Highway 87 has a notable stretch betweenSea Rim State Park andHigh Island, Texas that has been washed out repeatedly over the decades and has been closed continuously since 1990.[2] Portions of this stretch were less than 100 feet (30 m) away from high tide in the 1990s. The storm surge fromHurricane Jerry which made landfall on October 15, 1989, left the highway in a state of disrepair.
In 2018, a repair project was started by theTexas Department of Transportation to raise the elevation of the segment fromRollover Pass to High Island by 2.5 feet, with the goal of keeping the roadway passable during high tides. The project has an estimated cost of $20.8 million.[3] There is also a separate project, begun in 2022, to rehabilitate the dunes onBolivar Peninsula to mitigate the erosion caused by the tides.[4]
A section of highway which is now known as the Warden Michael C. Pauling[5] Memorial Highway stretches from the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge to Sabine Pass on Texas 87.[6]
SH 87 was originally designated on August 21, 1923[7] fromOrange toMilam. The route was the previously proposed to beSH 8A before being renumbered. On September 16, 1926, SH 87 was extended toPort Arthur, though this was not taken over for maintenance until January 1, 1927.[8] An extension via High Island to Galveston was planned to be taken over when TxDOT could afford it. On March 19, 1930, the north end was shortened toHemphill. On August 1, 1930,SH 87 extended back to Milam, replacingSH 21 Spur. On May 5, 1931, it was extended again, this time to High Island.[9] On November 22, 1933,SH 87 extended to Carter's Store.[10] On March 17, 1936, SH 87 replaced the section ofSH 124 from High Island to Galveston.[11] On December 22, 1936, SH 87 was extended to its current terminus in Timpson.[12] On May 23, 1939,SH 87 Spur was designated to Wiergate.[13] On September 26, 1939, The spurs were changed toSpur 24 (Wiergate) andSpur 69 (Deweyville). On August 20, 1952, SH 87 was no longer concurrent with US 96 from Center to Carter's Store. In 1970, road machinery used in its construction accidentally dug up several cannonballs and crumbling kegs of black powder about 10 miles west of Sabine Pass. Further excavation eventually produced more kegs of black powder and several hundred cannonballs. The ammunition had been buried there by Confederate soldiers in what were the ditches ofFort Manhassett in 1865. Fort Manhassett was a series of earthworks constructed by the Confederacy in 1863 to defend the western approaches to Sabine Pass.[14] On January 28, 1987, SH 87 was extended 4.1 miles west toSpur 342, replacing a section ofUS 75, which was decommissioned south ofDallas.
On November 19, 1926, a spur,SH 87A was designated from Bronson to Hemphill. On March 19, 1930, this route was erroneously omitted from the state highway log. On November 30, 1932, this road was added back to the state highway log, but was renumbered asSH 184. AnotherSH 87A was designated on November 19, 1928, fromDeweyville toLouisiana. This was redesignated asSpur 69 on September 26, 1939.
Two ferry routes, and up to five ferries, currently operate onGalveston Bay, taking passengers from Port Bolivar toGalveston Island. Because of increasing traffic, especially during summer months,TxDOT was studying the possibility of buildinga bridge to connect Galveston Island or Pelican Island to the Bolivar Peninsula; however, the decision was made not to build the bridge.
I-45 /Spur 342 inGalveston
Future I-69 /US 59 /US 84 atTimpson
Media related toTexas State Highway 87 at Wikimedia Commons
