,[21] while FM 1265 was extended an additional 12.0 miles (19.3 km) southward.[19] The connecting route SH 117 at Booker was renamed SH 15 in 1955 matching the numbering of its adjoining Oklahoma route.[22][23] FM 1265 was completed on January 21, 1956 when it was extended the remaining distance to US 83.[19]
In 1959, the portion of OK 15 between Texas and Kansas was renamed OK 23 conforming with the connecting Kansas highway.[24] On January 25, 1959, TxDOT began signing FM 1265 as SH 23, although the road officially retained the FM 1265 designation.[1]RM 3260 was branched off in 1972 and completed in 1978 connecting the highway toLipscomb.[25] On August 29, 1990, the highway was officially designated SH 23,[1] and FM 1265 was decommissioned.[19]
The entire route is inLipscomb County.
| Location | mi[26] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 0 | 0.0 | US 83 –Canadian,Perryton | Southern terminus | |
| | 8.0 | 12.9 |  RM 3260 –Lipscomb | ||
| | 21.1 | 34.0 |  FM 377 –Perryton | ||
| Booker | 25.6 | 41.2 | SH 15 –Perryton,Darrouzett | ||
| | 28.7 | 46.2 | SH-23 –Elmwood, OK | Northern terminus; roadway continues intoBeaver County, Oklahoma as OK 23 | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
Media related toTexas State Highway 23 at Wikimedia Commons
