History Of U.S. 90A/Old Spanish Trl.

[JLWM8609]

Hey all. I have been following some of the threads about past hotels and other businesses on S. Main and OST with great interest. Those old photos and postcards are great, and it's good to see some of those buildings are still standing (though not for long in this wrecking ball happy town). While that's all interesting and everything, I'm looking for some information and photos pertaining to the roads themselves. I've always had a great interest in them seeing as I live less than a mile from OST over in Riverside Terrace, and used to ride to school down the old four lane S. Main between Kirby and 610 regularly before the expansion to eight lane boulevard took place.

I've been looking at some old maps and old photos, it appears South Main from OST all the way to Richmond, TX was the first four lane divided highway in the area. Prior to that, it was just a two lane highway. I'd like to know what year the highway was made divided and four lanes. All I know is it was late 40's.

Then, there's the old intersection with Holmes Rd. I can remember back in the late 90's before its upgrade to a freeway, riding in the car through that intersection. I thought to myself how odd it was for some non access controlled roads to have such a large complicated intersection with ramps and overpasses. Looking at this old photo from 1960, http://rootmedia.net/images/westbury60.jpg, it looks like the southbound flyover and Holmes overpass weren't built until between 1960 and 64. It looks like back then, two southbound lanes split off and went over the tracks at grade while one or two southbound lanes went under the tracks alongside the northbound lanes to provide access to Holmes before coming back around to the southbound side of the divided highway after crossing Hiram Clarke. Hope I didn't confuse anyone with that description. Is there anyone here old enough to remember if that was the case? Are there any old photos of the highway from sometime between the 40's and late 90's?

Then there's OST. Turns out it was built as a two lane realignment of US 90A in 1935 as the "OST Cutoff". When was it built to its current six lane configuration? I'm looking for photos of OST in its original and current configuration through the years. Also, when was the Griggs Rd./England St. overpass built over OST? Someone in my family told me it was the early 70's, and that there used to be bad accidents there when it was first built. I'm more inclined to think it was built in more like late 50's/early 60's going by guardrail and road sign designs.

I know that's quite a lot to ask for my second post, but those are some things about historic Houston that have been bugging me over the years, and it looks like I may finally get some answers.

-Joe

[isuredid]

Then there's OST. Turns out it was built as a two lane realignment of US 90A in 1935 as the "OST Cutoff". When was it built to its current six lane configuration? I'm looking for photos of OST in its original and current configuration through the years. Also, when was the Griggs Rd./England St. overpass built over OST? Someone in my family told me it was the early 70's, and that there used to be bad accidents there when it was first built. I'm more inclined to think it was built in more like late 50's/early 60's going by guardrail and road sign designs.

I grew up in that general area and we drove on OST and Griggs all the time back in the early 60s. I was 5 in 1960, and from memory that overpass has always looked like it does now.

[isuredid]

This map is from 1952 and the configuration of the road looks the same to me

[JLWM8609]

Thanks to the help of isuredid, I found out that the widening of OST to its current divided six lane boulevard configuration between S. Main and MLK (South Park) took place in 1958. The overpass at Griggs was built in 1959 and finished in 1960.

[Guest Marty]

isuredid is the master of old school.

[CE_ugh]

i believe that the old interchange with Holmes Road was built in anticipation of a south loop alignment down Holmes Road.

[musicman]

on OST they've installed some fancier looking standardized bus stops between mlk and 288 vs. the utilitarian ones of the past.

[Heights2Bastrop]

Not what you asked for, but I thought you may find this interesting.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

Not what you asked for, but I thought you may find this interesting.

Great map.

It's my dream to one day drive coast-to-coast on OST. I've done parts of it, but not all of it at once.

Hell, I'd just like to start with the segment from Houston to San Antonio!

I've done the San Antonio to Marfa drive many times, and it's much more satisfying than I-10 through the same stretch.

I've done 90 from Lafayette to New Orleans, and that's a tremendous drive as well.

We also did 90 from New Orleans to Biloxi many years ago.

I much prefer driving OST to the interstate...hell I even take OST (to Telephone) to Gulfgate Mall instead of the South Loop!

[johnfinley]

I'm lost! On one side of that map, I see U.S. 80, then on the right hand side, I see U.S. 90. I thought U.S. 80 ran through Abilene, Dallas, Shreveport, etc? The old Bankhead Highway. Funny thing is that travelling between Weatherford and Albany on old U.S. 80, there are little abandoned bridges across dry creeks, abandoned alignments, and lots of old signs that say "Bankhead Highway" Those are the only highlight of my trips between FTW and Stamford.

