1. Route description
    Presidio County  Jeff Davis County  Reeves County 

2. History

3. Major intersections

4. See also

5. References

6. External links

State Highway 17, or SH 17, runs from Marfa to Pecos in west Texas. The road is maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

Route description

Presidio County

After two blocks, {{nowrap|SH 17}} intersects the beginning of Farm to Market Road 1112 ({{nowrap|FM 1112}} which proceeds eastward along E. Oak Street which runs parallel to the Union Pacific Railroad.

Jeff Davis County

Soon after entering Jeff Davis County, {{nowrap|SH 17}} continues through a gentle pass across the Puertacitas Mountains. The route then passes along mostly straight stretches through ranch land. Approximately {{convert|2|mi|km}} south of Fort Davis, the route intersects the western terminus of {{nowrap|SH 166}}. At this point, {{nowrap|SH 17}} joins the Davis Mountains Scenic Loop.

The road then enters Fort Davis where the route is called State Street. {{nowrap|SH 17}} intersects {{nowrap|SH 118}} approaching from the east via Musquiz Drive just south of the Jeff Davis County Courthouse. At this junction, {{nowrap|SH 17}} joins the Texas Historical Commission's Texas Mountain Trail. {{nowrap|SH 118}} runs concurrently down State Street through town and past Fort Davis National Historic Site for a distance of {{convert|1.3|mi|km}}. The route intersects Lt. Flipper Drive, the entrance to the historic site. Across from the historic site, the route intersects Blackfoot Drive, known locally as Old Balmorhea Road which is the route's former unpaved roadway before the establishment of the state highway system. Just beyond the historic site, the route intersects Canyon Drive. At this point, {{nowrap|SH 118}}, Davis Mountains Scenic Loop, and the Texas Mountain Trail leave the route and continue west along Canyon Dr. toward Davis Mountains State Park, McDonald Observatory, and Kent.

Blackfoot Drive merges back with the route as {{nowrap|SH 17}} leaves town continuing northward through Limpia Canyon in the Davis Mountains with a maximum speed limit of {{convert|55|mph|km/h}}. In Limpia Canyon, the road has many curves, some with recommended speeds as low as {{convert|40|mph|km/h}} as indicated by warning signs. There are also several picnic tables in the canyon followed by one large picnic area just before reaching Wild Rose Pass. About {{convert|2.4|mi|km}} past this pass, the speed limit increases to {{convert|75|mph|km/h}}. The route remains a two-lane road, but from this point onward there are places where passing lanes occur.

Continuing northward, the route intersects the eastern terminus of {{nowrap|RM 1832}} approaching from Buffalo Trails Boy Scout Ranch. {{nowrap|SH 17}} then continues through ranch land and leaves the Davis Mountains before leaving the county.

Reeves County

The route continues northward and intersects {{nowrap|FM 3078}} at Toyahvale. {{nowrap|FM 3078}} is the former roadway of {{nowrap|US 290}} before it was replaced by Interstate 10 (I-10). {{nowrap|SH 17}} turns east onto the former {{nowrap|US 290}} roadway and reaches Texas Park Road 30 into Balmorhea State Park at Toyahvale.

Continuing into Balmorhea, the route passes fields of alfalfa watered from irrigation ditches including one running parallel with the highway. In Balmorhea, this irrigation channel becomes the centerpiece of a city park along one side of {{nowrap|SH 17}} here known as Main Street. The route intersects Business Interstate 10-F at North Fort Worth Street. I-10 Bus. Loop F going northward becomes {{nowrap|FM 2903}} to Toyah after crossing I-10. Eastward, I-10 Bus. Loop F overlays the route of {{nowrap|SH 17}}.

After Balmorhea, the route has a speed limit of {{convert|55|mph|km/h}} and passes just north of the foothills of the Davis Mountains and through the small community of Brogado before reaching I-10. At I-10 Exit 209, I-10 Bus. Loop F ends, and {{nowrap|SH 17}} merges with the Interstate for slightly more than {{convert|2|mi|km}} with a speed limit of {{convert|80|mph|km/h}}. {{nowrap|SH 17}} leaves I-10 at Exit 212 and heads northward with a speed limit of {{convert|70|mph|km/h}} toward Saragosa. At Saragosa, the route intersects {{nowrap|FM 1215}} which merges with {{nowrap|SH 17}} and the speed limit lowers to {{convert|55|mph}}. In the center of Saragosa, {{nowrap|FM 1215}} turns westward at West Main Street and loops back to end at the north service road of I-10 and {{nowrap|SH 17}} without crossing or intersecting the main Interstate roadway.

Beyond Saragosa, the route begins to parallel the route of the Pecos Valley Southern Railway which will follow {{nowrap|SH 17}} the rest of the way into Pecos. The speed limit gradually increases to {{convert|65|mph}} before intersecting {{nowrap|FM 2448}}. The speed limit then increases to {{convert|75|mph|km/h}} as the route passes through cotton fields with occasional oil wells. The route then intersects {{nowrap|FM 3334}} before passing through the small community of Verhalen. The route then intersects {{nowrap|FM 869}} and later {{nowrap|FM 1934}}.

The route passes alongside the community of Lindsay as it approaches the outskirts of Pecos. The route then passes Pecos Municipal Airport. The speed limit gradually lowers to {{convert|55|mph|km/h}} and then widens to four lanes before reaching I-20. In Pecos, the route intersects I-20 at Exit 39 then continues north as South Bickley Avenue. The route then intersects {{nowrap|FM 761}} at Stafford Boulevard. Then, further north, {{nowrap|SH 17}} terminates at West 3rd Street where it intersects Business Interstate 20-B.

History

All route descriptions before 1924 were merely proposals. The Texas Highway Department, a precursor of the Texas Department of Transportation, did not have the authority to assume maintenance of roads from the counties until 1924, nor the authority to plan, survey, or build new roads until 1925.^[6] On August 21, 1923, the section of SH 17 south of SH 17A had been transferred to SH 82, while SH 17A and the section of SH 17 north of SH 17A was reclassified as the main route of SH 17. The spur from Grandfalls to Barstow was cancelled. On May 1, 1931, SH 17 was extended through Marfa to end in Presidio, replacing SH 118 (which was reassigned on the former route of SH 3 southeast of Fort Davis) and a section of SH 3.^[7][8] On June 20, 1933, the stretch from Pecos to New Mexico had been transferred to SH 27.^[9][10] On September 26, 1939, the stretch from Presidio to Marfa was transferred to U.S. Highway 67 (the routes were concurrent before this).^[11]

Major intersections

See also

• {{Portal-inline|U.S. Roads}}
• {{Portal-inline|Texas}}

References

External links

• Texas Mountain Trail

• La Chapelle-Orthemale
• La Chapelle-Palluau
• La Chapelle-Pouilloux
• La Chapelle-pres-Sees
• La Chapelle-près-Sées
• La Chapelle-Rainsouin
• La Chapelle-Rambaud
• La Chapelle-Reanville
• La Chapelle-Rousselin
• La Chapelle Royale
• La Chapelle-Réanville
• La Chapelle-Saint-Andre
• La Chapelle-Saint-André
• La Chapelle-Saint-Aubin
• La Chapelle-Saint-Etienne
• La Chapelle-Saint-Florent
• La Chapelle-Saint-Fray
• La Chapelle-Saint-Geraud
• La Chapelle-Saint-Géraud
• La Chapelle-Saint-Jean
• La Chapelle-Saint-Laud
• La Chapelle-Saint-Laurent
• La Chapelle-Saint-Laurian
• La Chapelle-Saint-Luc
• La Chapelle-Saint-Martial