Interstate 2

Interstate 2 Texas
Palmview, TX ↔ Harlingen, TX•46.31 miles•0 Branch Routes

Overview

Interstate 2 comprises a well traveled freeway across the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. Overlaying U.S. 83 for 46.8 miles, IH 2 runs east from Palmview through the cities of Mission, McAllen, Pharr, San Juan and Weslaco among others. The designation concludes at IH 69E/U.S. 77 in Harlingen, which angles southeast to Brownsville and the Veterans Bridge to Matamoras, Mexico. Designated as a branch of the IH 69 corridor, IH 2 improves mobility and the movement of freight traffic to points north with the connections to IH 69C/U.S. 281 north and the continuation of U.S. 83 to Laredo.

The west end of IH 2 is located at the grade separated interchange with Showers Road, west of Palmview. U.S. 83 extends from there along a five lane, at-grade boulevard through Penitas and La Joya. Construction along the north side of the two cities through January 2021 early 2023 2024 constructed the US 83 Relief Route, a new four lane, 6.7 mile long controlled access highway. Split into three phases, Phases I & III constructed the new roadway from 0.85 miles east of FM 886 (El Faro Road) to a point just west of FM 2221. Phase II completed the freeway from FM 2221 to a point 0.28 miles west of Showers Road. Estimated costs for Phases I & III was $86.24 million and $95.91 million for Phase II.4

US 83 Relief Route construction
Construction for the US 83 Relief Route west of La Joya Lake in Hidalgo County. 08/04/19

The eastern portion of the U.S. 83 relief route, from FM 2221 (Jarachinas Road) to the Palmview connector opens in Summer 2023. The remainder west to Sullivan City is scheduled for completion in early 2024.7

$320 million in upgrades are underway for the directional T interchange joining IH 2 with IH 69C. The design-build project makes improvements both to IH 2 from 2nd Street in McAllen to FM 2257 (Stewart Road) in San Juan and along IH 69C from IH 2 in Pharr to Nolana Loop. Construction replaces the existing direct connectors between the two freeways with two lane flyovers designed with 4 foot inside shoulders and 10 foot outside shoulders. Work also reconfigures the IH 2 ramp system at Jackson Avenue, U.S. 83 Business (Center Avenue), U.S. 281 (Cage Boulevard) and FM 1426.

Construction on the project got underway in September 2020 with work on the Direct Connector #4 (DC4), the flyover from IH 69C south to IH 2 west.5 Substantial completion is anticipated for December 2023.6

Mileage by State

Texas46.31 mi

Data Sources

December 31, 2021 Interstate Route Log and Finders List

History

1972 map of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas
U.S. 83 was rerouted between Mission and Harlingen between 1963 and 1966. This bypass was upgraded to a freeway in 1971-72. The freeway along U.S. 77 southeast from Harlingen to San Benito was constructed at the same time as the freeway along U.S. 83.

The TxDOT application for Interstate 2 was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) at the May 5, 2013 Route Numbering Committee meeting. IH 2 was included with the proposed designations of IH 69C (Central) and IH 69E (East), and signs for all three debuted at ceremonies held in both Pharr and Harlingen on July 15, 2013.1

IH 2 arose out of the plan to join the two branches of IH 69 in the Rio Grande Valley by the Alliance for I-69 Texas and Lower Rio Grande Valley community leaders.2 Signing of the route and IH 69C and IH 69E was made possible by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) legislation passed in 2012.3

Exit numbers and mileposts were added to IH 2 through the Rio Grande Valley by January 2016. They reflect the distance from Laredo, the long range planned west end of IH 2.

