Texas State Highway 18

State Highway 18
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	83.5 mi[1] (134.4 km)
Existed:	1958[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	BL I-10 / US 285 in Fort Stockton
	I-10 / US 67 in Fort Stockton SH 329 in Grandfalls I-20 in Monahans SH 302 in Kermit SH 115 in Kermit
North end:	NM 18 near Jal, NM
Location
Counties:	Pecos, Ward, Winkler
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← SH 17 SH 19 → ← SH 87 SH 88 SH 89 →

State Highway 18, or SH 18, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) that runs from Fort Stockton in western Texas to the Texas-New Mexico state line between Kermit and Jal, New Mexico. This route was designated in 1958 over the northern half of what was previously SH 82.

Route description

SH 18 begins at Fort Stockton at an intersection with Business Interstate 10 and US 285. Heading north, it soon intersects Interstate 10 and US 67, which is in concurrency with the interstate. It continues traveling north through oil fields and rural ranch land. 25 miles north of Fort Stockton, SH 18 intersects Farm to Market Road 1450. The highway continues north and enters Grandfalls. In Grandfalls, the highway intersects SH 329 and Farm to Market Road 11. The highway continues north, intersecting Farm to Market Road 1776, Farm to Market Road 1233, Loop 464, and Interstate 20 before reaching Monahans. In Monahans SH 18 intersects Business Interstate 20 and continues northwest, making a second interchange with SH 464. Eight miles northwest of Monahans, the highway intersects Farm to Market Road 1219. SH 18 continues in a slightly northwest direction toward Kermit, making an interchange with Farm to Market Road 1232 along the way. In Kermit the highway has an intersection with SH 302 and a slight western concurrency with SH 115 before continuing to head northwest out of Kermit. The highway ends at the New Mexico border, where the road becomes New Mexico State Highway 18.

History

The current routing was originally planned as State Highway 17 as recently as 1922. By 1926, the SH 17 designation has been transferred to the routing of SH 17A, while this route was renumbered as SH 82. In 1958, the route was again renumbered as SH 18, to coordinate with the connecting New Mexico Highway 18 to the north.

SH 18 was one of the first 26 Texas state routes proposed in 1917. The original proposal was a route through the Southern Plains from Yoakum County to Lubbock, then southeast to Albany. By 1926, the route had been changed significantly. The eastern section of the route from Spur to Albany was intact, but the previous westward route veered northward instead to Estelline. By 1939 it was extended farther northward to Pampa, overtaking SH 88 from Turkey to Pampa, while the portion from Matador to Albany was reassigned to various state highways and U.S. Highway 380. SH 18 was extended further north to Perryton in 1940, and in 1947 was renamed SH 70 when SH 70 was extended into Matador from the south.

SH 18A was an alternate route along SH 18. It covered a shorter route between Spur and Crosbyton during the 1920s.

SH 18B was a more southerly route proposed in 1919. It was to branch off from SH 18 in Brownfield, travel southeast to Lamesa, then run due east to Albany. It is unknown if it had been built before being reassigned by 1926 to SH 83.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[2]	km	Destinations	Notes
Pecos	Fort Stockton	0.0	0.0	BL I-10 / US 285 (West Dickinson Boulevard)	Southern terminus
		0.9	1.4	I-10 / US 67 – El Paso, Ozona	I-10 exit 259B
	​			FM 1450 to FM 1053 – Pecos
	​			RM 2593 east – Reservoir
Ward	Grandfalls			FM 11 east – Imperial
		31.9	51.3	SH 329 east (1st Street) – Crane
	Royalty			FM 1219 north – Wickett
	​			FM 1776 south – Coyanosa
	​			FM 1233 east to US 385
	​	46.0	74.0	Loop 464 north (truck route) to SH 18 north / I-20
	Monahans	48.6	78.2	I-20 – Pecos, Odessa	I-20 exit 80
		50.0	80.5	BL I-20 (Sealy Street)
	​	52.5	84.5	Loop 464 south (truck route) to I-20 / BL I-20
	​			FM 1219 south – Wickett
Winkler	​			FM 1232 west – Wink
	Kermit	72.3	116.4	SH 302 (Jim Sharp Boulevard / truck route) – Mentone, Odessa
		73.1	117.6	SH 115 north (East Austin Street)	south end of SH 115 overlap
		73.3	118.0	SH 115 south (West Austin Street / truck route) – Wink	north end of SH 115 overlap
	​			FM 874 to SH 115 / SH 302
	​	83.7	134.7	NM 18 north – Jal	New Mexico state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Texas portal

References

1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 18". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
2. Google (August 19, 2010). "Route of SH 18" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 19, 2010.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

Geographic data related to Texas State Highway 18 at OpenStreetMap