[gnu]

I'm lost! On one side of that map, I see U.S. 80, then on the right hand side, I see U.S. 90. I thought U.S. 80 ran through Abilene, Dallas, Shreveport, etc? The old Bankhead Highway. Funny thing is that travelling between Weatherford and Albany on old U.S. 80, there are little abandoned bridges across dry creeks, abandoned alignments, and lots of old signs that say "Bankhead Highway" Those are the only highlight of my trips between FTW and Stamford.

i have always heard that US 80 was generally on the alignment of the old Dixie Overland Highway - at least east of Abilene.

But - that said - there were several "trails" promoted by different highway associations and they sometimes overlapped.

a cursory web search finds that the bankhead trail incorporated much of the western portion of the Dixie Overland - west of Van Horn. and as you can see in the posted map above - the OST incorporated a lot of it too.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us80.htm

[Heights2Bastrop]

I've done 90 from Lafayette to New Orleans, and that's a tremendous drive as well.

We also did 90 from New Orleans to Biloxi many years ago.

In the 50s and early 60s, we used to go to Georgia every other year and went on Old 90 most of the way. As soon as we crossed the Sabine, my sister and I would start looking for and counting the white crosses along the road. That was one of the most dangerous highways in America back then.

[Disastro]

In the 50s and early 60s, we used to go to Georgia every other year and went on Old 90 most of the way. As soon as we crossed the Sabine, my sister and I would start looking for and counting the white crosses along the road. That was one of the most dangerous highways in America back then.

I had no idea OST really was some kind of historic road! Very cool!

I wonder if it's even possible today to take this from coast to coast as it shows on the old map?

[Firebird65]

I had no idea OST really was some kind of historic road! Very cool!

I wonder if it's even possible today to take this from coast to coast as it shows on the old map?

Only if you had several months to get there. Imagine all the traffic lights that have sprung up on that route. Probably take at least two hours to get across Houston on the old Hwy 90 route.

[Disastro]

Only if you had several months to get there. Imagine all the traffic lights that have sprung up on that route. Probably take at least two hours to get across Houston on the old Hwy 90 route.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Yeah, true! That would the road trip to hell!

[JustinBryan]

I'm lost! On one side of that map, I see U.S. 80, then on the right hand side, I see U.S. 90. I thought U.S. 80 ran through Abilene, Dallas, Shreveport, etc? The old Bankhead Highway. Funny thing is that travelling between Weatherford and Albany on old U.S. 80, there are little abandoned bridges across dry creeks, abandoned alignments, and lots of old signs that say "Bankhead Highway" Those are the only highlight of my trips between FTW and Stamford.

U.S. 80 Goes from San Diego, Ca to El Paso, then up to Pecos, Midland, Dallas, Shreveport, Then all the way to Savannah, Ga, the parts in West Tex, NM and AZ some shared with 90 then most is now the current I-8

here is a map of both 80 and 90......

Edited August 14, 2007 by JustinBryan

[Retama]

If any of you ever read Jack Kerouac's great novel On The Road, one his his cross country trips was, from the sound of it, coast to coast on old Highway 90. I love to travel old 90 when I go from Houston to Canyon Lake.

We used to take that route east to Alabama in the 1960s and 70s and the Louisiana stretch was really cool because at night it was really scary and you got to hear Cajun accents. I also recall seeing all the hurricane damage on the Mississippi coast. Jayne Mansfield was killed on old Highway 90 (June 29, 1967) on the curve of a narrow portion of the road 23 miles east from downtown New Orleans. Her car smashed into the rear of a cargo truck that had slowed down behind a machine fogging the area with mosquito spray. The impact sheared off the top of her car and there is still a controversy as to whether Mansfield was decapitated or not. Local newspaper reports of the day say she was as do several witnesses.

My neighbor used to tell me how he caught the bus that took him away to the army in WWII at the intersection of Highway 90 and Crosby-Lynchburg Road (FM 2100).

Edited August 15, 2007 by Retama

[crunchtastic]

That's cool--as a small kid (late 60s, early 70s) we would drive from Friendswood back to my dad's hometown of San Antonio, and I guess it was when 1-10 was still under construction in parts, because we took highway 90 the whole way. Through every little town. Same thing going east to Beaumont to visit mom's family.

One time in the mid 80s for some forgotten reason, stoned and missed my ride, or something, I took a Greyhound bus from downtown Katy (yes, there was a downtown; caught the bus at the old tire shop across from one of the old rice dryers) back to school in San Marcos. I must have been high when I bought the ticket, because it was not 'The Express' so it took an entire day--90 pretty much all the way, rounded up to Austin, then back down 35 south. Seriously, Greyhound bus stopping on the outskirts of Weimar, or somewhere, for a snack break. The scary beat-down bus people were, like, 'what the hell is a kolache?'

As an adult I've driven the old way a number of times. All those towns that the were left behind by the interstate are now being reclaimed by retirees. I'm sure the oldtime locals have their issues with it, but it's nice to see some level of re-population.