East End Interstate 69E ‐ Harlingen, TX

Interstate 2 U.S. 83 East at Interstate 69E U.S. 77

IH 2/US 83 east at IH 69E/US 77 – Harlingen, TX

The IH 2 mainline defaults onto IH 69E/U.S. 77 south through San Benito. U.S. 83 accompanies the two routes to Brownsville. 08/03/19

IH 2/US 83 east at IH 69E/US 77 - Harlingen, TX IH 2/US 83 east at IH 69E/US 77 – Harlingen, TX IH 2/US 83 east at IH 69E/US 77 – Harlingen, TX IH 2/US 83 east at IH 69E/US 77 - Harlingen, TX

Interstate 69E U.S. 77 U.S. 83 North at Interstate 2

IH 69E/US 77-83 north at IH 2 - Harlingen, TX

Entering the directional T interchange (Exits 26 B/C) with IH 2/U.S. 83 west and BU-83S and SS 206 (Tyler Avenue) on IH 69E/U.S. 77 northbound. 08/03/19

IH 69E/US 77-83 north at IH 2 - Harlingen, TX IH 69E/US 77-83 north at IH 2 - Harlingen, TX IH 69E/US 77-83 north at IH 2 - Harlingen, TX

Interstate 69E U.S. 77 South at Interstate 2 U.S. 83

IH 69E/US 77 south at IH 2/US 83 - Harlingen, TX

One mile north of IH 2 west on IH 69E/U.S. 77 south at the FM 2994 (Wilson Road) underpass in Harlingen. 08/03/19

IH 69E/US 77 south at IH 2/US 83 - Harlingen, TX IH 69E/US 77 south at IH 2/US 83 - Harlingen, TX IH 69E/US 77 south at IH 2/US 83 - Harlingen, TX

State Spur 206 West at Interstate 2 Interstate 69E

SS 206 west at IH 2/US 83 - Harlingen, TX

High speed flyovers connect the IH 69E mainline with IH 2/U.S. 83 leading west to McAllen. Spur 206 travels at-grade below the ramps to connect Harlingen with IH 2 via an on-ramp beyond Dixieland Road. Photo by Jeff Royston (03/16/16).

SS 206 west at IH 2/US 83 - Harlingen, TX SS 206 west at IH 2/US 83 - Harlingen, TX

West End U.S. 83 at Showers Road ‐ Palmview, TX

Interstate 2 U.S. 83 West at Showers Rd

IH 2/US 83 west at Showers Rd - Palmview, TX

IH 2 westbound concludes at Showers Road (Exit 130) outside the city of Palmview. 08/04/19

IH 2/US 83 west at Showers Rd - Palmview, TX IH 2/US 83 west at Showers Rd - Palmview, TX

U.S. 83 East at Interstate 2

US 83 east at IH 2 / Showers Rd - Palmview, TX

U.S. 83 Business (BU-83S) branches south from U.S. 83 at Penitas, just west of the freeway beginning of IH 2 at Showers Road. 08/04/19

US 83 east at IH 2 / Showers Rd - Palmview, TX US 83 east at IH 2 / Showers Rd - Palmview, TX

References

  1. "Valley's highways become one interstate." ValleyCentral.com (KGBT TV-4), July 9, 2013.
  2. "Another 116 miles added to I-69 system in Texas." Wharton Journal Spectator, June 5, 2013.
  3. "Re: Interstate 2" online posting by JotheC11, AARoads Forum, January 18, 2016. Retrieved from https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9935.msg2120435#msg2120435
  4. Pharr District Major Projects. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). September 18, 2020. Retrieved from https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot-info/phr/major-projects.pdf
  5. Start of Construction. I-2 / I-69C Interchange Project newsletter, September 2020. Retrieved from https://www.dpjvtx.com/pdf/DPJVTX/START%20OF%20CONSTRUCTION_20210305114143.pdf
  6. TxDOT Pharr District [@TxDOTPharr]. (2022, March 1) @I2I69CIntchgPrj FAST FACTS: •Substantial completion: Dec 2023 •Each connector to be 2-lane capacity •Lane widening/reconstruction (from 6-8), between 2nd [Tweet]. Twitter. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/TxDOTPharr/status/1498689445989601286
  7. "U.S. 83 relief route construction nearing completion." KRGV TV-5 (Rio Grande Valley, TX), July 11, 2023. Retrieved from https://www.krgv.com/news/u-s-83-relief-route-construction-nearing-completion
Updated August 3, 2023